lowdownthrowdown

I did a search, but didn't seem to find anything related in about 6 or 7 pages of posts I went through. I was sitting at a street corner, ready to right. Stepped on the clutch, put in first and as I gave it a little gas, the clutch pulled all the way to the floorboard. It didn't just fall there, like a spring broke, but pulled there. I swung around the corner, put the stick in neutral and stopped. I checked under the hood for whatever and pulled the clutch pedal back. When I stepped on it, it went down and came back up fine. Restarted the car, pushed on it a few times and all was good, but immediately as I put it in first and tried to take off, the clutch pulled to the floorboard again. I waited about 30 minutes trying to figure out the problem. Got ____ed and I'm stubborn so I didn't call for a tow, tried it again and it took off fine. 10 mins down the road, same deal. So I waited another half hour, tried and it was fine. 5-10 mins later, same deal. This time after waiting a while it wouldn't let me go at all. It just did the same thing over and over. One friend says it sounds like the pressure plate. Another says clutch fluid, another says it's a possessed car. Anyone have an idea? If it's the clutch fluid that's low, why would it only be problematic when "warm"? And also, where is the reservoir so I can check that? I thought I read in another post that it uses the same fluid as the brakes do from the same reservoir. The tow truck guy (who I had to finally call) said there's no way and that there has to be a clutch fluid reservoir.

Thanks for any tips and info.

Spect2K3

It must be the "posessed" theory!

I'm sure if you had it towed you brought it to a mech...this isnt something to mess with as it could be dangerous, so hopefully its at the mech and he can take a look.

Just from what you said, it sounds like the pressure plate, but its hard to tell without looking at it. I'd assume there is a clutch fluid reservoir. I feel like an idiot b/c I can't seem to recall. If you have your car, make sure that all the fluids are where they should be.

I'm sure someone else can help more

captainlaziness

I have no idea what's going on. The one thing I do know is that yes, the clutch and brake fluid are the same. The resevoir is on the driver's side of the engine compartment, back by the firewall.

sosgal721

So the clutch just went to the floor without you touching it? Im confused...

captainlaziness

It sounds like he needs to bleed the clutch. But if there was air in the system it seems like it should be a continuous problem, not come and go like he posted.

hunterUnknown

iTrader: (1)

sounds like it's f-ed up.

that is indeed a technical term the dealer will be familiar with.

jjjosh41

The same thing happened to me last year in my old car when the slave cylinder went out. It almost sounds like fluid is leaking and its not totally empty. If you have some air pockets in the system, that could be where your getting the problem.

Like others said, its very hard to tell without looking at the car. But it sounds a lot like fluid levels and/or slave cylinder. But I would say take it to a mechanic you trust and let them figure it out or the dealership...chances are its under warranty.

captainlaziness

Seems weird for the slave cylinder to just crap out like that. Especially on a new(er) car. Defective parts maybe?

sosgal721

depending on who installed his TRD performance clutch (looked at his info....) the dealer might try to blame it on that(if he took it to the dealer)

lowdownthrowdown

i have almost 38,000 miles on it, so it's out of warranty anyway.

captainlaziness

Who did the clutch install?

captainlaziness

And how long ago?

lowdownthrowdown

i bought the car used from a kid (19 yr old) in Sacramento. He's a mechanic, so he did it all himself. Purchased in August '06. This is the first issue with it. There was nothing noticeable leading up to the failure, so that's why it's so odd. The TRD Performance clutch has only about 10K miles on it.

lowdownthrowdown

i'm surely going to have to have my brother's friend (mechanic) look at it tomorrow. Figured I'd ask here first in case there's something easy I'm not thinking of. I guess we've deduced that there is no "clutch fluid reservoir", so I'm thinking, like someone said, possibly the clutch cylinder (master or slave).

After I find out for sure, I'll update this post.

Thanks for everyone's help!

Steve27

"I guess we've deduced that there is no "clutch fluid reservoir", ..."

There most certainly is a clutch fluid reservoir, and as was previously stated, it's against the fire-wall on the driver's side. I had a similar problem with my Nissan 240SX and it turned out to be the slave cylinder. I would check the fluid level first, if it's low, I would check for a leak at the slave cylinder. (It was an easy replacement on the Nissan, but that was a rear-wheel drive car i.e. no transversely mounted engine.)

lowdownthrowdown

Sorry, Steve27, I was thinking he was referring to the brake fluid reservoir. I looked under the hood and saw what I think are the master and slave clutch cylinders. I just got off the phone with the guy I bought the car from and he said it's more than likely a bubble in the clutch line. He suggested bleeding the line and changing the brakes since they are getting worn. He explained how, but was talking pretty quick.

Can anyone post on here details of how to go about this? Is it fairly easy or should I call my mechanic friend to do it for me. I'm great with computers and electronic gadgets, but with car stuff, I'm ignorant as hell.

captainlaziness

Again, the clutch uses brake fluid. It's all the same fluid for different hydraulic systems. Same resevoir. Same fluid.

Bleeding the brakes is a fairly simple procedure, but it can be time consuming on the tC. You're goning to need another person to help you bleed the brakes. Someone has to pump and hold the brake pedal while another person opens and closes the bleeder valve. Bleeding the clutch was easier (for me) than bleeding the brakes. It's the same procedure but with the clutch.

jbae1221

i could be wrong but doesn't the tc have a 5 yr 60000 mile powertrain warranty... if so, why not take it to the dealer.. it's his problem a part of the powertrain...

lowdownthrowdown

ok, so we bled the clutch and a tiny bit of air came out at first, but nothing after. my buddy said that was normal and didn't seem like it was the problem. I tried pulling out of my driveway after and the problem repeated. I spoke with his dad who is a mechanic for Nissan (he said the problem is because I have one of those damn Toyotas. haha) and he was confused about the problem. Then after I mentioned that I have a TRD Performance clutch, he said, ah haaaa, why didn't you tell me that at first? Said the problem is PROBABLY the master or slave clutch cylinder. Since the performance clutch puts more pressure on the thing, those will crap out quicker than normal.

Does anyone else have the performance clutch? And if so, did you replace your master and slave cylinders when you did the job? Is there a high performance version of those as well? Or do I just need to know that those will have to be replaced quicker than normal due to the excess strain?

Steve27

"Does anyone else have the performance clutch?"

Not me.


"And if so, did you replace your master and slave cylinders when you did the job?"

If they're in good working order, there would be no reason to replace them.

"Is there a high performance version of those as well?"

I doubt it.

"Or do I just need to know that those will have to be replaced quicker than normal due to the excess strain?"

I suspect that there was already a lot of wear from the previous owner, and replacing the slave, master, or both with stock parts will solve the problem. You might also consider a rebuilt kit for both, they tend to be easy to rebuild (assuming you can pull the old ones easily).