my hydraulics are acting weird......

gt4tified

New member
Since I changed out a cracked brass fitting on my braided clutch line and thoroughly bled the clutch with a pal my clutch has been acting weird. Let me know if this happens to you:

When I start my car the clutch is very weak, there's pressure in the system but sponby most of the way down so that the clutch barely engages....I almost have to pump it to build some pressure.

However, as I drive, no matter if I use the clutch little or more, the hydraulic system gains pressure to perfect...nice and stiff.

I'm running a 6puck unsprung ACT clutch and HD pressure plate.

Any guesses? Losing pressure in the master or slave? I'm stumped.
 

etantshi

Moderator
I don't know of any condition that would account for a spongey clutch at startup that progressively gets better.
 

gt4tified

New member
etantshi":fo5xfu91 said:
I don't know of any condition that would account for a spongey clutch at startup that progressively gets better.

I wouldn't exactly use the word spongey as I'm sure there's no air in the line....it's more like the clutch starts really low, as in it only engages when the cluth pedal is pretty close to being floored (like 2 inches away).

Any help would be a blessing! :shrug:
 

Simba

New member
I'd start by flushing the entire system and refilling with a good fluid. It's possible you have water contamination in the fluid, or some other gunk.
 
Hmmm, mine does the exact thing you're describing. I am running a RPS Turbo Max pressure plate and an organic clutch disc. I have replaced both the master cylinder and bought a rebuild kit for the slave. The problem still seems to persist. It is especially bad during the winter, I can remember almost not being able to disengage the clutch because the release point went so low. I still think it has something to do with the hydraulics needing bled, but I have done it quite a few times and nothing has made a difference.

I am wondering if there is a better way to bleed the cylinder that will make sure all the air is out of the line; something like removing the slave cyl. and bleeding it with the bleed screw facing directly upward, making it the highest point in the system and allowing all the air to collect up there. Then that presents the problem of installing it after doing this.

I dunno, I have pretty much given up hope that i will find a way to fix it, and honestly I've gotten used to it. It does make launching the car more difficult not knowing where the clutch is going to grab. :x
 

gt4tified

New member
Adjusting the pedal won't help if the engagement is low, then high, then low, then high....you get my point.

I was wondering though, how would you tell the difference between a leaky slave and a leaky master cylinder? :shrug:
 

Glenn653

New member
You should use a pressure bleader and rebleed the clutch. If there is air, water, or whatever in the fluid; as the fluid heats up, the air/water will heat up, expand, and thus build up pressure. I agree with simba flush the entire system with new fluid, use a pressure bleader and blead from the bottom up.
 

gt4tified

New member
You guys, I had some probs with my braided line fitting and when I changed that, I bled the ENTIRE system, from emptying the master and bleeding it with a friend. Did the procedure about 10 times.

The pressure still didn't fully build until I got the car driving. I'm still thinking that I'll replace the piston as I think the heat from the turbo (veeery close to the slave) has something to do with the seals tightening in the slave.

I'll give it a go over the weekend and see what happens.
 

d1alltrac

Active member
gt4tified":hpofxl60 said:
You guys, I had some probs with my braided line fitting and when I changed that, I bled the ENTIRE system, from emptying the master and bleeding it with a friend. Did the procedure about 10 times.

The pressure still didn't fully build until I got the car driving. I'm still thinking that I'll replace the piston as I think the heat from the turbo (veeery close to the slave) has something to do with the seals tightening in the slave.

I'll give it a go over the weekend and see what happens.

I doubt a new slave will help, but I guess it's worth a shot. I had the same problem after replacing both the master AND slave (not the rebuild kit) with brand new parts from Toyota.

Mine is a little different though, the engagement point only really changes after aggressive driving. When first driving the car it's kinda low, but after a couple mins of 120+mph on the highway the engagement would be really high, to the point where there is zero play in the pedal. The difference here is that the engagement point goes back down after cruising for a while. It actually wouldn't change at all if I didn't drive aggressively. :shrug:

I would have kept working on it but the car is sitting with a BHG now. Definately post up if you figure it out, I'll be trying to figure it out once I get the car up and running again.
 

gt4tified

New member
Now I'm getting a progressively annoying power-robbing shudder with the clutch. I'm certain that its not the axles nor driveshaft since I get the shudder on neutral as well, but the thing is, when (in neutral) I give it gas and it shudders, if I depress the clutch pedal without touching the shifter, the shudder stops.

What could this be...I'm getting it about 50% of the time on 1st and 2nd gear and is really annoying, more importantly I don't wanna break anything in my gearbox because of this.

Ask questions and I'll answer....I'd really hate to have to drop the tranny again because of this. :x
 

alltracshoak

Active member
i think you should change your mastercylinder and see how it goes after that. back then when i had my act clutch on my white 185, i was getting weird pedal feel..especially when racing with it, at high rpm, it would grind. changed the slave cylinder push rod to speedsource push rod, braided clutch hose,shifter base,shifter cable bushing and it still do the same thing. changed the master cylinder and it worked fine.hope you get this sorted out.
 
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