ok so I have had this problem for months now.. luckly i have other cars to drive, but I want to fix this damn thing finally. I replaced my clutch master cylinder and slave cylinder because my pedal was very soft. it still went into gear, but with added resistance. after i changed the cylinders, I bled the system and couldn't get pressure at all anymore. then a week later I hopped in the car and it was working like it did before I changed the cylinders. a month later, the problem came back and i lost all pressure. when I bleed the system over and over for awhile I can get enough pressure to drive the car for about a day, but the problem always comes back. any ideas anyone? could it be the rubber line? I do not notice any leakage from anywhere (even inside the car). I was told that the CMC that I replaced it with still could have been bad since that happens occasionally even with a new one. any suggestions would be great.. im outta ideas!

 

oh btw it's a 97 'lude

 

there is probably a hairline leak in something. Are you sure you're bleeding the system right?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by darkspector2.0 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">there is probably a hairline leak in something. Are you sure you're bleeding the system right?</TD></TR></TABLE>care to tell me the proper way to bleed my 5th gen?

 

well, the way I have done it is to take some tubing and attach it to the bleeder valve. and then submerse the other end in a resevior of brake fluid. So that way when you push the clutch down the air goes out and the fluid comes in. Eventually you will work all the air out. Hopefully I didn't miss a step or two.

 

and don't forget to make sure your master cylinder is always full!

 

ya I have tried bleeding it that way, tried with my vacuum pump, tried with 2 people.. everything I can imagine I have tried. ya I think a small pin hole leak in my line sumwhere has to be it. I just can't think of anything else. now where are there rubber hoses in the clutch line.. just where the reseroir connects to the CMC.. or sumwhere around there if my memory serves me right? everything else are hard lines I think. should I just buy/ make an SS braided hose to bypass all the stock lines?

 

hardline goes to clutch damper. Converts to high pressure line to slave cylinder

 

hey all i can say is that check he lines, the cluth, and the cylinders...make sure those are in check and then go to autozone and there is a bleeder you can buy to do it yourself it just makes ALL of the air come out of the lines...i had the same problem with my old prelude with an air bubble and finally got it out with this thing...best 25 dollars i ever spent...

 

crack in line or trapped air bubble mang...

 

where did you get the cylinders from? if all else fails, the pressure plate is probably shot to ****

 

u bleed it just like brakes. but preludes r a pain in the *** to bleed,

 

I got both the cylinders from autozone, and bought the one man bleeder too haha. I'll check the lines carefully and see if I can find anything. I dont think it's the pressure plate just cuz it works sumtimes.. but then again when it does work it still doesnt feel right.. so maybe yur right the car does have 180k+ miles on it with the stock clutch lol.. thanks again everone and if you got anymore ideas shoot'em my way.

 

man maybe try getting the cylinders from o'reilly or carquest or something, i find autozone stuff is trash, except for their plugs.

 

ya I work at a dealership and people say they are trash too lol and they have problems with the master cylinders they get from them every now and then. but I'mma look at the lines tomorrow and if I still cant pinpoint the problem then I'll get a new CMC and see if that one works any better.

 

check the clutch hose connected to the transmission. mine started leaking 2-3 years after the CMC failed.

 

my 4th gen had the same problem, i put a new clutchkit, master/and slave, and i even ordered a new line from the master - slave. it turned out for me to be a clutch pedal return spring that had lost its tension, this may not apply to ur problem, but my pedal felt alot better after that

 

hmm, isn't there a clutch damper in our ludes (4g n 5g)? I remember reading about someone bypassing it (or they were in the process of it). Either it was a damper or a delay valve, IIRC someone said it had a internal leak and their pressure was screwy. don't remember where they said it was in the thread, but it was inline somewhere. Then again, I could be wrong who knows. hth.

-l8r

edit: found a link for some info on it
https://honda-tech.com/zerothread?id=1210919

 

I just had a very similar problem. Mine is all fixed now. This is how the system is setup. From the clutch fluid reservoir you have the hose that goes to the master cylinder. Check this for any leaks. From the master cylinder there is a hard lien that goes to the damper. It runs along the firewall adn the damper is on the passenger side fender. Look down on the motor side of the air intake. You will then see a hose that goes to a clutch joint. This is where my leak came form. There is a banjo bolt that connects the hose onto the joint and I had to change out the washer in side of that connection. Then a hard line goes from that joint to the slave cylinder. If you look around this forum, you can see where people have had stainless steal braided lines from the master all the way to the slave cylinder. I think it's 5 or 6 feet long. Do some research. I didn't look at it too much, but everyoen who did it said it's worked just fine for them. Good luck with the clutch. I know it's the biggest pain in the but, mine was messed up for months and the lude is my daily driver, so once again good luck and I hope I've helped you some.

 

ya I was thinking of going with the SS line all the way but didn't know exactly the purpose of the clutch damper, so I didn't want to bypass it unless I knew it was safe. Today I looked at the rubber hose and that joint you were refering to, and that area is the only possible place I can think my line would leak. Already ordered new washers for that too haha. I dont think it's even the cylinders at all in the first place because my old master cylinder still was able to move fluid through it when I pulled it out originally, so a leak sumwhere else sounds like a good possibility.. especially since I lost fluid and it wasn't around the CMC's rod in the car or anywhere I could see readily. Thanks again.

 

ok so as an update.. i replaced the whole line with a stainless steel braided one. seems to be working great. I need to tighten a fitting a little more, but it looks like my stock lines were the problem. thanks again to everyone who helped out