Good (firm) pedal but clutch won't completely disengage
06-18-2006, 06:18 PM
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Good (firm) pedal but clutch won't completely disengage I think I have a master cylinder issue.
I just put a new clutch, flywheel, and slave in a 99 TA. I first gravity bled the system (open the bleeder, wait for fluid to drain) to see how well that would work. After I did that, I had a very nice firm pedal, but it seemed that the clutch wouldn't completely disengage. With the pedal on the floor, I could freely move through all the forward gears but with it in gear, the car wanted to move forward a bit, as if the clutch was engaged slightly. It absolutely would not go into reverse. I really wasn't very suprised by this, having not done a propper bleed on the system. So I got some help and gave it a manual bleed. The result was the same, the clutch wouldn't completely disengage. Then I took a Mity vac and tried that approach. Every time I pulled any more than about 14" Hg, I started pulling more air out than fluid, but it would continue pull more vacuum, so I took it up to about 19-20" Hg. From there it would pull air (lots of it) all day. I vacuum bled it for a couple hours, continually getting air and obviously not getting anywhere. I checked the clutch engagement again and it was the same. Great pedal but not disengaging. Tried it again with less vacuum on it. This time I only pulled it down to about 13" Hg. I bled it there for about another hour and still got nowhere with it.
So again, I think I'm pulling air through the master cylinder and the weak master cylinder won't disengage the new clutch completely. Anyone else have any other ideas?
I don't think I have a fluid leak in the system anywhere, as I didn't find any fluid on the floor after hours of bleeding. I did peek into the bellhousing with a borescope to watch the slave movement. The slave began to move immediately when the pedal was pressed. After the pedal was on the floor, it didn't bleed back at all. I had no basis for comparison, so I can't say for sure whether the pressure plate was being engaged all the way, but based on the other symptoms, I think not.
Any other ideas or input would be great. Thanks!
I just put a new clutch, flywheel, and slave in a 99 TA. I first gravity bled the system (open the bleeder, wait for fluid to drain) to see how well that would work. After I did that, I had a very nice firm pedal, but it seemed that the clutch wouldn't completely disengage. With the pedal on the floor, I could freely move through all the forward gears but with it in gear, the car wanted to move forward a bit, as if the clutch was engaged slightly. It absolutely would not go into reverse. I really wasn't very suprised by this, having not done a propper bleed on the system. So I got some help and gave it a manual bleed. The result was the same, the clutch wouldn't completely disengage. Then I took a Mity vac and tried that approach. Every time I pulled any more than about 14" Hg, I started pulling more air out than fluid, but it would continue pull more vacuum, so I took it up to about 19-20" Hg. From there it would pull air (lots of it) all day. I vacuum bled it for a couple hours, continually getting air and obviously not getting anywhere. I checked the clutch engagement again and it was the same. Great pedal but not disengaging. Tried it again with less vacuum on it. This time I only pulled it down to about 13" Hg. I bled it there for about another hour and still got nowhere with it.
So again, I think I'm pulling air through the master cylinder and the weak master cylinder won't disengage the new clutch completely. Anyone else have any other ideas?
I don't think I have a fluid leak in the system anywhere, as I didn't find any fluid on the floor after hours of bleeding. I did peek into the bellhousing with a borescope to watch the slave movement. The slave began to move immediately when the pedal was pressed. After the pedal was on the floor, it didn't bleed back at all. I had no basis for comparison, so I can't say for sure whether the pressure plate was being engaged all the way, but based on the other symptoms, I think not.
Any other ideas or input would be great. Thanks!
06-18-2006, 08:23 PM
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Have you driven the car very far yet? My experience with brand new clutches is the same as you described. The grab right at the floor until you put a few miles on them. If you've driven it for a while and it persists, then you've probably got a master problem as you suspected.
02-11-2015, 01:01 PM
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I am having the same problem To help me figure out my problem, I was wondering what brand clutch/slave/master did you install? And how much more travel did you get out of the slave after replacing the master?
