LP928

I've been having some problems with my clutch for a few months or so now...The symptoms are whenever i push the clutch pedal in an inch or two for mor than a second or two in losses pressure and falls to the floor, with the clutch disengaged. I then have to pull it up with my toe, which then causes the helper spring to pull it back up i believe. If i push the clutch in swift and quickly the way your supposed to it works fine, just whenever u dont notice and you rest your foot on there for a few seconds bam it falls to the floor. It does this whether fully or warmed up or at start up totally cold. Also im not sure if this is related, but with the cooler weather lately, upon startup when i try to put the car in reverse or first it grinds like crazy as if the clutch wasnt even engaged, i put it in fourth or fifth then back to first or reverse and the problem is solved.

76FJ55

these are typical of a failing master. the master uses chevron seal that increases its sealing ability with increasing pressure. so when you push the pedal in fast you build pressure before there is sufficient time for fluid to leak past the seal, but when you slowly push in the pedal the the fluid leaks past the seal and never generates the pressure necessary to force the seal out against the cylinder wall to creeat a good seal.

Fabio421

First syptom sounds like an internally leaking clutch master. Usually I would say air in the system but te fact that it doesn't do it unless you push slowly makes me think the master needs resealing. You can buy the reseal kit cheaply from NAPA online. I'll post a link if I get a chance later.

The transmission grinding when cold is possibly due to a combination of old cold oil and worn synchro's. Have you changed the oil since you got the car?

Edit: Dang someone beat me to it, and with a much more detailed response too. I was on the phone while writing my response.

jcorenman

Also check for fluid leaks, at both the master and slave. The problem is certainly fluid bypassing the piston seal as 76FJ55 said, the question is which end.

You really want it to be a problem with the slave because it is so much more accessible. But I believe that if the slave is bypassing then it will also be dumping fluid into the bottom of the clutch housing and out the inspection hole. The master has an extra seal between the fluid and your carpet. ...

blown 87

Master cylinder, if it were mine I would do the slave at the same time.

Lizard928

+928. sound advice.

Fabio421

Heres the rebuild kit. http://www.napaonline.com/Search/Det...+50062+2062025

Leave the master IN THE CAR and remove the guts from under the dash. I promise you will thank me later. Replacing the clutch master is a MAJOR pain in the a$$. Doing it this way will save you many hours of cursing.

SharkSkin

If you're in there, change the master, the slave, the soft high-pressure line(unless it looks new) and the blue hose. With the exception of the slave cylinder, these parts are all a major PITA to swap individually. However, it's a piece of cake to change them all at the same time; easier than changing any one part(again, except the slave). I wrote up the procedure here. Subject car is a '78, close enough to your 79 as makes no difference.

WallyP

In addition to clutch hydraulics, shifting problems can be caused by a clutch center plate that needs adjusting. There are many, many write-ups on this - search is your friend...

LP928

Ok thanks for the advice, it seems to me that I'm going to be resealing the clutch master and slave...I'll see when I can get to napa to get the kits.

As for the transmission I changed the oil in April for some redline. The problem is more like the clutch isn't fully engaging cause when I say grinding in first or reverse at startup, I mean you can't get it to go into gear at all. I end up putting it into fourth or fifth and then when I go to first or reverse it goes in no problem, it's as if the transmission's gears are still spinning and putting it into fourth without going anywhere at all stops them so i can put it into first or reverse.

LP928

Ok.. after reading a bit on other threads, I might need to adjust my center plate as WallyP says. First though I think it would be better to do the MC and Slave, bleed clutch along with brakes (I bought a motive kit a while ago in anticipation) and see how it all works after that. An interesting thing that might be related.... I believe my throw out bearing is bad since as soon as I let off the clutch I hear a whirring noise, more noticeable in neutral when I'm not moving. I'm not sure just thought I'd throw that in there. Also, the correct order for the clutch MC and Slave would be to reseal those, then reinstall, bleed brakes in correct order, then clutch?

Mrmerlin

whirring noise could be TOB, or torque tube bearings.
The TOB is spinning all the time the engine is running.
Try putting the car in gear with the pedal down,
do you still hear the noise( this stops the driveshaft from spinning) and rules out the TT bearings.
in neutral with the foot off the pedal the shaft will be spinning

Fabio421

I'm telling you from experience. Reseal the clutch master with it still in the car. You will regret removing the master. If you do remove the master to reseal, be sure to replace the blue hose that feeds oil to the master. It tends to fail after it gets a few decades of age under it's belt and it's a pain to get to.

928 obsession

Sorry to hijack this thread, but currently I am also having a major pita clutch problem. I've searched, but have not found a solution to my problem. Recently my clutch has been encountering a slight drag, but in the last week it has continued to progress to the point where at a stop it refuses to go into any gear. At first I believed it was my synchros, but after it refused to go into reverse I knew it was the clutch. I can still hear the TT spinning slightly so I know it is dragging. The weird thing is if I start the car with the clutch pushed in, it will engage any gear without grinding, but if I start the car with the clutch engaged and push the clutch to disengage the car refuses to go into any gear. The car is currently jacked up. The master and slave are new along with the infamous blue hose; also the flex line between the master and slave is new. They’re no leaks in the system anywhere. We bled the system for an hour yesterday using a power bleeder and the pump the master method. The clutch pedal is very firm throughout it's travel, so I do not believe air is an issue. Also looking through the inspection hole the slave piston completes its travel. So this makes us believe it is something in the clutch itself. We've tried the devek method to adjust the three adjusters for the intermediate plate, but it was to no avail. I'm out of ideas. So my question is should we try adjusting the intermediate plate again or drop the clutch and examine the components? This is really begining to frustrate me. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Fabio421

You should probably start a new thread for your problem. Check out this thread. You may want to skip to the end. https://rennlist.com/forums/928-foru...ghlight=clutch