jstar

Hey all,
I apologize if this is a duplicate post. I couldn't seem to find anything through the search on the site.

My S2k is an 03 with 40k on the clock. Never had any TSB's done on the clutch. Still stock clutch.

I got in the car on Monday morning after not driving it all weekend. I pushed the clutch in to start it and it went almost to the floor before it engaged. I was able to shift and drive the car with a little adjustment to the engagement point. I knew that something was wrong. Luckily my commute is only a few miles. Yesterday I was having a hard time getting the car into gear. I would have to push & release the clutch twice just to get it in gear. This morning I started the car and the clutch pretty much went straight to the floor. I could not get the car in gear at all. I have read xviper's DIY on bleeding the clutch line, but I don't know if that is the issue (it has never been bleed). Has this happened to anyone? Do we know the cause? I'm fairly competent around the car so I would consider doing a clutch install if that was the case, but I just don't know. Any help would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks,
-jeremy

trich1687

The first thing I would do is to check the hydraulic fluid level in the reservoir. If its real low, wipe ot the black crud in the bottom fill it with dot 4 brake fluid and bleed the slave cly. Also look under the car for any evidence of a leak at the slave clyinder. Is the carpet on drivers side wet with fluid up top? If so the master cylinder may have a leak this has been known to ocurr when the crud gets into the seals. Yor problem sounds like it's hydraulic to me. Did you actually adjust the rod for the travel?? I hope not . This is not the place to start. Also when yor press the clutch pedel down you are disengaging the clutch from contatct with the flywheel by compressing the springs on the presure plate. foot down=disengage, foot up =engaged clutch. If your hydraulic system is ok the clutch disk may be binding up or the throw out bearing may be binding on it's sleeve. Have you ever replaced a clutch before ? not an easy task. It this car a HUGE task. the engine and its' support cradle must be lowered 3". Let us know what you find. Good luck

jstar

Hey trich1687,
Thanks for the response. I have checked the fluid level. It looked normal to me. The fluid was a little dark and dirty looking. I haven't found any evidence of it leaking inside or outside the car. I have not adjusted anything or touch the clutch at all. I definitely had my "terms" mixed up. Yes the issue is when I push in the clutch or disengage it. Sorry for the confusion on that.
Any other suggestions? I was thinking about just trying to flush the clutch line and see what that does. Thoughts?
Thanks!
-j

davidvonyork

Hey man,

About one month ago i had the EXACT symptoms you have with my clutch. I couldnt get it in the gear, and it was towards the bottom when it did disengage. I did check the fluid level, and it had fluid in it.....i added some, and the shifting got better, and i was able to get in gear now. However......i went to firestone and had them bleed the clutch system for 32.00 dollars. My clutch went back to normal, and worked better than EVER before. I also asked him to do a courtesy check while they looked at the system. They will tell you that the slave cylander has a leak because they will find some of the liquid residue around the seal. THIS IS NORMAL if you do hard driving, somtimes during extreme driving and at certain angles the master/slave will leak some liquid out. I know some of my buddies have 2006 s2k's and they had the same problem as you, but only after extreme driving. Just have them bleed your system, and keep an eye on it. Mine finally went low on liquid after 6 years of use (i have ap1 2000).

Worst comes to worst my friend, they quoted me at 260.00 at firestone for new ENTIRE system and labor.

jstar

Thank davidvonyork! You have alievated some of my fears. I think I will try to bleed the system today and replace the fluids. Interesting that you have had your car for that long and never had an issue before. Thanks so much for the reply! I'll let you guys know how it goes.
Thanks,
-

jstar

Okay so I bled the clutch line this afternoon. I followed xviper's DIY. The fluid was a little low and very very dirty. It had chunks of dirt/grim in it. I suctioned that out and then flushed the system. I can now get the car in gear, but the clutch still feels light and the disengagement point is low...not at the top of the pedal like it used to be. I'm concerned there may be something else going on here. Any other ideas? Could it be that it takes a while for that original clutch feeling to come back once the new fluid settles??
Thanks,
-j

SpitfireS

jstar Posted on Dec 17 2006, 03:40 PM
jstar Posted on Dec 18 2006, 05:10 AM
What do you mean with "normal" and "a little low"?
It doesn't sound like the same to me.
Did you mark or remember exactly where the level was?
The clutch hydraulics is a sealed system and the fluid level should not change.
(not like the brakes, when they wear the fluid level drops)
If there was a change you have a leak.

Reading this and your other post I think your clutch is still not disengaging properly.
You were under the car while bleeding the clutch.. right?
Did you remove the slave from the transmission to bleed it?
Doing that allows you to hold the slave with its rear end upwards and in that way the bleeder valve is the highest point and ALL the air has the chance to be pushed out.
I haven't tried the "Push-the-pedal-to-bleed" myself but used gravity.
Worked 100%
Don't bleed it too far so the reservoir gets empty.

Besides..
Having the slave removed from the transmission gives you the chance to put some EP grease on the fork & slave push rod and if you're up for it to grease the fork pivot point and the throuwout bearing guide sleeve.

And...
IMO a clutch disk that is getting thin would make it easier to disengage the clutch (if the hydraulics work 100%) because the stroke of the throwout stays the same, allowing more "play" for a thin clutch disk.

jstar

Hey SpitfireS,
Thanks for the info. To clarify when I originally posted I had taken a quick look at the fluid level and I could see that it was not empty so I assumed it was "normal". Once I got in there on Sunday I realized the fluid was down at the MIN mark on the reservoir. Those markings are hard to read. When I bled the line I followed xviper's DIY and sucked out the dirt chunks that were in there. And then I flushed it with new fluid. I did not take the slave off the tranny. I didn't know that was an option. However I know that I did have clear, clean fluid coming out after the bleed. I was careful not to let the reservoir go empty of fluid during the process. Sorry for the confusion on that.

I'm just not convinced the problem is entirely with the clutch disc because of how randomly the problem showed up. It was literally I drove the car on Friday, parked her in the garage and didn't drive till Monday morning when I initially noticed that the pedal felt weird. How could wear on the clutch plate cause such a sudden, dramatic change in the pedal after sitting all weekend long?? Just doesn't add up, but I am no mechanic. Not trying to shoot down your idea, just trying to eliminate other possibilities. That's why I started with the hydraulics first. Could it be that either the Master or Slave has gone bad?? 40k miles seems short for the life of a clutch.
-j

SpitfireS

jstar Posted on Dec 20 2006, 11:44 PM
That makes me think you have a leak.
Like trich1687 mentioned, check underneath the carpet, use a flashlight, wipe down with a clean cloth to see if anything shows up.

With the slave still on the transmission there could still be trapped air.
There are lots of posts saying the exact same thing : using gallons of fluid (exaggerating? me?? ),fluid as clear as water coming out but still not a fully disengaging clutch.

Gravity bleed with slave off transmission = worked 100% for me.

My thoughts exactly.
If you were thinking I was thinking otherwise I was probably not clear enough.
My bad.

An internal leak in either one (or both) would create symptoms you described.

Let us know what you find.

jstar

I checked the inside and outside the car for leaks. There was a slight bit of black grease coming out of the actuator (at the firewall) and a small drop of it on the top of the footrest just below. That's all I've found so far. The carpet isn't wet with fluid nor is there any sign of a leak other than what I described above.


[QUOTE]With the slave still on the transmission there could still be trapped air.
There are lots of posts saying the exact same thing : using gallons of fluid (exaggerating? me??