Clutch slave or worse?

[Walsted]

I lost my clutch when I was almost home, yesterday. I had to rev and slam gears to shift and get it home.

Now that it is in the driveway, I took a look at the slave cylinder. One small drip was at the bottom of the rubber, but the rubber was otherwise dry. The case looked like it had a fine coating of oil, but that could have been from other things. When my daughter presses the clutch pedal, I can see the slave plunger move in and out a little more than an inch.

While sitting in the car with the engine running and the transmission in neutral, I feel a vibration through the pedal when I depress it.

Does that sound like the slave, or am I in for a new clutch set and flywheel? Or worse?

Thanks

[Radio-Active]

Check the master as well. If the level is low in the reservoir, it is probably one or the other.

By the way, If you match the revs on the engine to the transmission, you can feel a slight dip in the shifter when you get it syncronized. You can shift without crunching the gears.

[Walsted]

The reservoir doesn't seem to be losing fluid.

Thanks for the tip on shifting without crunching. Now if I can only master the neutral-to-first shift, I can get a kit online instead of locally.

[Radio-Active]

Turn the car off and start the car with the transmission in first.

[wrx74]

http://www.oreillyauto.com/site/c/de...1352&ppt=C0015

[Walsted]

Thanks for all of the advice.

I flushed the fluid (with the help of my daughter) with no change. I then went to the Pantego O'reilly's and grabbed a new clutch master and slave. Switching those allowed me to start the car with the pedal depressed while in gear, and let off the pedal to get going, but it was still hard to shift and sounded like a motor with a badly knocking rod, only not as loud, when the clutch pedal was depressed. (Don't ask me how I know the bad rod-knock/spun bearing sound.) I dropped the car off a Pep-Boys for a clutch job, since I really need it by Monday, having to work 12 days straight, with at least five of them being twelve hour days, and not having the time or tools to do it myself before Monday.

Bummer it happened this way. I was looking forward to getting a lighter flywheel and better clutch set when the current one started to slip.

[Walsted]

Update - just got the car back from the shop.

The mechanic said the pilot bearing was toast before he got to it, so I didn't get that back.

The throw-out bearing looked rusty, but serviceable.

The clutch disk was worn in unusual places, and the friction surface was almost new. The outer edges holding the springs in on the pressure plate side were worn to the point that the springs could (and probably did) slip out, and the rivets on the pressure plate side showed signs of wear as well. The springs on the pressure plate showed signs of abrasion at the same point. My guess is that I've been depressing the clutch pedal too far and holding it too long, resulting in the pressure plate springs contacting the clutch disk, and this is what caused the problem.

The only identifying marks on the old set are a stamp on the pressure plate that could either be 9C08 or 8C08 - the first digit looks like someone tried to stamp an eight, but the left lower portion of the number didn't take.

Hope this helps someone.

[Mr. Miatie]

So your saying that depressig the clutch pedal too far and or holding it there is a bad thing? I sit at lights and in traffic with my pedal on the floor. This is a 99 Jeep Wrangler Im talking about. Ive always wondered if it was bad practice, never had any ill effects, so far. I do the same in my Supra.

[Flyin96M]

So your saying that depressig the clutch pedal too far and or holding it there is a bad thing? I sit at lights and in traffic with my pedal on the floor. This is a 99 Jeep Wrangler Im talking about. Ive always wondered if it was bad practice, never had any ill effects, so far. I do the same in my Supra.

That is a good way to wear out your throw out bearing.

[Radio-Active]

That is a good way to wear out your throw out bearing.

+1

Definetly, throw the shifter in neutral and let off of the clutch.

[Walsted]

So your saying that depressig the clutch pedal too far and or holding it there is a bad thing?

I don't know if it is a bad thing in general, but it is the only thing I could think of that would cause the wear patterns on the clutch disk and pressure plate that were removed. There may be other, more accurate explanations for the wear patterns, but I couldn't think of any.

[Rogue]

I sure hope Pepboyz changed the rear main or you will be getting that flywheel in short order.

[Walsted]

I finally got around to taking a picture of the old set. Not pretty, even though there is a lot of friction material left.