On Mon, 22 Sep 2003 12:07:06 -0700, billbjohnson555@nospamhotmail.com (Bill B.
Johnson) wrote:

|In article <bkgmg8$a2n$1@quark.scn.rain.com>, "Rock Kent"
|<rockkent@cascadeaccess.com> wrote:
|
|> Hi All,
|>
|> I have a '94 vtec del sol with 77k miles on it. I've had it only for about
|> three months and had zero problems with it in that time.
|>
|> My clutch went away this evening on the drive home from work. Over a period
|> of about 20 minutes, it got progressively worse until it was hard to put the
|> tranny in each gear, it felt like the synchro's were working real hard, and
|> the clutch was engaging almost immediately as the clutch pedel barely came
|> off the floor.
|>
|> I checked the fluid level when I got home and it was OK.
|>
|> I think my master cylinder is gone, but I'm not sure. I guess the
|> alternative would be that something has gone south with the disk and
|> pressure plate. I don't hear any unusual noises.
|>
|> So, any way to confirm that the master cylinder is bad before running off
|> and buying a replacement?
|>
|> Is an OEM Honda replacement the best way to go?
|>
|>
|> Thanks for your input.
|> -rock-
|
|You might want to have it checked my a mechanic that you trust befor you
|spent any money on the problem. For example, the problem might not be
|related to the master cylinder and you would be wasting your money if you
|fixed it and the problem remained. I don't know of a way to confirm
|whether or not the master cylinder is bad.


A clutch master cylinder is a single-stage unit. If it's leaking fluid by the
seals (which the symptoms suggest) it has to go out the back of the unit, where
the pedal pushrods goes in. If it just started, the leakage may be very small.
Look for a small amount of brake fluid, or even bubbled paint, where the master
cylinder mounts.

The other possibility is the slave cylinder, which is mounted on the
bellhousing. On most cars the slave cylinder will fail first. Thankfully, it's
also usually the cheapest and easiest to fix (unless it's annular like SAAB).

Your problem almost has to be one of these two.
Usually a leaking master cylinder will respond to pumping, while a slave
cylinder will not. If you can ease shifting - or get it into gear - by pumping
the pedal 3 times rapidly (pump-pump-pump-shift), then your problem is likely
the MC.

Good luck.


Rex in Fort Worth