Wasn't the Slave, Wasn't the Master

[NickS VR4]

What the heck can be wrong with this cursed car. I just replaced the slave cylinder thinking thats a cheap quick fix, and that didnt fix my clutch problem. Then i looked inside the car at the firewall for the clutch and noticed some fluid on there, so i figured, it had to be the master cylinder. I just rebuilt the master cylinder and still no go.

The way the clutch acts up is when you start the engine and push the clutch it, for the first couple inches down the clutch is very spongy but after that it stiffs up a lot. The clutch is already adjusted all the way out and its not enough to get clutch disengaged. Can someone PLEASE help me here.

[91vr4n00maxima]

clutch fork popped off?

also you shouldnt be adjusted all the way out. i adjusted mine too far out by mistake once and it did as youre describing. got VERY stiff and wouldnt disengage.

[NickS VR4]

I'll try and check for that, but what should i check, to see if i can move the clutch fork around by hand? And I'm not too sure if I am all the way extended on the clutch. I just know that before when the pedal was to the floor, I was getting some grinding, so I adjusted the clutch petal further out and everything was great then I drove to city hall, was fine, and on my way home, rode fine for a little while but then i was getting serious grinding and i had to sync the rpm to the gear to get the rest of the way home.

[NickS VR4]

Alright, well I just tried feeling around the fork. I tried pulling it back by hand, it doesn't budge. It will very slightly wiggle back and forth and i can push it a tiny bit back into the slave but will not slide in or out. I feels like its still in place.

Now I had adjusted my clutch before to grab sooner towards the top end, i left some play in there though so it didnt have constant pressure. When the engine is off I can feel that the top part is hard to push, but it is softer than when you get further down (feels like 2 stages of pressure). And when the car is running its very spongy feeling on that top part, then it goes normal for the rest of the travel.

Now like the title says, I replaced the slave, I rebuilt the master, bled this thing like 20 times with a tube on the end and everything and I get the same problem every time, soft on the top, stiff on the bottom on the clutch.

I HOPE this isnt a pressure plate problem. I have an RPS 6 puck clutch with about 7k miles. When I rebuilt my motor 3k miles ago, it had plenty of clutch left.

[91vr4n00maxima]

for how long is the top soft? about an inch?


thats normal.

[NickS VR4]

No, to be more specific, that top 1" is soft, then you feel it pressing against the master, then its softer/spongy(when running) for about 2ish maybe 3 inches, then the rest 4 or so inches is stiff.

[NickS VR4]

Anybody have any ideas? The only thing I can think of is maybe something is wrong with my pressure plate. The clutch is an RPS Max 6 puck clutch. 7k miles on it, but it was sitting outside the car for 3 years. The pressure plate springs were pretty rusty. I did put in a new TOB and greased it with mobil one fully synthetic grease.

The only thing I can think of is that it is the pressure plate. Does this sound like it could be the problem?

[NickS VR4]

Also even though my clutch line doesn't leak, do you think that it may need to be replaced. It is the stock clutch line.

[leet]

replace the clutch line, get a stainless steel one, it's only $30

[Theo_VR4]

I know this is from last year, but did you ever fix your problem? I'm about to start a new thread for my issue, but I'll mention it here first:

RPS Max and RPS Flywheel w/ ~10k, put in a 6-puck to replace street disk. Broke it in, ran fine. One night it felt like a pop in the clutch pedal, very little pressure. Car still drove fine, stopped in a parking lot and saw no signs of leaks. Went back to the road and clutch would slip under boost. Assumed it was the pressure plate. Sent it to RPS they said the surfaces were worn and recommended I replace the pressure plate, rebuilt the flywheel, and they repadded my 6-puck. I Rebuilt the transmission while it was out. Car back together and clutch won't disengage. Replaced & bled the slave cylinder, same problem. Fork is firm against the slave cylinder, no play, moves just over 3/4".

Mainly I was wondering if the 3/4" was enough to decide if I should go ahead and replace the master cylinder? I hate wasting time and money for no results, happens too often w/ our cars, chasing gremlins...