joey bagadonuts

Lately, I've noticed a stiffening of the clutch pedal in my C4. It was very noticeable during a recent trek in stop and go traffic. The pedal required considerably more effort to press downward than in the past and the pressure remained relatively firm on its way up.

Is this something that can be remedied via the hydraulic system? Are there other cures? Or am I simply approaching the "death rattle?" i.e. clutch failure.

I'll have it in the shop Tuesday for some brake maintenance, but fear a hefty bill is in my near future. FWIW, this clutch has been in service for some 44K miles, so the PO and I have definitely gotten some good use out of it.

joey bagadonuts

Latest symptoms.

It's officially Autumn, so the morning's here in Chicago have become a bit crisp. I fired up the C4 and to my surprise the clutch was back to normal ... but only briefly. The pedal pressure felt good for the first ten minutes of driving, but then the stiffness returned.

I'm not sure if the cold or day's rest caused the return to normal pressure, but it gave me hope that maybe it's a hydraulic issue. As I reviewed the Factory Manuals, it appears the clutch master cylinder is an item which requires periodic maintenance, so maybe it's as simple as a quick bleed.

Car's in the shop today and I'll let you know how it turns out.

Jeff Curtis

Joey, while it can be a number of things from a bad pressure plate/flywheel to worn bushings at the pedal housing to just plain old NASTY fluid that needs to be bled out of your clutch master and slave cylinder by way of the bleed screw on your clutch slave cylinder.

Your clutch slave cylinder is attached to the bellhousing of your transmission, Driver's side...in case that was your next question.

With the miles on your clutch package possibly being an issue...it's quite possible that's your culprit. <img src="graemlins/cussing.gif" border="0" alt="[grrrrrrr]" />

NOW, go out and purchase a "Cup" lightweight clutch and flywheel if you're going to continue to do track events...you'll love it! <img src="graemlins/jumper.gif" border="0" alt="[jumper]" />

joey bagadonuts

Jeff, in the words of Ed McMahon, "You are correct sir!"

It appears time is running out on my clutch. Got the car back after having ALL systems flushed and the stiffness remains. tick tock ... tick tock.

Like many, though, I view repair work as an opportunity to upgrade. The lightweight Cup version sounds interesting. I've read the threads and it seems the Andial product is the one to go with. The whole stalling/chip issue seems to be minimized when using this "semi-lightweight" option.

Any thoughts/recommendations?

Rocket Rob

My C-4 began to have a stiff pedal. My dealer said that the steps to repair are straight forward. Each step gets more expensive.

1. Replace the clutch slave cylinder
2. Replace the clutch master cylinder
3. Remove engine and inspect clutch, pressure plate, etc.

I stopped after step 2. I can live with it as is until I run into another reason to pull the engine. My clutch has 100K miles and the engine is at 160K.

joey bagadonuts

Rob,

Thanks for sharing. I've also heard that it's not necessary to drop the engine to replace the clutch flywheel, pressure plate, etc. So it makes me wonder why your shop would need to drop the engine just for an inspection?

Can anyone confirm what's required?

Richard H

Sorry Joey but I think on a C4 it is an engine out job. On a C2 I think the engine doesn't have to come out though.

Richard.