Hydraulic clutch problem (Page 1/1)
1985 Fiero GT JUL 02, 12:47 PM
I was driving my Fiero today, stock everything with a replacement (rock auto) master cylinder, and I felt the pedal drop to the floor once, without disengaging the clutch, then it was fine for half an hour, then the bite point dropped almost to the floor, was like that for a minute or two, then the pedal would only go down halfway, then be hard as a rock. The clutch is now not traveling far enough to disengage.
fieroguru JUL 02, 01:31 PM
Check the clutch slave push rod. Sounds like it has come out of position.
1985 Fiero GT JUL 02, 01:32 PM
How would I do that
fieroguru JUL 02, 01:40 PM
The clutch pedal will only go hard when either the piston in the slave cylinder reaches the end of its travel or there is a mechanical bind in the clutch release fork.

First step is popping the decklid and taking a look at the clutch slave and pushrod.
Is the clutch slave still bolted in place tightly?
Is the boot around the pushrod fully extended?
Did the pushrod poke through the clutch release lever?
Is the pushrod centered in the slave and on the clutch release lever?
Is the clutch release lever pushed too far forward?

You might need to remove the bolts holding the slave in place to do some more checking, but mark the current fluid level in the clutch master before doing so (this will allow you to slowly push the piston in the slave back slightly to see where it was in its range of motion when you took it apart.
1985 Fiero GT JUL 02, 02:01 PM
Ok, in order, slave is booked in place, boot looks normal, as for the rest, I am not sure how to check the other things right now, I have absolutely no tools right now, but I felt the pushrod through the rubber boot, and it feels a little wiggly
1985 Fiero GT JUL 02, 05:20 PM
I felt around and felt something off, I then used my phone to look, and it appears that my clutch release lever is broken, and I think that it rotated on the shaft a bit, which made the slave cylinder only half release, thus giving me the rock hard pedal half way down.


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[This message has been edited by 1985 Fiero GT (edited 07-02-2023).]

Patrick JUL 02, 07:25 PM

quote
Originally posted by 1985 Fiero GT:

...it appears that my clutch release lever is broken



Bingo!


quote
Originally posted by Mickey_Moose Here:

Another thing that tends to get overlooked is the clutch release arm on the transmission.

There are 2 types - the cast one and the stamped steel. The stamped steel arm tends to bend (or crack) as well - replace it with the cast arm.

Stamped steel arm is on the far left:




[This message has been edited by Patrick (edited 07-02-2023).]

1985 Fiero GT JUL 03, 08:26 PM
I just ordered a new one from Rodney Dickman (he just released them), it should be much better, although very pricey!