Is it my Clutch!!??

[firefighter7128]

so my 88 today gave me some grief coming home from a 2 mile trip.
now i had my oil changed last week and they said it felt like their was air in the slave. he couldnt "drain" it becouse they thought the valve would break off if they tried. so i have a new slave on the way.

today i was driving home from a short distance. i had trouble going into 2nd so i tried 3rd and ended up going into 4th. 1st seemed fine. i came to a stop sign and was trying to down shift as i came to a stop. couldnt get into 3rd or 2nd.

what is up? please dont say clutch.

[bleu951]

Sounds hydraulic to me. Get the slave replaced and bleed the system. If that does not solve the problem, I will not say it.

It has been my experience that a new slave or master will cause the other one to fail in a short period of time. So I always replace them both. The clutch is a PITA!!! to bleed, and you do not want to do it very often.

[firefighter7128]

is the slave tough to put in? what about bleeding. i had a shop tell me they can install my slave for $75, but if its as easy as installing .... a wheel bearing, i would prefer to do it myself.

[Eldorado]

it's that easy.... i've done very few jobs on my car, and the slave was one of them...

but... the last time i changed it (i've had to change it twice), i paid a garage an hours labour to do it.. it's easy to do, but can potentially get messy.. and i didn't wanna go through the trouble a second time.

[firefighter7128]

here is an update if it helps anyone help me decide the issue. some cow in the left lane dint see me and darted into my lane. i had to stop it down to avoid getting hit. i locked up the breaks and skid about 10 ft. i was 1 block to my destination. didnt feel anything. when i was 1 mile back on the road, it all started. i cant get it in or out of gear at times. no slipping at all.

[earlr85944]

sounds hydraulic to me too

[firefighter7128]

ok. so... do you all think it could be the slave? something i just noticed. after the car has sit for a an hour or so i got in it to get it home. shifted fine until i got to a stop sign. once i got on the way a few hundred feet, i started having issues going in and out of gear. car is now home backed into garage ready to jack up. the slave should be here pretty soon. hopefully today.

[marky522]

You have air in the system, I would HIGHLY reccomend having the master replaced at the same time. They go back to back... If it was your clutch the car would still shift fine, but would rev up with your foot off the clutch.

Mark

[firefighter7128]

im under my car. see my slave. removed a rubber cap that covered a small nipple. now what?how do you bleed?

[Taz's Master]

You need to check out www.clarks-garage.com. Click on the garage shop manual, then scroll down to the clutch slave cylinder. Step-by-step instructions.

[firefighter7128]

i did. it didnt tell me much. we got it figured out

[Keithr726]

Replace the clutch slave and master at the same time, don't forget the line between as they tend to fail. Not too difficult of a job but small hands help. Also look and see if there is fluid behind the pedal on the firewall.

[aben8057]

I agree "replace all three" slave/master/hose or else you may be going through this again.

I had a similiar issue whereas, the car would not go into gear when started. If the car was off, i was bale to cycle through all the gears however, when it was on NADA.
One thing I did noticed when the car was in gear and with the clutch pedal down...the car would want to creep and move.
I ended changing all three hydraulic units and bled the system with my Motive pressure system. The car worked fine for about two weeks, then back to the same symptom. I bled the system using numerous techniques and NADA. Removed the slave and found a piece of spring from the clutch. Now I installed a cup clutch and it works like butter.

Good Luck

[Eldorado]

get a friend.
get under the car with something to catch the fluid.
use a small wrench (4mm or 6mm comes to mind, but i cant remember off hand).
get your buddy to sit in the drivers seat.
open the bleed valve.
have your friend start to press your pedal - you will see fluid start to pour out.
close the valve *before* your friend gets the pedal to the floor....
lift the pedal back up.
repeat... (open valve, press pedal, close valve, lift pedal)

do this until you see no more air in the system..

oh... also, it helps to have yet another buddy looking at the reservoir and topping it up with brake fluid as needed.

[firefighter7128]

ok, um how many times is normal? we are at about 30 pumps and it still feels like its just on a hinge. i dont seel to be building pressure

[Eldorado]

then it's time to get new hydraulics. master, slave, and the line in between.

you *are* closing the valve before you get to the floor... pulling the pedal back up... and opening the valve when it's at the top again aren't you?

basically, you want to open and close the valve as the pedal is in motion.
you need to close it / open it on every pull up / press down.

[bleu951]

With the master cylinder full, remove the slave and completely depress the rod into the slave. Reinstall and start bleeding again. The Motive Bleeder makes this much easier.

[Eldorado]

I've bled my clutch 3 times in the 3 years that i've owned it - and i dont understand what is so difficult about it...
people say the motive bleeder makes the job easier.. i suppose it might... but for something so easy to begin with, i dont get it :P