domestic_rice

My car is a 95 civic with a exedy clutch/flywheel and it's been fine for as long as I can remember. I was doing some spirited driving for about 30 minutes the other day and now when I go to push the clutch down it does nothing the first few inches. And the engagement point is pretty much a 1/4 inch from the floor. The thing is the clutch was working perfectly fine last night and this morning as I was going to work it just felt weird. I was thinking it might be because I was wearing my work shoes or something. It wasn't a huge difference but I noticed something. I even stalled it which I have never done before. Then after about 10 hours I head home and park it. Late in the day I go out and the engagement point is even lower now. And it pretty much wont go into gear. I mix these the words up a lot but the valve at the base of the clutch pedal is leaking. I'm pretty sure thats the master cylinder. Goes through the firewall and you can add clutch fluid. And the slave cylinder is on/in the tranny.

What I'm just wondering is would the leaking on what I call the master cylinder cause that? If so I'm gonna have to replace it tomorrow because if it keeps going how it is it wont even be able to get into gear tomorrow. Luckily I'm off. So I'll let ya guys know. Thanks

Brent

redline870

definately sounds like the symptoms u r having with ur clutch is hydraulic related, especially if you can physically see it leaking . i have owned several hondas and have replaced the clutch hydraulics in all of them. if you r going to replace the master cylinder you should replace the slave cylinder at the same time because its probably not far behind plus its easier to replace than the master cylinder. once you bolt on the new parts you will need to top off the reservoir with brake fluid(does not have to be specific clutch fluid) and bleed the air out of the system the same way you bleed brakes. the bleeder is located on the slave cylinder. make sure to wash off all excess brake fluid cuz you dont want it taking off the paint. o and i would not recommend driving it very far cuz u can damage the synchronizers in the transmission. if you have to drive it, then top off the resevoir and avoid changing gears. good luck

domestic_rice

Well now I'm a little confused. You say the slave cylinder is easier to replace than the master cylinder right? I've always thought the master cylinder and resevoir is right on the fire wall and at the base of the clutch pedal. And I thought the slave cylinder was inside the tranny...Sorry for the noobishness. I'm just used to a cable trans. Thanks

redline870

no problem man u gotta learn somewhere. but the slave cylinder is located on the front of the transmission right where the transmission meets the engine. it is perfectly visible with the hood open and easy to get to. it has two 12 mm bolts attaching it to the transmission, has a line going into it that looks just like a brake line, and has a bleeder nipple on it. go to google images and look up 'honda slave cylinder' for a picture. o and when u replace it, get some thick synthetic grease and put some on the end of the piston coming out of the slave cylinder otherwise it will make an annoying squeaking noise when idling. hope that helps u out.

domestic_rice

Just took a look around and didn't see what you were talking about. Is it different at all on a b18? I''m still taking off piping and what not so it might be under the intercooler piping or something. Thanks

Brent

domestic_rice

lol. The thing is right next to my turbo. No wonder I didn't see it. I guess you did say the front of the tranny it looks very simple to change out. Now back to the master cylinder. would you say it's easier to change if I just take my driver side seat out? Because I can hardly see anything at all when I'm under there. Also I've seen a few diagrams that talk about adjusting a bunch of different bolts and from what I see there is a rubber boot that is leaking around a piston that goes into the firewall and into the clutch fluid resevoir on the other side. Are there any easy ways to get it out or is this going to be one of those times where it takes 5 hours to do a simple job and then your back and neck hurt for the rest of the week? lol Also where do you guys buy the bottle and clear lines that you use when you bleed the lines? Do you literally mean a plastic bottle and a clear plastic line? If so that shouldn't be too hard to come up with.

I'll go take a look at it and see what I can do. Thanks again.

redline870

i never had to take the seats out it usually only took me about an hour or so to do. and yes your neck and back will be sore the next day lol. there should be two studs coming from the master cylinder through the firewall and two nuts on the inside of the car under the dash. when you get the new part it should come with all the plastic tubes and what not, that is for whats called bench bleeding the master cylinder. you hook the plastic fittings where the lines hook in to the master, attach the hoses to the fittings, and put the other end in a bottle full of brake fluid. fill the reservoir with fluid and pump the master several times getting all the air out. i forgot this step the first time i did one of these and it still worked out fine so i dont think its absolutely necessary. the hardest part of the job is unhooking the pin that holds the rod of the piston to the clutch pedal and then reinstalling it. once everything is installed you will need another person to help bleed the line to the slave. this is easy, its the same way you bleed brakes. let me know if u have any more questions. hope this helped you out. good luck

domestic_rice

right after my last post I found a flashlight and went out to look. I had the master out in about 2 minutes once I had the clip off and found a 12mm socket. Then I went for the slave. The nut holding the line is completely stuck. So I just held it and turned the slave cylinder and it came off fine. So then I went to advance autoparts to get the parts. They are wanting $80 for the master and $40 for the slave. I didn't buy anything because I'm sure I'll be able to get one online for a crap load cheaper.

Now that I have looked around and all I like the hydro trans more than cable. I just don't like the all the clutch fluid

And the clip on the clutch wasn't too hard. I just got some channel locks and pulled like hell

I'm gonna go check out ebay and other places. If anyone knows where to get a new cheap as hell master/slave cylinder let me know

Thanks

domestic_rice

Well I looked around and found a new master cylinder for $28 and a slave for $32 at advance autoparts. So I'm just gonna have to wait a few days and see if it all works. Now I just need to get some fluid.

You said in an earlier post that I could use brake fluid? And then something with dot 3 or something. Which would be the best for me. I don't have anything right now so I'll just buy some clutch/brake fluid. Thanks.

domestic_rice

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by redline870 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">i never had to take the seats out it usually only took me about an hour or so to do. and yes your neck and back will be sore the next day lol. there should be two studs coming from the master cylinder through the firewall and two nuts on the inside of the car under the dash. when you get the new part it should come with all the plastic tubes and what not, that is for whats called bench bleeding the master cylinder. you hook the plastic fittings where the lines hook in to the master, attach the hoses to the fittings, and put the other end in a bottle full of brake fluid. fill the reservoir with fluid and pump the master several times getting all the air out. i forgot this step the first time i did one of these and it still worked out fine so i dont think its absolutely necessary. the hardest part of the job is unhooking the pin that holds the rod of the piston to the clutch pedal and then reinstalling it. once everything is installed you will need another person to help bleed the line to the slave. this is easy, its the same way you bleed brakes. let me know if u have any more questions. hope this helped you out. good luck</TD></TR></TABLE>

You said a couple times to use break fluid. So I'm guessing there is no clutch fluid? What kind of break fluid would work good for me? Thanks

MantiSWhite

Just get some dot 3 brake fluid.

domestic_rice

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by MantiSWhite &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Just get some dot 3 brake fluid. </TD></TR></TABLE>

What an original name. Is that a brand or something? Or do you mean like how oil is 10w-30 but there are tons of different kinds? I'll just say give me some of your dot 3 and thats it. I'll just stare at them lol