My 94 was leaking clutch fluid and I would have to fill every few drives. I parked it for the winter (not been drive for 6 to 8 weeks) and went to start it today to back it out and let if run for a while in the drive. Popped the hood, filled the fluid, got in and clutch hit the floor. Pushed it in and out for a while hoping to get some fluid down in it. I tried to put it in gear and it won't go. Fluid does not seem to be getting to clutch and i can't get it in gear to get it out of garage. How bad is this? I don't want to force it. Is there a way i can help it get into gear and get some fluid down there so i can get it somewhere to finally get it looked at? Have i messed up big by babying it around adding fluid all the time and then letting it sit this long without driving?

 

Sounds like the slave cylinder is bad. You may be able to bleed it and get it home, or to the garage. But it is time to replace it.

Mike

 

If enough fluid leaked out of the slave and air entered the cylinder bore of the master, by filling the clutch master you will probably not get it to work. It will not push the fluid down. You will need to do a normal bleed or a back bleed which will force air out of system and fluid into the master.

Then when you get the chance change the slave and bleed the system.

 

Good luck finding a Good GM slave. Look at www.zfdoc.com I am on my second New slave in the last 10 months. GM needs to fix this .

 

Been there done that, a few times.

You can get it bled by filling the master and very lightly and slowly press in the clutch pedal, just enough to see bubbles float up. Do this for a few minutes until the bubbles stop and you will have a solid pedal. Make sure of course to keep the master cylinder topped up or more air will get in. Then you should have time to drive it to the nearest shop.....bring some brake fluid with you just in case you lose pressure again.

PM me if you want more details.....I had plenty of slave cylinder headaches a couple of years ago and learned just about every trick possible.

 

That little "trick" got me home a few years ago.

 

Also check the hose between the master and slave cylinder for any signs of leaks. The hoses do go bad and replacements can be hard to find. But a shop that specializes in brake work or hydraulic hoses can make up a line for you if a new hose is needed. Just take the old one with you.

 

Thanks for all the replies! Sorry for the delayed response. Filling the master and having a friend watch while i pumped the clutch slowly worked. It took a little while, but eventually the clutch came back and all the air bubbles left the line. I will be fixing this on my own hopefully when the weather warms up.

Found this article at corvette fever, and will be using it to help.

 

Glad it worked out. The article is interesting, but once you get in there swapping the master and/or slave are very easy......tight for the hands.....but easy.

Are you doing both?

 

I will probably just do both. Is changing both the best to handle it that way this issue? I read somewhere if you are taking the time to go ahead and do both at once and possibly the lines. Sounds like it might just be the slave from what I have been reading and an old friend (car guy) said after I told him about it. Another question I have with the slaves being manufactured wrong is, should I be replacing both master and slave at the same times?

 

It sure doesn't hurt to change both while you are at it. You'll notice once under the car where the leak is coming from, if one part is still good just put it on the shelf just in case.

I have one spare of each.

 

Before you do the swap, check out this site, http://www.zfdoc.com

Lots of good info on our clutch hydrulic systems, how they work, and the best parts to use on them.

BTW, that article got me thur the first time I had to change mine, very helpful.

Good luck

 

Does it matter where you buy the master and slave? Are they still defective?

 

If you get Lucky and find a older slave in stock before the QC problems.
I am on my second New AC Delco slave. The local Corvette shop has replaced it Free. Said if he opened it up to see if the seal was OK it would Void the warranty. He did the engine and ZF last year and I made a copy of ZFDOC article about OEM slave and master cylinders. So he replaced the slave then. About every 8000 miles or 13 months of everyday driving to work another GM POS has to be replaced.

 

It sounds like yiou have a line problem. I cleaned up the leaks, then refilled to see where it was coming from. A $50 part and back in business. THe ZFdoc was a big help in parts and information!!!!

 

I bought a new slave an master, and we put them in yesterday. My clutch does not want to fully go to the floor. It goes in about 3/4 of the way. So i can't start the car now, because the clutch wont fully engage. It hits a rock hard wall at 3/4 of the way in. We got back under it and blead the line with it bolted to the car. The clutch went fully down slowly as it blead and then we tightened the bleader again. Once we went back to push in the clutch after the bleader was tightened same thing, 3/4 of the way the clutch hits a wall and won't go all the way in. So, we took the slave off and rotated it to get the bleader to a top point. We then blead the line again and heard some air come out. Same thing with the clutch during bleading the line. It went fully down as the line let out air and fluid. We pressed the clutch twice this time and then tightened the bleader and attached the slave back to the car. I got back in it and started the car and the same thing happened again. The clutch went 3/4 of the way down and hit a wall after it was started. So im back to the point of the clutch not going fully in. I cant get it it gear or even started it once i push the clutch to the ground on the initial pressing. Any ideas? Are we not bleeding it correctly or enough?

 

When you replaced the master, did you remember to reinstall the spacer that goes between the master and the firewall? If not, that is your problem.

Randy

 

The spacer is in there. It stayed on the wall when we took off the old master. So we just put the new master back on it. It looked a little rough but not to bad.

 

Call Bill at www.zfdoc.com on Monday. Also if you have not looked at the post he has about QC problem from GM on the clutch slaves.

 

I did not call Bill. Maybe that was a big mistake.

I just decided to have the car towed to the shop about 2 weeks ago. They said the issue was the pin in the slave cylinder under the car was not put in correctly the last time we installed that part in the garage at home. The car was up on ramps on the front wheels and the vette was on our chests. Made it pretty hard to work underneath the car. So, the pin was basically somehow point upward and not in the hole it should have been??? Not sure because it was hard to see. So they put it in right and blead the line. Then the car would not start. I actually started it fine when it was at home in the garage on the ramps in my garage at one point when the line was blead before air got back into the sytsem. After talking with others here and reading a bunch though it was vatts and tried everything. The shop even bypassed the clutch switch supposably and it would not turn over. This issue was discussed http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show....php?t=1966911.

Well I got it back after 3 days in the shop. I was told it was the clutch switch that was not working right. They stated something about finding one and the wires where the wrong colors and it was working fine?? Then they dug deeper under the console and found another switch or the correct one and fixed it.

Now that master and slave are fixed by the shop, I have to push my #ss off on the clutch to get the car to turn over and it’s getting harder to get into gear. I think there is something wrong with something in the master or slave still, and the clutch switch thing is not true or not the root issue or why the car would not turn over. It’s getting harder and harder by the day to get the car in and out of gears and I don’t think the clutch is being able to get pushed in enough to set the clutch switches. I basically have to push an indention in the floor board carpet with the pedal to turn the car over. It's ridiculous how much I have to force it to turn the car over to start up.

Questions?
Does the spacer need to be installed in-between the firewall and the master cylinder up top?
Does anyone know of a good shop specializing in vette repair in Kansas City area?