Clutch and Brakes Issue

[myshiftmyshift]

Hey guys!

1) In regards to the clutch, I have this strange on and off issue. 70% of the time it works fine. 30% of the time, sometimes correlating with hot days it seems, the clutch catches VERY low to the floor and it its EXTREMELY hard to push the shifter into first at a stop. What could cause this? It seems weird that it is not constant but temperamental.

2) I've had constant brake issues since I got my car back in 2008. One consistent one was that the rear rotors rust over (like normal) but are not "cleaned off" by the rear brakes. The rear brakes ARE grabbing, I can tell via temperature, but apparently not hard enough? Fronts are fine. Might this be the proportioning valve?

Thanks in advance for any help!

 

[Luken10]

Many members, including myself, have found luck in changing the brake fluid in order to fix the clutch problems. After driving in stop and go city traffic for about 30 minutes (especially on hot days like you) I had to start the car in second gear because first would not go in. Changed the brake/clutch fluid along with changing over to a stainless steal clutch line and the problem went away completely.

I don't have too much experience with your second problem. Does sound like they are not grabbing well enough. If you go ahead and change out your clutch fluid and/or line I would bleed the brakes as well since they share the same fluid and reservoir. If moisture and/or air are trapped in the lines it could be causing a drop in hydraulic pressure for both your brakes and clutch.

Here is the stainless steel line I used in my car. It actually started to leak a tiny bit of fluid while under pressure after the first couple months. Made me question the quality, but they did send out a new one almost immediately. Possibly just got a defective one. From what I have read on the forums, most people have a good experience with CorkSport.

 

[hat1018]

My guess as far as the brakes go is that ther rear calipers are bad. I mean if they rust over but don't get cleaned off in a few stops there must be an issue with the calipers. Although, the proportioning valve could be bad, I have never seen that happen to anyone though. The clutch problem could be the slave cylinder.

 

[esnave09]

I have the same issue with my brakes! My car sat on a dealer lot for over a year, so my brakes front and rear rusted over. My fronts have mostly cleaned themselves (although I think I need to replace them anyways), but my rears aren't cleaning off nearly as fast. They still are only partially cleared since I got the car in March. So maybe just replace them, and then go with MZ6 brakes?

 

[myshiftmyshift]

Are the brake and clutch fluids all the same? My car has about 115k miles, I don't think any fluids have been changed outside of oil and coolant. Maybe it is time to flush everything. I'll definitely try that in the next few days. My brake issue is strange. I have had the entire rear calipers changed out around 2010. I got it done in the shop that time around so it is possible they didn't do a good job.

Also, how expensive is it to change motor mounts and transmission mounts? I have a feeling mine are pretty shot since it seems to buck around more than before and has a half-second pause then THUD shifting on occasion.

 

[meGrimlock]

I recently had a boatload of clutch problems leading up to the replacement of the clutch slave (release) cylinder and clutch master cylinders.

problem #1 is exactly what i was experiencing. most likely a problem with the clutch slave cylinder, but it wouldn't hurt to replace the clutch master cylinder at the same time. The easiest to access and remove/reinstall is the slave cylinder. be sure to have some moly grease for both ends of the rod (the end that pushes the cup, and the end that pushes the clutch fork). rebuild kits are available to save a couple bucks. the slave cylinder will eventually fail, replace it before you're stuck somewhere and can't get into gear like I was.

problem #2 is possible to have a seized caliper. but if new pads were installed but the caliper piston wasn't repositioned correctly, you can have issues like what you are describing. Readjust the piston by removing the bolt that covers the gear, then take an allen wrench and tighten until you can't anymore, then back off 1/4 turn (I sometimes have had to back off just 1/8 turn).

 

[rit14623]

Hey guys!

1) In regards to the clutch, I have this strange on and off issue. 70% of the time it works fine. 30% of the time, sometimes correlating with hot days it seems, the clutch catches VERY low to the floor and it its EXTREMELY hard to push the shifter into first at a stop. What could cause this? It seems weird that it is not constant but temperamental.

2) I've had constant brake issues since I got my car back in 2008. One consistent one was that the rear rotors rust over (like normal) but are not "cleaned off" by the rear brakes. The rear brakes ARE grabbing, I can tell via temperature, but apparently not hard enough? Fronts are fine. Might this be the proportioning valve?

Thanks in advance for any help!

I replaced the rear calipers. That's fixed the issue.
The piston is frozen, so it's not squeezing the pads when the brake pedal is depressed, so it's not cleaning off the rotors.

 

[rit14623]

Also, how expensive is it to change motor mounts and transmission mounts? I have a feeling mine are pretty shot since it seems to buck around more than before and has a half-second pause then THUD shifting on occasion.

Take a look under your car for the front and rear motor mounts. If the rubber is torn or rotted, they need to be replaced. The left and right motor mounts can be seen from under the hood. Do a visual inspection.

 

[thuzil]

Front motor mount is easy to replace. This is also the one that most likely needs replacing.

Clutch and brakes are get from the same fluid in the brake master cylinder reservoir.

Flush your brake fluid and bleed your brakes and clutch.

 

[mp5la]

Rear motor mount is a pain to get at. If you're on the original it may be in need of replacement as well depending upon your mileage. I know mine was torn completely through when I replaced it (it looked like it was the original).