Hello...about 1/2 a mile from home tonight the clutch pedal failed to return to normal position. Managed to crawl home in 2nd gear, but no clutch. On arrival I find hydraulic fluid sprayed around the area towards rear of battery area, and over various hoses and pipes at the back of the engine in that general area. This is the opposite side to the master cylinder, which was replaced a year ago, so looks like that's in the clear. There's a flexible hose in this area, but too much fluid spread around to be sure it's the culprit. Car will be recovered to garage tomorrow. Have not heard of this as a common 9K problem. Any clues please folks?
I had my 1996 Aero clutch slowly lose fluid until the pedal went down to the floor. Bought all the clutch parts to get it done and the mechanic found the hose had split and that is all that was needed. He replaced it with a stainless hose, and now I have all the parts for when my clutch collapses properly!!!!
Failed clutch hose? These all should have been replaced by Saab under warranty. If the exterior of the hose is not smooth, but waffled, it is a known bad one. Replace with new, bleed and see if it fixes the problem.
The issue is that if it has failed, it probably has also filled the slave with muck as well. For anyone with a 9k CS body. Check this and replace. It is much cheaper than replacing the slave when the hose disintegrates from the inside (normal failure mode) and contaminates the slave
If the flexible hose has burst then see below. If the cylinder is gone, then the gearbox has to come out (even if the pipe is gone the gearbox may have to come out).
There is a common(ish) proble affecting saabs somewhere where you see the fluid. I got it at 48k miles 4 years old (9000, 2.0 LPT '97). The problem is known to affect 1996+ cars and "suppossingly" the fault is the flexible rubber pipe which connects the hydraulic line from the car body to the gearbox. Supposingly the pipe degrades internally and releases rubber pieces which in turn block the valve(s) of the cylinder. Subsequently this shows as a hard (notsy) to depress clutch pedal which may also refusing to return. The pedal they say (SAAB) goes hard gradually so you don't notice the difference. IT is all down to a modified flexible pipe coming from a different (ie. GM) supplier.
The clutch pedal on mine stuck 2-3 times (usually on warm days) that I noticed. On the day of the event time it happened at a busy junction, I stepped on it and the rest is history.
If the pipe is gone then it has to be replaced and then you will be lucky if the slave cylinder bleeds. If it does not bleed then the gearbox has to come out. Mine did not bleed they say (I don't believe them) but they neither unscrewed completely the bleeding nipple. Most cars (I am told by my current SAAB dealer) bleed.
There are some stories doing the rounds that the cylinder seals fail (because of the rubber in the fluid, saab says). Maybe they do, in which case the cars should have long ago be recalled.
If your gearbox is out consider a new clutch kit too.
I hope it is a cheap problem you've got.
Regards Charles
PS. What left me a really bad taste was pressure sales and the fact that no parts where kept. That was SAAB in Perth Scotland who have since then lost their franchice, even so I now choose to do a 140 mile round trip to get the car serviced.
You are lucky to have made it home. The clutch hose on my 1998 CSE went
600 miles from home last summer. It was a weekend of course and no part could be had until Monday. Between the tow, a rental car, repair, two extra 600 mile trips, and my time it was an expensive proposition. Later I learned that this is a common problem for late model 9000s and that maybe there was even a Saab recall about it. Maybe you could talk Saab out of the part at least. It should be a simple job to replace the hose yourself as long as you don't crossthred the connection to the master cylinder.
I'm sure most people are aware, but for those who don't .....
.... there are two hydraulic cylinders in the clutch release system; MASTER and SLAVE.
The MASTER cylinder is mounted on the rear wall of the engine compartment and is reasonably accessible. It is motivated by the clutch pedal.
The SLAVE cylinder is mounted near the clutch within the gearbox assembly. When the clutch pedal is depressed, a hose/pipe arrangement conducts motion via oil under pressure from the MASTER to the SLAVE which it turn causes the clutch to release.
The evidence described by Pidgeonpost strongly indicate a leak/burst at or near the MASTER cylinder; probably the hose.
Gearbox-out is the "big-time disassembly" to which I refer in my earlier post in this thread and is only necessary if the SLAVE end of the mechanism needs to be addressed.
Pidgeonpost , I had not read of the failure mode described by Charles C but if I understand correctly, your problem *could* be the same. To my mind your course of action is :
Replace whatever has failed at the MASTER end (as I say, probably the hose)
Bleed and test to see if the clutch releases with normal foot pressure at the clutch pedal. Maybe some judgement required here.
Only if necessary contemplate addressing the (expensive) SLAVE end.
Of course, a repairer will take on the whole job but you need to go somewhere that you trust. Otherwise you end up like Charles (and me with other repairs) never knowing whether or not the repairer has gone over the top at your expense.
I notice two posts saying there has been a recall? Is there any evidence? I will purse the ....... even to the point of selling the car and buying an Alfa just to go and park it outside their shop window ;-)
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