Hydraulics problems - I think.
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Teching In
Joined: Feb 2005
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Hydraulics problems - I think. Hi folks. Hoping someone can help.
My 2000 Z28 M6's clutch pedal went right to the floor this past Saturday, after putting it in first gear. Have to pump the crap out of it to get decent pressure to engage.
Looked at the fluid. Black as midnight, so I tried doing the "ranger" fluid exchange hoping that would clear up some of the mess. It helped some now fluid is a murky amber and clutch still will not engage. Pedal gets sucked to the floor.
Tried the MityVac last night and did not see ONE air bubble. However, it didn't hold the vacuum steady when I applied about 12" of vacuum. It slowly dropped and I had to apply more vacuum to hold it at 10. Checked the pump for leaks and it holds nice and solid to my finger. But again, I saw no air coming from the car when all hooked up. No fluid I can find on the floor either. and not losing fluid from the cup when everything's closed and hooked up!
The car has 23k and everything is bone stock as it came from the factory. No drill mod, no nothing. Had it new since 1999.
I am thinking it's a bad master, but if it were, wouldn't I be seeing bubbles in the vacuum hose? And shouldn't I be seeing a leak somewhere?
I just want to be as sure as I can I've exhausted all options and it's a master or slave issue (or leaking hydraulic line as well?)
Thanks a million for your help and suggestions.
My 2000 Z28 M6's clutch pedal went right to the floor this past Saturday, after putting it in first gear. Have to pump the crap out of it to get decent pressure to engage.
Looked at the fluid. Black as midnight, so I tried doing the "ranger" fluid exchange hoping that would clear up some of the mess. It helped some now fluid is a murky amber and clutch still will not engage. Pedal gets sucked to the floor.
Tried the MityVac last night and did not see ONE air bubble. However, it didn't hold the vacuum steady when I applied about 12" of vacuum. It slowly dropped and I had to apply more vacuum to hold it at 10. Checked the pump for leaks and it holds nice and solid to my finger. But again, I saw no air coming from the car when all hooked up. No fluid I can find on the floor either. and not losing fluid from the cup when everything's closed and hooked up!
The car has 23k and everything is bone stock as it came from the factory. No drill mod, no nothing. Had it new since 1999.
I am thinking it's a bad master, but if it were, wouldn't I be seeing bubbles in the vacuum hose? And shouldn't I be seeing a leak somewhere?
I just want to be as sure as I can I've exhausted all options and it's a master or slave issue (or leaking hydraulic line as well?)
Thanks a million for your help and suggestions.
You could be bypassing fluid internally or having an issue relative to the condition of the fluid that is affecting back-flow to the master. Black fluid can be causes by lots of heat and/or break-down of something within the hydraulic system. I suggest a complete flush and refill to see if that helps. Give it a shot and let me know what you find.
Thread Starter
Teching In
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So far flushing the fluid hasn't done anything to improve the condition. There are no leaks and I am getting no air using the Mityvac. I have not manually bled from the slave yet and will do so. But it's not black anymore.
I think I may start replacing parts. Master first. Not looking forward to dropping the trans to get at the slave but I will if it has to be done and will install a remote bleeder while I'm in there.
Don't think it could be the clutch with 23k on the car. Never drove it hard and had it from day one. No one has ever driven it but me. But at this point I'm looking at changing everything to get back on the road.
Thread Starter
Teching In
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Hi SPEC-01. Meant to post when I fixed this and finally fixed it. Wasn't as bad as I had expected. 2 things I learned and looking for feedback.
1)I bench bled the clutch master before installing it. I was able to push in hydraulic line without having to open the bleeder valve. Clicked in which I thought I wasn't supposed to be able to do, and thought I must still have air in the line.
2) After connecting the hydraulic line to the slave, I pumped the pedal 2 times and it returned just fine. Felt fine.
3)Buttoned everything up, took the car for a test run going through all the gears and it works perfect.
Thanks again for your help/input.
1)I bench bled the clutch master before installing it. I was able to push in hydraulic line without having to open the bleeder valve. Clicked in which I thought I wasn't supposed to be able to do, and thought I must still have air in the line.
2) After connecting the hydraulic line to the slave, I pumped the pedal 2 times and it returned just fine. Felt fine.
3)Buttoned everything up, took the car for a test run going through all the gears and it works perfect.
Thanks again for your help/input.
