1993 Honda Civic clutch foot pedal has little pressor

"mopa" wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@g47g2000cwa.googlegroups.com:

Clutch master cylinder seals are bad.

Rebuild/replace. Easy job.

is this something I could do? I'm pretty good at doing just about everything. I just need to know what I need, and where the master cylinder seals are located.

Thank you Tegger!

"mopa" wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@o13g2000cwo.googlegroups.com:

I haven't got a clutch MC replacement page, but the brake MC is pretty close to that.

The differences are that the clutch MC has only a single circuit, has no booster, and the line to the slave is short. Bleeding is a LOT easier.

The seals are very, very similar to the brake MC seals (but only one circuit).

Hope it helps.

Thanks tegger.

I'm going to have this guy at the shop replace the clutch master cylinder, and the clutch slave cylinder. This should do the job right?

I just gotta get thing fixed. I am driving back and forth at work, and then school, and cannot lose any days off at work or school. I'm a freshman, so I don't want to miss anyways.

Today while I was driving on the expressway here in Atlanta during rush hour. I got scared because I'm driving 80mph, and then have to jump down to 30 and throw myself into 3rd shift. I had a hard time changing gears as the pedal didn't want to allow me to shift into 3rd gear. I had to put my foot under the pedal, and raise it up, and then slowly pump on it, and then it managed to get enough pressor to get me back to

2, 3, and later 4th. This is a serious pain in the ass way to drive, and I must say very dangerous too.

How long before I will not be able to pump the clutch pedal, and when will I lose complete pressor? Sadly. I have to wait 2/3 days before I can get this fixed.

Thanks again. John

"mopa" wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@g47g2000cwa.googlegroups.com:

That'll do it. If the MC is worn, the slave is likely not far behind, so you're killing two birds with one stone, a good idea.

Maintenance is always an excellent idea. And sometimes skimping on repairs can be false economy.

It'll take a few days or weeks, depending.

You're welcome.

first thing to do is check the fluid level. it's common for these things to leak, and once the line is airlocked, you get the symptoms you describe.

suggest that while you're waiting for parts, you refill the reservoir, bleed the slave and make sure you keep it topped up. you can drive a car like this for some time before the leak gets so bad it won't work at all.

and in emergency, you can get away wihout the clutch for all gear shifts except pulling away from standstill. just get the revs right and hold the stick against the gear slot you want. it'll drop in as soon as it meshes. do /not/ make a habit of this or force it - for hopefully obvious reasons.

Hello Jim,

Thank you so very much for your help. I was wondering though where is this reservoir located on the car so I can make sure it is filled up. But, what do I fill it up with? dot4?

Basically its like this. When I walk into my car the clutch pedal is on the floor. I then start up the car, and slowly pump on the clutch pedal about 10 times, and then there is enough pressor for the clutch padal to allow me to engage in changing gears. The wierd thing is that the car was working perferly fine. No problems with the clutch or the pedal. I parked the car for 3 days, and came back and seen the clutch had no pressor. Something just seems weird.

Thank you.

"mopa" wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@g43g2000cwa.googlegroups.com:

Does the Master Cylinder level ever drop over time? This is a *critical* question! It makes ALL the difference! I've asked it before and received no answer.

By the way, it's spelled "pressure", not "pressor".

"mopa" wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@g43g2000cwa.googlegroups.com:

It's on the driver's side of the engine compartment, close to the firewall. It has a short rubber hose leading to the cylinder itself.

Do not confuse it with the BRAKE Master Cylinder reservoir , which is mounted directly on its Master Cylinder body, and has a great big black cake-pan sort of thing behind it.

Ordinary DOT3/4 brake fluid is fine.

Thanks Tegger

I got confused with pressure, and pressor. as with "Master Cylinder level ever drop over time?"I am not quite sure what you mean by does the level ever drop over time.

As for brake fluid the only place I put some is as whats located in this picture:

If you look at the very top right corner (drivers side) there is the white brake fluid holder with the grey cap. I would think this is the BRAKE Master Cylinder reservoir, right?

The firewall is what faces againest the dash board correct? and where does this cylinder sit with the rubber hose? is there a place I can pour fluid into it?

Thanks for your help, and please excuse my ignorance for this matter. I'm trying my very best to learn as much as possible, so I can help fix my car, and help anyone else.

Thank you! Johnny

"mopa" wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@g14g2000cwa.googlegroups.com:

"Does the amount of fluid in the reservoir go down as the days pass on the calendar?" That's what I mean.

By "go down" I mean the sort of phenomenon experienced as you consume a drink in a glass. Eventually the level goes down so that there is no more drink in the glass and you need to go to the fridge and get more.

Bad pic. Great big strut bar impairs the view.

Also, judging by the riot of aftermarket gingerbread dressing up this scene, I'd say there's a chance the clutch master cylinder has been relocated out of view.

You have a '93, do you? Then you should see more like this:

(all on one line)

Yes.

The "firewall" is the enormous steel sheet that sits between you and the engine. Many cables and wires pass through this on their way from you to the engine, and it's decorated with parts bolted to it (such as the big black round cake-pan called the brake booster"). Some cultures refer to this as the "bulkhead".

If you're unfamiliar with this term, you need to go to the library and get some very basic books on cars.

Check out that PDF.

jim beam wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@speakeasy.net:

After palavering with this fellow some more, I'm starting to think your hunch may be right on.

If he cannot find the clutch master cylinder at all, there's a good chance it's completely empty, having probably been ignored for years.

Thank you for the Diagram Tegger. I just looked and it and now get the whole picture. Without any visual graphics, then I can be completely clueless.

I just checked the reservoir thats connected to the clutch master cylinder and realized that it was barebone dryed. There wasn't a single drop of any DOT4 in that thing. I just poured some into the reservoir, and pumped on the pedal about 25 times to see if it would get some "pressure" and it seems to be a little tighter.

I doubt the reservoir has been capped off anytime lately. This is only my 2nd car I have been driving, and only have been driving for 4 years. Any help is greatly apprecitated.

I don't really know what products on a car need to be replaced year after year. The lady who I bought this car from in June 2004 probably didn't change much. When I bought it was just sitting in her driveway, because she didn't want to spend money on a new timing belt, because her husband and her just bought a new dodge durango.

Thanks

"mopa" wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@g14g2000cwa.googlegroups.com:

I figured pictures were needed. Sometimes that's the best.

You need to bleed it. There is air in there that will prevent the pedal from feeling proper.

Also, there is a good chance the master cylinder seals are bad and it won't hold pressure anyway. Those seals are meant to be lubricated with fluid. Runnng them dry will chew them up very quickly.

And you should study the slave cylinder (follow the steel line back from the MC to find the slave). That missing fluid went somewhere. You may need to replace that, too.

Check under the dash in front of the clutch pedal for wetness and fluid staining to see if it's been escaping out the back of the MC.

You might as well consider this your "learning" vehicle. the one you'll make all your mistakes on.

If you want tips on bleeding, post back here. Somebody will help.

Good luck.

Hi Tegger,

I just checked for leakage, and it doesn't seem there was any fluid leaking out of the mc. There is enough grease on the end side of the mc by the pedal, so it all seems to be fine. All I can think of is maybe the fluid on the MC was never filled back up, and it damaged the seals on the MC.

AutoZone just received my parts, so I'm going try and have this guy install them tomorrow, but for the time being, I'll just keep pumping on the clutch pedal.

I don't see anywhere that its possible to bleed the mc though.

Thanks again for your help. You've been so very helpful. The labor will be about $80.00 the guy said, just for future reference for others who may have to have someone else do it.

Respectfully, Johnny

you don't bleed the master, you beed the slave - down at the gearbox end. just open the bleed nipple & let the air come out. keep the fluid reservoir topped up while you do this. wash any spillage with plenty of water - never wipe.

btw, honda recommend dot3, not dot4. some dot4's have been problematic with seals after they've been used with dot3, the factory fill.

Thanks Jim. Darn, and I had just bought the good synthetic dot4

"mopa" wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@g49g2000cwa.googlegroups.com:

Synthetic is DOT5.

silicone is dot5.

dot3 & dot4 are glycol-ethers.