clutch problem

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Jan 30, 2012 | 12:12 AM

camario

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clutch problem

i was driving my 1989 vette 6 spd today. all of a sudden my clutch went. the clutch pedal has no pressure but goes up and down just doesnt engage. what can this be?

Jan 30, 2012 | 12:23 AM

STL94LT1

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From: O'Fallon Missouri

Have you checked the clutch fluid?

Jan 30, 2012 | 12:30 AM

camario

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havn't checked yet as it was right b4 i came to work but will check in the morning.it was dark and had no flshlight when i parked at a friends house.

Jan 30, 2012 | 01:27 AM

racebum

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From: oregon

slave cylinder is a common failure on the 89-91 car. if you find out yours went upgrade to the later lt1 style. they are stronger and generally more reliable.

when you loose all pressure

check fluid, if good
check master to make sure pressure is going to the slave and the slave is moving, if slave moves and you can see the fork moving then all that's left is pulling the transmission to see what failed

most the time it's a master or slave that dies

especially at that age if it's oem

i have some pretty brutal pics of a zf6 clutch i killed. came apart in pieces, destroyed the slave and chunks of clutch fell when i pulled the trans.

thankfully the clutch system is easy to troubleshoot

Last edited by racebum; Jan 30, 2012 at 01:29 AM.

Jan 30, 2012 | 01:30 AM

camario

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awesome will check that in the morning.

Jan 31, 2012 | 10:42 AM

Psychored

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From: Bowling Green Kentucky

My new SPEC clutch now acts fine when I first start up and go, but after driving for awhile I have to basically push it through the floorboard to get it to work. Is that a fluid issue as well?

Jan 31, 2012 | 10:35 PM

Movnviolation

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From: Hesperia California

Happened on my 89 once. Check to see if the push rod came out of your clutch pedal under the dash. only held in by C retainer clip. Pain in the *** to get to.

Feb 1, 2012 | 12:54 AM

racebum

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From: oregon

Quote:

Originally Posted by Psychored

My new SPEC clutch now acts fine when I first start up and go, but after driving for awhile I have to basically push it through the floorboard to get it to work. Is that a fluid issue as well?

my best guess......and this is just a guess without troubleshooting

usually a failing master or slave. fluid is more dense when cold. as it warms up it's easier to push past the seals

basically lack of hyd pressure .

one way you can test it is with warm fluid, pull the slave and have it braced. push on the clutch pedal and it should be hard as a rock. if you can move the pedal down and hold the slave in place you have your failure. somewhat hard to do this on the c4 due to the placement and design of the slave.

with the age these cars are it's very common for them to be failing now.