clutch pedal

[mikeran]

My son drove his car fine yesterday, went out this morning and now the clutch pedal snaps down and stays, you can reach down, pull and it will snap back to the top and stay there as well. Does this mean his clutch master cylinder is shot?

[looneybin]

yep, or the slave cylinder, or the line between them blew.
It snaps down because of the spring assist, otherwise one leg would look like popeye's
Check for fluid on the inside of the fire wall, under the carpet.
if fluid is there, then it's the master cylinder.
If fluid is under the car, it's the slave cylinder.
There has been much debate about replacing all the components at the same time, but i'll let you make that decision

[mikeran]

No fluids anywhere that we can find, and yes I was already thinking it's best to do both at the same time, based on other posts on here.

Thanks

[Pops944]

Sounds a lot like what happened to me. I replaced the master and slave units in hopes but still didn't fix the problem. Had a shop check it and the bearings in the clutch for the actuating arm that the slave cyclinder moves had rusted to failure (missing inspection plug to seal out water) and the arm actually broke free. I hope this isn't your case, cause it's a PITA to do the clutch.

[flash968]

it stills stuns me to see how many people have not been reading about this and doing something about it as a preemptive measure

if the rubber components in your clutch hydraulics are still original, get to a shop NOW and replace them ALL - they are at least 8 years overdue, and you have been VERY lucky to have gotten this far

p.s. - rebuilding old cylinders is NOT a good idea - the success rate is less than stellar, and usually fails due to the inability to adequately prepare the surfaces the seals sit in