Clutch Help!!!!

[nickiipoohz]

hey guys.. i was driving today and sudddenly i couldnt get into gear. luckily i was near my gf's house and was able to let the car roll towards her house. Now i cant even put it in gear. i thought "maybe" i'll try bleeding the clutch. but now my clutch wont even pump properly. i filled up both the master and slave cylinder.

to bleed the clutch i released the screw thingy (where the brake fluid comes out) and pumped the clutch pedal. everytime i pump it a whole heap of fluid comes flying out. so i tightened the screw thingy and started pumping the pedal. u can see it move the pump (located near the screw) but very little. i kept pumping it but the clutch only gets a little firmer but not much. can u guys help me? sorry about the technical terms. thanks

[h22a accord]

sounds like you are bleeding the clutch incorrectly and letting air back up into the system.

you mentioned in another post that you had trouble getting the car in reverse- i had this problem a couple of times with my 5th gen accord just after i bought it- it would go into reverse but i couldnt get it out of reverse...i had replaced the clutch and it fixed it. $900.

[nickiipoohz]

r u sure i posted about the reverse thing?? n e waiiz.. can some1 give me a detailed description of how to bleed the clutch? btw its only got 7-8k on it. thanks

[h22a accord]

i beld the clutch on my car succesfully but i fotgot how i did it. i think i used a bleeder thing with an air compressor.

ahh, it must have been the other guy that just did his h22a conversion that is having clutch probs aswell.

[Eclipsor]

Bleeding the clutch is very similar to the brakes. There is a diy for them in that section of the forums. The same principal applies. Try not to let air back into the system. Undo the bleed nipple like you did. Attach a bleed hose. You can get these from repco etc. They have a valve to try and not let air back in. Push the clutch in and out while keeping an eye on the clutch fluid reseviour to make sure that it dosn't run dry by adding new fluid to it. Keep going until no more bubbles are coming out at the bleed end.

You might want to have a look for the reason why you ran out of fluid if that is the case. Might be a leaking clutch master or slave cylinder.

[nickiipoohz]

thanks man.. just want the car on road again lol. so i can bring it to the mechanics. so i'll try it out and update soon

[pornstar]

nick, ur mistaken about a few things. Tell kenny to give me a call, and ill give u a hand getting ur car running

[nickiipoohz]

thanks guys... couldnt do it so got it towed to the mechanics.. had to change the master cylinder and clutch pedal blah blah blah.. dont know why but they did it and it works fine..

[hotgemini]

Okay... For those who aren't au fait with the technical side, I highly recommend developing a good relationship with a local mechanic, also try to get good at recognising the difference between an idiot pretending to know a lot and someone who actually does know what they're talking about, if you can manage that you're one step ahead of the next guy.

Now, onto clutches.. If I was a betting man my guess would be that the clutch master cylinder died going on nickii's posts, they usually aren't too hard to change, two bolts under the dash or on the firewall, the hard line and some sort of clevis pin or clip through the pedal. Depending on the cost of a replacement, the usual practice is to stainless sleeve the old one or exchange it for another 2nd hand one which has been sleeved. In my experience at least, slave cylinders are more prone to failure than master cylinders (slave is at the clutch, master is at the pedal) but often the two will wear out at a similar rate so don't be surprised to be replacing the other one in the next year.

Bleeding can be done with one person (easier using a one person bleeding device) but I prefer it as a two person job. Get a clean glass jar and put 2cm of brake fluid into the bottom, get some clear plastic (nylex type) tubing of the appropriate size to fit the bleed screw, top up the reservoir. Get your helper inside the car, fit the appropriate ring spanner onto the bleed screw, fit the hose snugly over the bleeder and place the other end into the fluid in the jar. Call 'down' the your helper just as you crack the bleed screw and they slowly depress the pedal, when they reach the bottom of the stroke they call 'down' and you close the bleed screw and yell 'up' and they let the pedal return up. Repeat process until you get fresh fluid and no bubbles, keep an eye on the reservoir.

[hotgemini]

On a further note, if you're well and truly stranded it is quite possible and in fact not even that dificult to drive a car without a clutch. To get moving, just start the car in gear, it will have a dificult time cranking and will usually kangaroo hop when it fires but its better than being stranded halfway between towns on the newell highway for instance. If you're able to match revs reasonably well you should be able to work your way up and down the gears without too much dificulty but keep in mind you'll be doing some fairly horrible things to your synchros each time you mess it up.

[_Daniel]

hmm I've always wondered, if u had to stop at the lights how do u put it back into first using the above method? the only way I could think of was the stall it and start it up in first again.
Is it possible to rev match at standstill for first gear?

[hotgemini]

Daniel: No need to stall it, just turn the car off with the key, the put it in first and kangaroo hop your way off the line when the lights turn green.