Help!!! my clutch pedal is acting up! :(

[Ez-Bone]

I am having a VERY SERIOUS issue with my clutch pedal... well, I think it's serious anyway as I can't disengage it, thus I can't shift gears!

The car was perfectly fine this morning, I parked it then went to work and came back 4hrs later and started it up.
I went to press the clutch so I could get into gear and drive off but as soon as I touched it, the pedal rather -snapped- to the floor. This surprised me so I picked it back up with my foot and it -snapped- back into normal position. I tried my luck again and the same thing happened over again!

I then go to check my brake fluid and it was d@mn near empty!

Saying that, I'm almost sure there's a leak somewhere in the brake, clutch, or both the systems. But if it isn't a leak, what other things could have caused this to happen?

Thanks in advance for any advice/help everyone!

[jtango]

I recently had a similar problem. You will need to replace your clutch master cylinder, slave cylinder and the high pressure line in-between. Clark's garage has an excellent write up on it. Definitely get a universal joint adapter for your ratchet and maybe a few extra M8-1.25 nuts from autozone because the master is in a tight spot. Other than that the job is pretty easy.

Oh, if you can, get the motive bleeder too. You can do the job without, but the bleeder makes it way easier.

[thekidd]

Yeah sounds like one of the 3 broke(clutch master, slave, or hard line) The level of brake fluid was just below the hose, right? Yeah clarks has a good write up on it, and also, numerous people on here have done it, me included about 2 months ago. do a search on- clutch peddle to the floor, clutch pedal is stuck or wont come back up, how to change clutch master system, and so on. Many write ups. For your car, and early, you will have to jack the front of the car up, need to jack the ass end for later cars due to the hole in the brake fluid resovoir. If you have fluid near the pedals, then your mater went, if you have a puddle underneathg the car under the starter, then you slave went.
Clarks page- http://www.clarks-garage.com/ go to garage shoppe manuel, click C or go down to clutch and click on 1.) cluth slave and 2.)master replacement

[low944]

Your clutch does share the same reservoir with the brakes. The portion of the reservoir it uses is the very front part (closest to the front of the car). This little section is small and makes it a ***** to bleed just the clutch without keeping that reservoir full. Try bleeding the clutch slave cylinder and don't forget to keep that reservoir full! You may have to shake it a little to keep the fluid down there.

[Skytrooper]

I have had this happen where there was no puddle, anywhere.

However, when that happens to your clutch you should replace all 3 parts (master cylinder, slave cylinder, and high-pressure hose). It is not worth the extra effort of bleeding numerous times by replacing one component and then finding out that it didn't fix the problem. I tried being cheap once and will never make that mistake again

[Ez-Bone]

Thank you all so much! I had a feeling it was one of those three things. I had plans to buy those anyway but I guess it just made top of my list, eh. lol

But again, thank you all for the help! I will get on it as soon as possible and hopefully have her back to normal

[HondaDustR]

Yeah, I had it where the master wasn't leaking externally, but wouldn't produce pressure to save it's life. I managed to successfully rebuild it instead of replacing.

[flash968]

i keep hearing about people rebuilding master cylinders, and i can never understand why anyone would bother - i've done it, but it was always a time consuming and messy job, and have had a number of them fail - i finally got smart and stopped wasting the time of which i have a dwindling supply -

something to think about: with a master only costing about 50 bucks, how much time did you spend rebuilding it, and what did that make your time worth after factoring in the cost of the kit?

[Ez-Bone]

Originally Posted by flash968

i keep hearing about people rebuilding master cylinders, and i can never understand why anyone would bother - i've done it, but it was always a time consuming and messy job, and have had a number of them fail - i finally got smart and stopped wasting the time of which i have a dwindling supply -

something to think about: with a master only costing about 50 bucks, how much time did you spend rebuilding it, and what did that make your time worth after factoring in the cost of the kit?

What master cylinder of any for the 944s do you know that costs $50? cause on average I've seen 80-110 for clutch master and 160-212 for brake master

[HondaDustR]

Originally Posted by flash968

i keep hearing about people rebuilding master cylinders, and i can never understand why anyone would bother - i've done it, but it was always a time consuming and messy job, and have had a number of them fail - i finally got smart and stopped wasting the time of which i have a dwindling supply -

something to think about: with a master only costing about 50 bucks, how much time did you spend rebuilding it, and what did that make your time worth after factoring in the cost of the kit?

+1 for Ez-Bone.
The cheapest I've ever seen them was $80 plus shipping. Any job that has anything to do with the hydraulic system is messy, anyway, rebuilding or not. Mine was in pretty good shape except for hardened worn seals. I just steel wooled the bore really good and it has been perfect for 2 years and 30,000 miles worth of daily driving. I need my car as a daily driver and was able to get the seals for $20 at a local NAPA in only a day for no extra charge. Besides, $60+ is a pretty big difference when you're in school with only a part time job. I prefer to cut my corners with PITA factor instead of increased cost.
Rebuilding works, but only if the bore is in good shape and sufficiently cleaned up.

[mikeran]

I will second getting the Motive bleeder, I just went through this same issue. We replaced the Master, slave and the soft line.
After reading all comments on here, Clarks Garage, and in Excellence Magazine. I ordered the Motive Bleeder, 20 minutes after we took it out of the box we were done bleeding it and driving the car again. Wow what a huge difference a new master and Slave make to the feel of the clutch.

[flash968]

i paid 50 for my slave and i think it was under 70 for the master for the 968 - i just did some poking around though, and they have gone up significantly in the 3 years since i did mine - it's odd, because nobody else who has done the same job recently (and there are LOT of them) has commented on the price change

my bad

still, no way i want to do that job twice - that's the same reason that it is insane to skip changing the hose in between the two - it's at least a 50/50 chance of blowing once you get pressure back from the new seals - i HATE hydraulic fluid - any chance i can to avoid working with it, i take - i get the idea of tight budgets, and i was a broke college kid once too (which begs the question as to the logic of this car at that time, but that's a whole different oprah)

anyway you look at it - ugh!

[toolboy62]

I just had my stuff replaced, and I specifically asked the guy to give me the old parts... why? 'cause I'm cheap. I'll rebuild 'em and then if a local guy needs 'em I'll have them on the shelf, or I'll have them ready to go if I ever need them again. Also had an alternator rebuilt by a local shop (that wasn't cheap) which should ensure that I'll never need it. Also had them do a starter for me, but I needed that one. Don't have a spare starter as my car had acquired a Turbo starter at some point along the line. If someone needs a Turbo starter that's a little draggy I'd be happy to trade it for a core NA starter though.

nate

[Born2bwild1191]

I had the exact same problem about 2 weeks ago. As everyone else is saying, i replaced all the master cylinders. It was a fairly simple job and I wish you luck. Hope that solves your problem.

[trailpimp33]

I was recently told by a shop that my clutch pedal issue is caused by the clutch itself. My pedal will drop about 2 inches and then engage and work. I was told that the clutch itself is past its lifespan and that is the cause for the pedal not operating properly?
Any thoughts on this?? I don't have any fluid leaking on the floor or in the car, the resi is full, and the only issue is the pedal will NOT return all the way, it stops about 2 inches lower than the brake pedal.
Please offer any advice.

[low944]

Originally Posted by trailpimp33

I was recently told by a shop that my clutch pedal issue is caused by the clutch itself. My pedal will drop about 2 inches and then engage and work. I was told that the clutch itself is past its lifespan and that is the cause for the pedal not operating properly?
Any thoughts on this?? I don't have any fluid leaking on the floor or in the car, the resi is full, and the only issue is the pedal will NOT return all the way, it stops about 2 inches lower than the brake pedal.
Please offer any advice.

I had the same issue with mine after replacing my clutch and slave cylinder. It was not bled enough. Its very tricky to bleed it because of the tiny section of the reservoir for the clutch. Did you take it to a porsche shop?

[ballysdad]

you can measure the clutch disk wear through the inspection hole on the housing. www.clarks-garage.com has photos and a write up with specs in their shop manual. Hope this helps

[Gary2397]

Trialpimp33, I think there is adjustment thread on the master clutch cylinder that
attached to the clutch pedal.
From the inside of the car, push the dust protection back on the master clutch
cylinder and see if it has minor leak.

[flash968]

take a look at the high pressure hose - look for a large swelling - these hoses are only rated for 8 years - they are incredibly prone to failure, especially after changing the other components