Clutch Problems - Introduction
Does your clutch feel very low?
The most common cause of this can be either the clutch pedal has a worn pin hole, or the master and/or slave have worn seals. The worn seals are allowing air past them which is causing bad pedal pressure.
This DIY section will explain how to remove the clutch pedal and how to rebuild the clutch master cylinder. I do not cover the procedure of removing the entire clutch master.
The procedure is very similar to this procedure, except instead of pulling apart the master to rebuild it, you just undue the 2 bolts and remove the clutch line from the master. It will come out somewhat easy after that.
In almost every case, a rebuild kit will suffice for fixing a leaking clutch master.
I bought the clutch master rebuild kit from SAS website for $12.
A new pedal costs only $39.
The knee bolster will have to be removed to do this task.
For instructions on this you can click here.
For instructions on removing the entire clutch, you can click here.
Now let's begin!
Clutch Problems - Introduction
Does your clutch feel very low?
The most common cause of this can be either the clutch pedal has a worn pin hole, or the master and/or slave have worn seals. The worn seals are allowing air past them which is causing bad pedal pressure.
This DIY section will explain how to remove the clutch pedal and how to rebuild the clutch master cylinder. I do not cover the procedure of removing the entire clutch master.
The procedure is very similar to this procedure, except instead of pulling apart the master to rebuild it, you just undue the 2 bolts and remove the clutch line from the master. It will come out somewhat easy after that.
In almost every case, a rebuild kit will suffice for fixing a leaking clutch master.
I bought the clutch master rebuild kit from SAS website for $12.
A new pedal costs only $39.
The knee bolster will have to be removed to do this task.
For instructions on this you can click here.
For instructions on removing the entire clutch, you can click here.
Now let's begin!
DIY Clutch Master Rebuild
If you haven't removed the knee bolster already, then go ahead and do this.
Removing the clutch pedal is done by removing the pin that goes through the clutch master, removing the spring, and then removing the 17MM bolt. The pedal will then drop out.
Now that the pedal is out you can look at the hole where the pin holds the master cylinder to the pedal. If the hole is not round anymore than you should replace the pedal or figure something out.
Some people weld the hole and then drill it out again, while some make the hole bigger and then use a new pin to match the size. I usually just buy a new pedal since it's not very expensive.
To rebuild the clutch master cylinder, you now have to take it apart.
To prevent a brake fluid oil spill on your carpet, you need to crimp the supply hose from the resevoir. Some fluid will leak out, but it won't be anything significant.
Pull off the rubber boot and you will see a small circlip. Use a small set of circlip pliers to remove the clip.
Now pull out the piston as one unit.
Rebuilding the clutch master is easy and straight forward. Simply pull off the old seals with a screw-driver and replace with new ones in the kit.
The rebuild kit contains extra parts for other types of clutch masters, so don't worry about these extra parts!
Putting the spring and piston back into the master cylinder can be more tricky than it sounds.
You need to hold everything inside the cylinder while at the same time using circlip pliers to replace the circlip back into the groove.
It takes some patients and maybe a beer, but it can be done!
Once the master cylinder is back together, replace the clutch pedal. Be sure to check the cruise control switch to make sure it didn't get moved.
The switch should be fully pressed in when the clutch is out.
Bleeding the clutch can be a real PAIN IN THE ASS!
The procedure I recommend is to buy the pressure bleeder from www.eeuroparts.com. It really helps the process.
Once you think you got all of the air out of the system, then you want to squeeze the clutch supply hose starting from the master cylinder all the way up to the resevoir.
This forces all of the air trapped in the supply line out to the resevoir. This has caught me a couple of times.
Fluid will pass around the bubbles very easily making it look like the clutch is bleed, but there won't be any pressure at all!
With a new clutch installed, the pedal should be firm within 1/2" of pressing down on the pedal and you should feel the clutch fully engage about 1/2 way down the travel of the pedal.
DIY Clutch Master Rebuild
If you haven't removed the knee bolster already, then go ahead and do this.
Removing the clutch pedal is done by removing the pin that goes through the clutch master, removing the spring, and then removing the 17MM bolt. The pedal will then drop out.
Now that the pedal is out you can look at the hole where the pin holds the master cylinder to the pedal. If the hole is not round anymore than you should replace the pedal or figure something out.
Some people weld the hole and then drill it out again, while some make the hole bigger and then use a new pin to match the size. I usually just buy a new pedal since it's not very expensive.
To rebuild the clutch master cylinder, you now have to take it apart.
To prevent a brake fluid oil spill on your carpet, you need to crimp the supply hose from the resevoir. Some fluid will leak out, but it won't be anything significant.
Pull off the rubber boot and you will see a small circlip. Use a small set of circlip pliers to remove the clip.
Now pull out the piston as one unit.
Rebuilding the clutch master is easy and straight forward. Simply pull off the old seals with a screw-driver and replace with new ones in the kit.
The rebuild kit contains extra parts for other types of clutch masters, so don't worry about these extra parts!
Putting the spring and piston back into the master cylinder can be more tricky than it sounds.
You need to hold everything inside the cylinder while at the same time using circlip pliers to replace the circlip back into the groove.
It takes some patients and maybe a beer, but it can be done!
Once the master cylinder is back together, replace the clutch pedal. Be sure to check the cruise control switch to make sure it didn't get moved.
The switch should be fully pressed in when the clutch is out.
Bleeding the clutch can be a real PAIN IN THE ASS!
The procedure I recommend is to buy the pressure bleeder from www.eeuroparts.com. It really helps the process.
Once you think you got all of the air out of the system, then you want to squeeze the clutch supply hose starting from the master cylinder all the way up to the resevoir.
This forces all of the air trapped in the supply line out to the resevoir. This has caught me a couple of times.
Fluid will pass around the bubbles very easily making it look like the clutch is bleed, but there won't be any pressure at all!
With a new clutch installed, the pedal should be firm within 1/2" of pressing down on the pedal and you should feel the clutch fully engage about 1/2 way down the travel of the pedal.