bigsheldy

Yep, my clutch pedal is about half the distance from the floor as the brake pedal. Any idea what this means? Is the clutch worn/going to go out, or can I adjust it?

Marc Gelefsky

Master and/or slave cylander is leaking

bigsheldy

great. Any way to diagnose/fix this without dropping the tranny or $1500?

MichelleJD

Mine did the same thing. I'm yanking the engine for a rebuild so I'm gonna replace both the slave and master (already got the from Paragon). Pulling the tranny will do no good, they're up front. Sorry, but I don't know how to test them

Techno Duck

No real way to diagnose the problem. Check right above your clutch pedal to see if the master cylinder is leaking. If it is, or you have a carpet saturated in brake fluid you know you have a problem. Im not sure what to check for on the slave cylinder.

If you do end up replacing either the master or slave, its a good idea to just replace both as they tend to fail within a few months of eachother.

athens944

Recently experienced this same thing and mine was in fact the slave cylinder (on an '83). If the fluid drops below the fill hole air gets in the system and the hydraulics are compromised. Most here recommend replacing both masster and slave. I was able to do this w/o dropping anything more than the starter.

944_S_TYPE

just go to www.vertexauto.com. For under $120.00 you will have new master and slave. Make sure to replace the "Blue" resivor to master cylinder hose. Also a "power bleeder" is helpful.
Go to www.clarks-garage.com for a detailed install. Good luck.

GlenL

My car had this when I bought it. Seller said that was a "racing clutch." Right. Whatever.

What it was was the adjustment on the rod was bad. There's a rod with a lock nut on it that connects the pedal arm to the master. Lock nut was loose and pedal was working its way to the floor.

On the 944 this is hard to get at. (At least for mature adults.) Reach up along the clutch pedal arm, find the rod and see if it is loose. Might need an adjustment anyways.

If the system is leaking it will re-fill and correct itself so I don't think that's the issue. Also, more fluid goes into the system as the clutch wears so your problem doesn't indicate that.

Still... Could be anything, could be a loose nut. (Behind pedal!)

tifosiman

Tranny doesn't have anything to do with it. It is the master/and or slave (more than likely the slave, but replace both at the same time).

It should cost you less than $200 including the master and slave, the 1 foot of blue hose, and the brake fluid, to fix it.

Do a search for Clark's Garage, there is a good write up on the procedure to replace the worn out components and bleeding the system. If you have a power bleeder, it is a plus.

Best of luck.

KuHL 951

If you need to borrow a pressure bleeder I have one local. I did the master/slave last year on the 83. You can do both in 1-1/2 to 2 hours, even your first time. Be sure and get the master-to-firewall gasket, most units don't come with one. I also suggest you buy some good ATE Super Blue brake fluid when you get parts and bleed the whole brake/clutch system at the same time. More than likely the old fluid is getting pretty funky. Read up in Clarkes-Garage and get familiar with the procedure; it's an easy DIY project, especially with a good bleeder.


Steve

Peckster

Right on. Look for leaking fluid or low levels.

The transmission in these cars is at the back, both cylinders are at the front.

Just ask questions and you'll be fine.

bigsheldy

Sorry guys, one more question: If I leave it like this (say for a week or two) will my pedal eventually not work at all?

tifosiman

There is a good chance it will just fail, at a totally inappropriate moment. It's a crapshoot, if you feel lucky, go for it....

KuHL 951

Let's just say it won't get better...next symptom is it will stick to the floor and you will have to make it home in one gear unless you are real good at rev matching to shift. You can try to bleed it but trust me the end is probably near for one of those 2 components.