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Not a GS but help needed!

Allie

Allie

Forum Sage
Okay okay, to be honest it's not even a motorcycle, but it IS a four cylinder. I'm hoping someone can point me along the correct path here, I'm getting air in the hydraulic line for the clutch on my Saturn. It seems to happen primarily when it sits in cold weather, typically on a cold night. I come out the next morning to a mushy clutch pedal. When I pump the pedal it will build up more pressure and it doesn't lose pressure noticeably... until it sits more. I'm thinking in terms of a brake master cylinder in that if it's a spongy pedal it's air in the lines, if it's a sinking pedal it's a faulty master cylinder. This doesn't seem to be a 'sinking' clutch pedal by that criteria.

It's been bled recently due to this probelm, and has been fine for a couple weeks... until last night which was purty cold out and today the pedal was getting spongy again. Where can air be entering the system? I suppose it could be anywhere, but is there a typical problem area? The hydraulic line is mostly visible and looks to be in fine shape with little corrosion. It uses the brake reservoir so it has a flimsy plastic looking hose connecting the two.. could air be coming in there? I thought maybe it sucked some air because the fluid was a little low and the inlet for the clutch is relatively high in the reservoir, but I don't think that happened this time. I'm hoping for something I can fix myself because I have a ton of money in the car this year and I can't afford any more mechanic bills. I'm hopeful because the whole system looks fairly accessible I'm just not sure what to replace or how to test it. Please Help! Pretty Please!

Thanks,

Allie
 
You could have a weep or loose fitting somewhere in the hydraulic line or the slave cylinder could be going bad. Or you could have water build up in the system. Most hydraulic clutches use brake fluid which is hydroscopic. I had a Nissan Z that had the slave cylinder go bad. Clutch pedal went to the floor and stayed there. Pretty easy to replace however, and not expensive, if you do it yourself. Pretty much like a brake system in regards to how you prime, fill and bleed it.
 
You and Josh are on the righ track. Slave cylinder may be going bad or the clutch master cylinder may be going bad. They both work basically along the same lines as the brake master cylinders and hydraulic clutches on a bike work..same principles apply.
 
If you have bubbles in the system they are likely coming from a leak in the lower part of the system.

Did you get the system flushed and is the leakage from the slave?
If the slave is leaking then it is sucking air into the system along with seeping fluid out.
 
I just had this problem with one of my cars.
The fluid also went down over time and never left a spot anywhere.
It turned out to be a hose that was buried out of sight and had been ever so slightly dripping onto the engine/tranny and burned off.
Use a line-lock on the line that you can see, remove anything that helps to keep the rest of the line out of sight and apply pressure. Check for leak.
Mine was buried under the battery box.

Daniel
 
I would personally suspect a line rather than the slave. When the slave goes out the pedal usually hits the floor and stays there until you pull it back up. I would first inspect all junctions, where line bolts into line or fitting. Then I would start tracing, bottom to top, looking for the tiniest of leaks, detectable by the possible contaminants that cling to the fluid. A finger swiped across any area should come up clean, not slimy and/or smelly.
 
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