Zeek

Driving in stop and go traffic and all of a sudden the clutch just goes to the floor.... Managed to get it in third gear and limp off the hwy. Thank goodness for triple A...got a flat bed to tow me home. Checked the clutch reservoir and its empty. At lease I got the Vette back in my garage and will have to check tomorrow what the hell went wrong. Clutch was working fine up till then.....

DDaaryl

I hate when that happens

64Corvette

Check the clutch fluid to see if it is dirty if it is changing it out may correct the clutch going to the floor. Here is a ling to changing the clutch fluid.

WICKEDFRC

Fill the clutch fluid reservoir and pump your clutch a few times. Hopefully it will remain stiff as it was.

Wait a minute or so and chexk your fluid level again.

If it is low again, check underneath your car for fresh fluid leaking.

If so, you may require a new Slave Cylinder.

A pain in the *** task for a $100 part.

If this is the case, suggest a "remote bleeder" installed at the same time.

Is it worth it to "upgrade" the slaver cylinder? Not unless you do the work yourself. If you have a dealership do it, use THEIR PART. If it fails under warranty, the labor is on them, not you.

Vetteman Jack

Moved to C5 Tech.

JHrinsin

Same thing happened to me last Oct on my way to work. Luckily it was just a few miles from the house and I was able to limp her back home. Filled the reservoir up with fluid, pumped the pedal a few time and had a puddle on the driveway. I was pissed off so I push her into the garage and put her into winter storage early. I bought a QuickJack back in February to help with working on her, but here we are at Memorial day weekend and I have yet to get her up in the air to even try to locate the leak. I sure hope its the master cylinder since that is the easiest to fix, especially everything was new 12K miles ago when the clutch was replaced. Now the wife has decided that we need to do some house remolding and I need half the garage as a material staging area and no place to take the Corvette apart if I need to drop the torque tube . Not sure the Corvette will even get back on the road this driving season.

helga203

If the leak is the M/S it will be under the driver side behind front tire. If it's the slave it will be in the middle of the car right behind the engine

JHrinsin

Right - that's probable why I fully dread getting her up in the air. Just trying to poke my head under there, I see drips off the bellhousing. It could be from the remote bleeder leaking as well, but as far as the labor/time/effort to do that repair its not much better than replacing the slave cylinder.

Zeek

Knowing my luck, it will be the slave..... With out looking, I assume this is not a simple repair right?......

Bill Curlee

There are three basic areas that our clutch hydraulic systems fail... The Slave, the Master cylinder AND the line that connects the master to the slave, There is a short metal pipe piece in that line and it is covered in a rubber foam insulation. The insulation holds moisture and causes that metal line to rust and eventually perforate and leak.
If you have a leak,,, Before you get TOO FAR into complete drive train and clutch removal, check that metal line for leakage. Its part of the master cylinder hose and quick disconnect fitting.

Depending on how many miles you have on the car, if you have to change the slave cylinder, you should go ahead and change the clutch. If you decide to just do the slave, IF you just decide to change the slave,, I strongly recommend that you also change the pilot bearing also. They usually don't survive after the TT gets pulled out. That means the entire drive train gets pulled AGAIN!

helga203

If its the slave. everything from the engine back must come out. First time doing it, plane on the whole weekend and then some to do it.
Check out YouTube

Zeek

UPDATE: Ok...now Im really confused......I spoke too soon when I said the master cylinder was dry. I had looked at it when I first broke down and didnt realize there was a rubber bladder under the cap so I mistakenly assumed it was dry. I just removed the cap and rubber bladder and there is the correct amount of fluid in the master cylinder. It looks dirty, but it is full.

So what now? Will replacing the fluid with clean fluid actually cure the problem? That sounds WAY too easy....

Zeek

Now it gets crazier.....I just went out to the garage and just for the hell of it, I pulled the clutch pedal up. It didnt take much force to pull it up and once I did, now everything is working normal! WTF????? I bought this Vette about a month ago and it had a recent clutch replacement (have the paperwork to prove it was done) have not had any problems what so ever until now. There is no fluids under the car and the clutch seems to be working fine. I just pulled out of the garage and turned the car around for ease of access and it shifted fine. What would cause the clutch pedal to get stuck to the floor and why is it working fine now? Would a bad throw out bearing have anything to do with this?

STRMLNE

Even if the clutch fluid was empty, that won’t cause pedal failure. Your problem is most likely a failing master or slave.

Zeek

Would the throw out bearing have anything to do with this?

helga203

No, C5's are known to do this. When mine did this i had to change the clutch and problem was resolved. But other people had different fixes then i did, but i'm not familiar with them.
I believe if the TOB was bad the clutch would not disengage.

Zeek

My clutch has been recently replaced, so I guess I will just have to continue on my search for the problem...

STRMLNE

Throw out bearing and slave should have been replaced with the new clutch.

Zeek

Well I did some You Tube searching and pretty much found the problem. Evidently its a common problem with the C5. Some have added an additional return spring that is made by Lingenfelter. But the most common problem seems to be with the clutch master cylinder and a replacement is made by Tick Performance. Not an easy job and at 300 bucks not a real cheap one either. Still better than having to replace the slave cylinder or clutch!... I think using a high temp fluid may help also. I was stuck in stop and go traffic in 95 degree temps so that may have added to the problem.

STRMLNE

Like bill said, a number of things can cause the issue. I’d diagnose the problem first before you get out the parts canon.