Went out to start my '84 944 na that has been sitting since November and the clutch pedal went to the floor and stayed there! I pulled it up by hand, however when I pushed it again, it stayed down again. I have seen other posts regarding clutch master and slave cylinder failure. Before I start to look for the parts, I was wondering if there is a way to confirm if it is the clutch master and slave cylinders or possibly something else.

 

Been there, done that

Could be that you are in need of a good bleeding of the system (done at the slave cylinder I think). Don't go out and buy a new master / slave without trying this first. Air trapped in the system can cause the clutch to behave in strange ways. If there is a puddle of fluid under the car than that would suggest a failure somewhere along the line.

 

It could very well be the slave, especially if it is cold ... down below +20F.

Usually the slave will leak fluid on the ground when the seal fails, so look under the car and see if there is a nice pool of fluid under the slave.

 

There may also be fluid down by where your feet are. Check there too.

-Matt

 

IMHO, replace the master and slave cylinder as a unit. There is a lot of anicdotal proof that the other will fail within 3 months. You DO NOT want to have to bleed them twice.

 

When you bleed, use a pressure bleeder.
Heard way too many horror stories people trying to bleed the clutch slave using speed bleeders and the traditional open/close method.

 

[quote]Originally posted by Tabor Kelly:
<strong>You DO NOT want to have to bleed them twice.</strong><hr></blockquote>
Aint that the truth!!!!!!

 

My clutch did the same 1 year ago. Turned out it was the both the slave and master cylinder. I think it cost me ~$500 for the repairs on it.
If your curious I can check with my records to see what exactly it was and how much it cost.

David

 

Bob, you may want to start by checking the brake fluid level. The clutch hydraulics draw fluid from higher in the same reservoir, so if it's low, you may well have sucked air into the clutch system. If that's it, top up the fluid & bleed at the clutch slave.

Of course, if the fluid level is that low, you need to find out where it went.... brake system leaks can ruin you whole day.

Jim, "Depression is merely anger without enthusiasm."

 

david,

the Master Cylinder should be $150 or less and the Slave Clutch Cylinder should be $60 or less. I just guesting, the time should be less than two hours MAX. It isn't hard at all to do, the hardest part is getting all the air out after, ie bleeding the brakes.

 

<a href="http://www.paragon-products.com" target="_blank">Paragon Products</a> has the <a href="http://www.smartcart.com/Paragon/cgi/display.cgi?item_num=944CMC" target="_blank">clutch master cylinder</a> for $60.05 and the <a href="http://www.smartcart.com/Paragon/cgi/display.cgi?item_num=PP944.116.237.00" target="_blank">clutch slave cylinder</a> for $47.08.

 

Tabor,

that is a great price for the master cylinder!. I think I paid about sub $100 for my master cylinder like two years ago. I was just giving a max for the price. that was also for ATE brand cylinders.

 

Just wanted to make sure no one over payed.

 

I don't know if anyone has a Parts America near them, but their slave rebuild kit is a genuine German F.A.G. kit w/ new seals and hardware. I installed one before discovering my clutch hose was leaking. $20 on their website. I guess Parts America isn't always......American Parts.

 

Vertex Auto also has the master and slave cylinders pretty cheap. I think both can be had together for about $100, maybe less. Since the parts are so cheap, I also recommend doing both at the same time.