my car's pedal would feel loose until it warmed up, after it warmed it was good to go, maybe you have bad master cylinder or slave cylinder. it would have to get below freezing before the clutch fluid would freeze. good luck though

-jay

 

Well, it's definitely been below freezing. About 15 degrees outside right now. I'm thinking it's got to be some kind of leak and the cold weather is just a coincidence. My wife's car (same year/model) is having no problem whatsoever.

Aren't our clutches vacumn assisted somehow? Maybe I've had a vac hose freeze and split. I'm just grabbing at straws.
-gp

 

replace your fluid with better dot 3 stuff. whatever you do, dont use dot 4.

thats just what i think it could be. the cheap stuff really doesnt work well unless conditions are right.

 

i def. think its your master cylinder or slave bc the freezing temp for dot3 clutch fluid is like -40 degrees celcius. good luck though and have fun changing what ever you have to change in the cold........thank god i live in florida : ) check out this link though: http://www.stealth316.com/2-brakefluid.htm

my .02

-jay

 

The cold weather is when the fluid gnomes attack. :suspect:

Seriously, last winter I was leaving for work and noticed the pedal felt weird. It got worse as I drove moe and I figured my master cylinder finally died. Once I added fluid and bled the system it never leaked again. I am not the only one this has happened to either. The only explanation is gnomes.

 

Freakin' gnomes! I don't think it's supposed to get above 28 degrees this week, and I'm never home during daylight hours. Damn if I'm going to troubleshoot this with a flashlight and single digit temps at night!

I'll check my fluid first opportunity.
-gp

 

Hey man I have a '92 SL. Last year my engine died and when i replaced it with a modded jdm, i threw a new clutch in. Before that job, I noticed that when it was cold, it would feel "spongy" as you put it. I would press it to the floor and let it go and it would come up slowly. Usually no amount of idle warm-up could fix it. I actually had to grind gears for a few minutes each day to get it warmed up. When i replaced the clutch, I bled the lines too and changed the fluid. I do still have the same problem. I blame it on the age of the car. If I let it sit overnight in anything under 25 degrees, I need to warm it up for minimum 10 minutes. Heat warms up fast though......

Just something I deal with at this point. I always baby it when I warm it up and it's just as fine after a little bit.

 

Just keep letting it warm up and it should be fine, mine did this last year when it was UBER cold and we had ice storms etc... and keep an eye on the fluid gnomes, they stole my fluid too.

BTW vacuum assist is only on the TT cars

 

Well, I just checked the clutch fluid reservoir and it was bone dry. Topped it off with Dot 3 fluid and I'm letting the car warm up now. Obviously, that was the source of my clutch problem, but now I gotta figure out where that fluid went.

I can't remember that last time I checked it. Probably last summer some time. (Bad owner. Bad!) But I can't remember the fluid ever being low. I'll have our mechanic check it out if I can limp it into the shop tomorrow.

It may have been getting low over a period of time (small leak) or it might have all let go this weekend when I had the problem. (much larger leak) As best as I can tell in the dark with a flashlight, all the connections and fittings are clean and tight around the master cylinder. I'll look for a puddle in the snow under the car.

Man it's god-awful cold outside, and this won't even be the coldest night of the week. I can't wait to retire and move back south.

Thanks for the input, guys. I'll update with what I find out.
-gp

Edit/update: Couple of things to note. It only took a couple of ounces to fill up the reservoir. Not sure how much our system holds, but it was much less than I was thinking I'd have to pour in there.

Also, the clutch pedal did not respond immediately. It took some serious pumping before I could get it to shift in gear. Drove the car around the block and had to double pump the clutch on each shift. Sat in the car and gave the pedal about a dozen agressive pumps and checked the fluid level- still full. And it now seems to be working properly.Feels a bit softer than I remember, but it now shifts while sitting still with no extra pumping. The clutch seems to engage closer to the floor than it did before.

Is this considered normal. Am I just bringing the pressure up to where it should be and do you think it will improve to what I felt was "normal" before?

 

check the slave cylinder. it on the back side of the tranny

 

check the slave cylinder. it on the back side of the tranny

We'll put it on a lift tomorrow and look everything over. Thanks!
-gp

 

My slave cyl goes out every 2-3 years and that is exactly how it acts. the good news is that if it just started losing fluid in cold weather you can probably run it a while longer so long as you keep a close check on the fluid level. The low pedal you felt after refilling the system is due to air trapped in the line. Even with extensive bleeding, some air seems to stay trapped in the line. usually, driving around and using the clutch will movethe air up and out of the line into the master cylinder reservoir then your pedal will return to normal. you will need to rebuild the slave cylinder a rebuild kit is less than 20 bucks at NAPA. when you compare the old piston seal to the new one, you will be amazed at how much the old one has worn down.

 

Turns out it's the master cylinder. Found fluid leaking around the clutch pedal arm on the floorboard. Ordering a replacement this afternoon.
-gp

 

after hearing about so many master cylinders gong bad lately i think mitsu should have added it to the 60k and 120k maintenance lol

 

The cold weather is when the fluid gnomes attack. :suspect:

Seriously, last winter I was leaving for work and noticed the pedal felt weird. It got worse as I drove moe and I figured my master cylinder finally died. Once I added fluid and bled the system it never leaked again. I am not the only one this has happened to either. The only explanation is gnomes.

Happened to me twice since ive owned this car. Its crazy no sign of leakage or anything. Its just gone. Then I bleed in new fluid and its fine for the longest time. Master cylinder is fine. STUPID GNOMES!!

 

Replaced the clutch master cylinder. ($95 for the part and $27 to install.) MSRP is $170 plus labor. So figure $250.00. It's good to be connected to a body shop with a good mechanic.

Clutch has come back fine. Feels just a little soft at the top, but that seems to be improving the more I drive it. Still cold here (15 degrees) and they're predicting up to 6" of snow by tonight. It's gonna be a fun drive home this evening.

Thanks for all the input, guys.
-gp