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It's nice to meet everyone. I'm having issue with my 2005 vette c6 z51 and I was hopping to get some helpful inputs. My vette has around 50k miles and the clutch pedal is on the floor.
The car drove perfectly all day (I did burnt the clutch because of noob shifting from 1st to 2nd....). Pumped gas drove the car home and everything felt normal. Clutch pedal pressure and everything felt the same.
Story:
Few hours later. I was cleaning the inside of the car. I had decided to start the car and play with the shifter. It went into all gears perfectly. I placed it on neutral and start popping the clutch while parked. I wanted to see if there's any differences after I burnt the clutch earlier... As expected, the clutch pedal pop back to normal position real fast. I popped the clutch 3-4 times and the 5th time it got stuck! I pulled it back up with my foot and pressed it and nothing....
I opened the master cylinder cap and fluid is empty... i had checked everywhere for leakage and there's none. All hose and tubes appears to be perfect.
Attempts to fix:
1.) I filled the cylinder with dot 3/4. and started pumping the pedal. The fluid went down from full to 1/2 full. filled it to full again - pedal still down.
2.) I tried pumping the clutch and releasing the slave cylinder bleeder valve. I repeated these 2 steps about 10 times. The fluid level remain the same. Pedal still to the ground.
Future Plans:
1.) I'm building a pressure bleed from a DIY I found on google. and try bleed the system again.
2.) replacing the clutch on my own - if i don't want headaches, i'll just go with step 3 LOL
3.) Take it to the mechanic and have the clutch replaced and hopefully they can just fix this issue for me.
Hi there, sounds like your slave took a vacation on you, or as you pumped it with no fluid in the reservoir, it sucked some air in. bleeding the clutch properly will require you to get to the slave. It's not exactly in the nicest place. in order to have good access, the tunnel brace needs to come out and I like to drop the engine cradle down onto the bolts. and even then room is very limited.
As you can see. I have a remote bleeder installed. So from now on i can bleed/flush my fluid from under the hood. where that braided line starts, assuming you don't have a remote bleeder, you'll need to get there and bleed the slave like you would a caliper. pump a few times, hold the pedal, open bleeder, allow pedal to reach the floor never letting go, close the bleeder, and repeat.
You'll need to start there, and make sure it's just not air in the line. if it's turns out to be a defective slave cylinder, here is a link to a clutch/slave job that I posted. Step by step with photos of mine
Thank you for taking the time to help! i will pull the master cylinder tomorrow and look for defects. I will check back it once i do Have a good evening!
I checked for pressure after discconecting the slave cylinder line and there weren't any pressure so i removed the master cylinder as instructed in the link you had provided. I did this during lunch and now back at work. Please see video below- is this sign of a good or bad master cylinder? I covered the 2 openings and pressed on the rod and it bounces back.
I checked for pressure after discconecting the slave cylinder line and there weren't any pressure so i removed the master cylinder as instructed in the link you had provided. I did this during lunch and now back at work. Please see video below- is this sign of a good or bad master cylinder? I covered the 2 openings and pressed on the rod and it bounces back.
Thank you! with your help and the help of ttz350z, i was able to regain pressure on my clutch! Well 80% of it haha. I had bled the clutch through the slave bleeder valve like 20 times. pumped it 40-50 times, hold and release the slave bleeder valve.
Now there's a 1" play. It only goes up about 80-85% of the way
I checked for pressure after discconecting the slave cylinder line and there weren't any pressure so i removed the master cylinder as instructed in the link you had provided. I did this during lunch and now back at work. Please see video below- is this sign of a good or bad master cylinder? I covered the 2 openings and pressed on the rod and it bounces back.
As for why the plunger end cap plastic piece get pulled off to begin with, dirty fluid in the lines, and the fluid has a hell of a time making it back from the the slave cylinder through the line restricitions to the master when the pedal assist spring kicks in the last of the way as the pedal sprung back up.
So to solve the dirty fluid problem to begin with,
I was able to get pressure on the clutch pedal! For some reason, it's only coming back up 80% of the way. I was able to drive the car around and clutch did not slip at all. I actually like the clutch better than before...The fiction point is now 50% of the way instead of before at about 85-90%.
Any thoughts on how to bring the clutch pedal all the way up? i had bled the clutch via slave bleeder valve like 20 times with 40-50 pump each time. Clutch still only 80% up.
I was able to get pressure on the clutch pedal! For some reason, it's only coming back up 80% of the way. I was able to drive the car around and clutch did not slip at all. I actually like the clutch better than before...The fiction point is now 50% of the way instead of before at about 85-90%.
Any thoughts on how to bring the clutch pedal all the way up? i had bled the clutch via slave bleeder valve like 20 times with 40-50 pump each time. Clutch still only 80% up.
thoughts?
Do you have the clutch pedal assist spring installed?
The master cylinder port is open with the pedal about an inch before all the way up, meaning that the slave cylinder is not longer pushing fluid back to the master cylinder instead; and its the assist spring that is pushing the pedal all the way up instead.
Note, for pedal feel, use the C5 assist spring in the C6. It has less cam over tension, but still enough tension so the pedal returns all the way to the top.
C6 clutch pedal assist spring on the left, C5 spring on the right.
Also, it can be a PITA to get all the air out of the lines, even with power bleeds, since some of the air can get trapped between the three restrictions in the lines and even in the master cylinder.
Here is where the vacuum trick comes in handy to allow the last of the air in the lines to be make it way back up to the tank.
Or, you can initial reverse power bleed instead. Here, reserve tank is pulled, collection bottle is installed on master cylinder reserve tank line above the master cylinder, and fluid is pushed from the slave cylinder back up the line instead. This will cavitate the air trapped in the restriction passages, and even the master cylinder free (surface/restrictor bonded) to be pushed up and out. Then with the tank reinstalled and filled before removing the power bleeder from the slave bleed port, power bleed one more time from tank to slave direction to remove the air that is just at the top of the slave cylinder from when you removed the power bleeder.
Yes, the clutch pedal spring is installed. I'm going to try the easy bleed today see what happens. I'm also running to autozone/advance auto to see if they have a c5 spring in stock so i can try that out again.
Since i regained pressure on my clutch pedeal, can i possibly rule out bad slave cylinder?
The master is good - i disconnected the quick release from the slave to the master and the clutch pedal was rock solid firm.
Sounds like all components are good but when you pumped the pedal with a dry reserve, it took a big gulp of air. When a slave goes it's usually a leak.
that's a relief to hear! So i just need to bleed it more? I'm going to try easy bleed with my mouth (like the video) then pressure bleeding if that doesn't work. lets see what happens!
by the way, is it possible that my clutch gotten so hot that it evaporated the clutch fluid?
Originally Posted by rpmextra
Sounds like all components are good but when you pumped the pedal with a dry reserve, it took a big gulp of air. When a slave goes it's usually a leak.
that's a relief to hear! So i just need to bleed it more? I'm going to try easy bleed with my mouth (like the video) then pressure bleeding if that doesn't work. lets see what happens!
by the way, is it possible that my clutch gotten so hot that it evaporated the clutch fluid?
Not to give bad news but no, I've tested my clutch more than just about anybody on this board and the clutch fluid doesn't evaporate. If it is gone it leaked somewhere.
If the pedal is only coming up 80%, your pedal spring may be broken and blocking it from coming up. Without it coming up all the way your cruise control won't work. Try removing the clutch spring and driving around and see what happens, it may work itself out. I haven't had a clutch spring for 7 years and it's not a problem despite what people may tell you on the internet.
I hope your slave didn't develop a leak. Keep a sharp eye on your fluid as you drive around and keep us posted.
Well I'll say this. I was learning launch techniques and burned my clutch really bad a few times. So much so you can see a puff of smoke on the vid. Never lost fluid. I completely flush the system after every day at the track. Great habit to follow. So many issues with these systems result from contaminated fluid.
Not to give bad news but no, I've tested my clutch more than just about anybody on this board and the clutch fluid doesn't evaporate. If it is gone it leaked somewhere.
If the pedal is only coming up 80%, your pedal spring may be broken and blocking it from coming up. Without it coming up all the way your cruise control won't work. Try removing the clutch spring and driving around and see what happens, it may work itself out. I haven't had a clutch spring for 7 years and it's not a problem despite what people may tell you on the internet.
I hope your slave didn't develop a leak. Keep a sharp eye on your fluid as you drive around and keep us posted.
Joe,
Thank you for the input. Can the fluid be leaking inside of the bell housing? is that possible? if yes, why isn't it leaking out of the housing. Why isn't it leaking anymore? odd..
Now i think about it, it's actually a little less than 50% of the way up. If i put my foot underneath the pedal and tab it a little, the clutch spring kicks in and pushes the clutch all the way up. Fluids remain the same since last night. I drove it around a little last night as well.
Originally Posted by rpmextra
Well I'll say this. I was learning launch techniques and burned my clutch really bad a few times. So much so you can see a puff of smoke on the vid. Never lost fluid. I completely flush the system after every day at the track. Great habit to follow. So many issues with these systems result from contaminated fluid.
James,
I'm going to DIY a pressure bleeder and bleed it some more this weekend and see what happens . I'll check back in. Thank you for the help!!
It will leak at the bell housing/torque tube connection if a leak is present. Keep an eye out that's all you can do.
If your driving around and it doesn't slip or grind gears and engages well, you very well may be over thinking about it. Even the slightest bit of air in the system makes it difficult to shift smoothly.
Clutch Pedal issue ( please help! )
