so I changed my clutch master cylinder due to it leaking and bleed the system 2 weeks ago and the brake fluid I put in the clutch master cylinder is already dirty is this normal I do drive the car spiritedly and the clutch feels fine I went under the car to inspect the slave cylinder and it looked fine

 

possibility lines where still dirty. Get a turkey baster and suck everything you can out of master cylinder. Refill and check in a couple weeks.

 

Yep, normal, clutch fluid gets dirty faster than brake fluid because of all the clutch dust in the bell housing. You have to turkey baste the fluid out every few months and replace it to keep the clutch hydraulics top notch.

 

Clutch dust is not the cause, it doesn't mix with the fluid. The clutch fluid gets trashed faster because of frequency of use combined with length of travel (brake gets a 10th of the use and a 1/4 or so of the travel)

But yes a simple fluid swap (just suck out/wipe clean/refill) and it will never leak. It even stops over 90% of leaks in currently leaking clutch master cylinders. Many see a leak and change the master for nothing.

 

End thread.

 

Basically

 

Trying to diagnose an issue, and from what I’m reading here it sounds like low clutch fluid could be the issue, but hoping to get some advice.

Car is in storage for winter, went to start it up and was having a real hard time shifting into reverse. I let the car warm up for 20 minutes, still difficult to shift to reverse. Checked under the hood and sure enough, clutch fluid reservoir is 1/2 inch to inch below minimum.

Ordered turkey baster and Typ200 Dot 4 fluid to do a flush, but basically I’m wondering — is this low fluid the likely culprit that’s making it hard to shift gears?

Also, shifting into third with clutch depressed (car stopped) i got a bit of grinding.

Thanks

 

That is not your problem. The clutch fluid would need to run low enough to suck air.

 

Okay, thanks. One other thing I noticed is that it shifted easily into reverse with the engine off. Ran and shifted smoothly when I put into storage before it got cold.

 

The symptoms you describe are indicative of clutch not fully disengaging. Very common on our cars.

First step, clutch rod adjust. Excellent diy youtube video how to. Only tool needed is 12mm open end wrench, and a nimble back to worm down into footwell.