Hi guys.
Here is the issue. I put the car in the shop about 10 days ago and ask them to change my oil and check all fluids. The only thing they came back with, was "you may want to flush your brake fluid but it is still fine". OK, I said and off I went.
Today I come to work and my clutch pedal gets stuck all the way down with the car in first gear. It did not want to come out of first, but I got it out of gear. I depressed the clutch again and it was still still stuck. I pulled it with my foot and parked the car.
I WORK AT A CHEVY DEALERSHIP!
So I go in to my "certified Corvette Mechanic" and ask him what may be causing this. He goes "it can be anything from low fluid, to the pressure plate on clutch going bad". So I check the clutch reservoir and to my horror it is almost empty, the fluid is black and it has gunked up on the walls of the reservoir. I scraped some of hte black slime with my finger and march straight to the mechanic who "checked" my fluids. WTF, I ask and receive "Ohhh, I did not check that, only main fluids". My point - I don't trust my own shop.
So I have two questions:
- What fluid do I use to fill it up?
- what would be the proper way to klean the gunked up dirty fluid out of there? My shop is telling me it can not be flushed, but like I said, I have an issue with believing them.
Any help would be of great help.
Thank you.

 

The hydraulic clutch system uses brake fluid. Fill it up and either do a proper bleed procedure (difficult without a remote bleeder hose installed) or do The Ranger Method.

http://www.rangeracceleration.com/Clutch_Care.html

 

Thank you guys. I was thinking the same thing, but just wanted to double check on here.
This place is priceless.

 

OK guys. I bought a bottle of fluid and did the Ranger method. My clutch got a lot better but it is still not perfect. how many times do I need to do this? And should I expect improvements the more times I do it?
Dare I ask, what is the worst case scenario?

 

Also if the master cylinder is leaking, where does that fluid go? Because I don't see any leaks anywhere.
This thing is freaking me out, because last night it ran like a dream and this morning just started doing it right away. No worning signs or anything. Is this normal?

 

If you are losing fluids it is the master cylinder, slave cylinder, or a leak in the lines between the two. Check the fluid level and see if it is going down between the times you Ranger your clutch cylinder. If you are, you need to determine where the leak is. If not the master cylinder then it is probably the slave cylinder, which requires a clutch pull, I believe.
If you are not losing fluid, keep doing the Ranger method until the fluid stays pretty clean. I did my Z06 about 5 times, with a few days in between each time. Now it stays quite clean for a fairly long time.

 

It does not lose fluid. When I pump the clutch it gets stuck the first two or three times and then it returns. But if I stop for ten second and start again, it sticks again. I am at bottle and a half of brake fluid and every time it comes back really brown. I mean not just muddy, but really brown. Am I doing something wrong?

 

Also, does it matter if I do it with the cap open or closed?

 

Ok thank you. I'll keep on doing it. I am using prestone dot3.
Is it possible it sucks "fresh dirt" from somewhere?

 

The real solution to fix this is to bleed the slave cylinder. You can fab up a way to pull a vacuum on the master cylinder reservoir to pull any trapped air out of the upper part of the system.

I replaced my complete clutch hydraulic system. I took the slave and master cylinder apart and was shocked at the clutch dust crud that was stuck inside both components.

You can separate the slave cylinder line from the master line at the coupler and depress the check valve inside the master cylinder connector and force out the air and crud.



BC

 

This I thing is a little too advanced for me To be honest.
I see that a new master cylinder, with the reservoir and lines can be bought for about $250. Does anyone know how many hours a dealer would charge to replace it?

 

OK, after about 5 hours waisted with my clutch woes, I'm giving up.
I went through three large bottles of brake fluid and I feel like one of my legs got bigger than the other. All to have no results to show with my pedal's behavior.
So I am thinking to just get a new master cylinder/reservoir/hoses. The "improved" late model C5 Z06 set is $200.
can anyone tell me how many hours labor the swap should take?

 

OK, so I took my car to a Vette shop to be looked at. they said that probably the system had to be flushed and purged. However, it turned out that my clutch master cylinder is leaking. So I am having it replaced.
Should I get a new GM OEM or go aftermarket?
I understand some of the benefits of the aftermarket units, but considering that my car is driven only on the street, as aggressively as that may be sometimes, does it make sense to pay $400 for an aftermarket one, when I can get the original part for $120?

 

OEM will do you fine! Make SURE that they flush and bleed the system and TRUST ME; That will not be simple.

You have to drop the exhaust and the tunnel plate so,,, If they don't do that, your NOT getting the proper service.

If it were me, I would purchase a remote bleeder hose and have them install it.

Bill

 

Thank you for the pointers. I think they are doing it the right way, because they already discussed the manifolds. They warned me that two of the bolts look pretty rusty and were saying that it would be a little extra if the bolts brake.
In case the bolts of the manifold do brake (lets hope the don't) could you give an estimate at the cost I should be expecting?
Thanks in advance.
Michael