OG SHG_EM1

ive searched and had a few different answers but none that really help me directly. to start off i have a 99 si with a stock b16a2. I was leaving my buddies job today and i went into a turna little hard, and when i came out my clutch felt really loose(which is highly unusual since i have an ACT 4 puck and the pedal pressure is always pretty stiff). The clutch pedal does not stick tot he floor it springs back up so im thinking i can rule out clutch fluid. The car also BARELY goes into gear. Now i dont pretend to be very mechanically knowledgable, although i do have a good enough knowledge. I have done clutches, motorswaps, etc... but its all been fairly straightfoward, and ive never had to troubleshoot or diagnose a problem like this.

the bad thigns that are happening are the clutch pedal feels really soft, the clutch grabs but it doesnt have that bite that the ACT normally has, and the car wont shift into gear very easily.

could it be a spring on the clutch popped off, could it be that the clutch fluid is low, or their is an airbubble int he lines. Im just looking for insight ebfore i decide what to do. Ill take it to a shop if i must but if ti just needs a clutch ill probably do it myself, although i really dont want to. iver had things happen before though that i thought were serious and it ended up being something minimal. any help would be appreciated so i can diagnose and fix this problem soon

Archidictus

Did you really get out of your car, walk inside your house or job and post this thread without looking at your clutch fluid reservoir? How ******* lazy can you get? I assume you know how to pop your hood - go do so and rule out this simple issue.

japspecjohn

wow you need a heehe
probably your clutch master cylinder

OG SHG_EM1

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Archidictus &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Did you really get out of your car, walk inside your house or job and post this thread without looking at your clutch fluid reservoir? How ******* lazy can you get? I assume you know how to pop your hood - go do so and rule out this simple issue.

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actually i did and the cluitch fluid reservoir has fluid in it. i already ruled that out, im going to try and blead the system to check if their is a bubbl;e or something in the lines, im just asking for input. That could have been said a little ncier, im sorry i didnt post every step of my diagnosis so far

Archidictus

Check the firewall above the clutch pedal on the inside of the car. If there's wetness or fluid there, you've blown your master cylinder. If you look at your slave cylinder and it's covered with fluid, you probably blew that. Springs don't go out on clutches without making a shitload of noise and/or doing significant damage.

OG SHG_EM1

ok thankyou for the help...

this is what ive seen so far.

first thing i did was open the master cylinder reservoir, their was fluid, it was not topped off, but there was more than a sufficient amount in the reservoir.

the next stepp i did was trace the lines from the clutch master cylinder to the slave cylinder, checking for leaks, or breaks, or anything that might cause me to worry. again everything seems normal.

I got to the slave cylynder, that seemes normal, no fluid anywhere(visible to the eye or just a quick feel, i didnt move the rubber boot to chck underneath as im nto sure if i should do that).

than i went into the car to check behind the master cylinder at the top of the clutch pedal assembly, i felt a thick grease but it was merely at the top of the clutch pedal where the knuckle allows the pedal to pivot, it didn't feel like brake/clutch fluid, it felt more like a grease.

i have 3 brand new quarts of MTF incase they are needed even though the tranny fluid is only 8000 miles old. I have a brand new quart of brake fluid, so im thinking of bleeding the clutch system when i can get someone over to my house to help me with that. other than that im stumped. the car when it is driving does not slip like a worn clutch does, it doesn't make any unusual noises, the transmissions just doesn't go into gear easily, and the clutch pedal feels soft. the master cylinder theory makes complete sense if it werent for the fact that i cant feel any type of fluid on either side of the firewall.

OG SHG_EM1

ok so i just blead the clutch and there were no air bubbles in the clutch line so that is now ruled out. there are no leakes anywhere in the car, but not when the clutch is disengaged there is a faint squeeling sound coming from underneath the distributor/inside the transmission.

could the throw-out bearing be the reason that the clutch feels like poo and the transmission wont shift into gear?

SHG_EasyE

It could be the front seal inside the MC, only way to know if that's the problem is to replace it and see what happenens. The throwout bearing would make noise only when the pedal was depressed and wouldnt change the feel of the clutch pedal at all. It's got to be fluid related. get a new slave and MC and im sure it will fix your problem. I may have a slave that you can use too, ill check tomorrow at the house.

cjk95delsolsi

These are all good theories but it sounds like the actual problem is in your clutch release fork. The one thing that sucks is that if this is the problem you have to remove your tranny. I believe this is the problem because I had the same problem before, I have a stage 3 clutchmaster clutch and it cracked the release fork. To check this slide the rubber boot out of the way and see if you can move the release fork around, you shouldnt be able to. If you can than I am sure that is the problem.

OG SHG_EM1

no thats something i already checked the shift fork is completely stationary. I had someone MUCH more knowledgable than me over last night and we went through all the different possibilities and symptoms, and he thinks its my clutch, because both cylinders are fine, the lines have brand new fluid in them, but im getting a weird vibration in the clutch ont he way down.

i have been thinking of redoing the clutch anyways so now its just time to throw a new one in, either an Exedy stage 1 organic or a competition stage 2, haven't really decided yet and the price difference is minimal.

Im going to be dropping the tranny this weekend, if it turns out that anything else is broken i will replace it since whatever clutch i get probably wont be here till the middle of next week anyways...thanks for all the advice and help to those who gave it to me.