toolz

Last week, on my way home from work I was approaching a stop sign and engaged the clutch and the pedal went straight to the floor and stuck there. Stuck at a stop sign on an incline I drifted backwards and off the road so traffic could pass. Turned the car off, and put it in first and when traffic cleared I cranked and it started rolling. So I cranked it up all the way and rev match shifted without a use of a clutch the whole way home.

I figured it was the clutch master cylinder but could not for the life of me locate it. To my dismay I could not find anything online of issues of this kind for our 2nd gen xB. So I figured I would do some exploring and put together something here for others in trouble to locate.

Once I figured out the brake and clutch master cylinders MUST share a reservoir I found it to be empty. Put some type 3 synthetic brake fluid to top it off. Sure enough, my clutch came back after pumping it a few times. Relieved that it was simple and ashamed that I had let that reservoir dry out I started out of the driveway when it went out again. Upon inspection of the carpet under where the clutch master cylinder goes through the firewall, I found it quite damp (with fluid most likely.) I checked the reservoir and it was dry again.

I checked the clutch slave, located near the front of the engine and traced the lines where visible to ensure no other leaks were occurring. Nope. At this point I was certain it was the clutch master cylinder that is the culprit.

The brake and clutch master cylinders share a reservoir which is located on top of the brake master cylinder. If you cannot locate your brake master cylinder this repair is probably over your head. I tried to go about this repair in the quickest easiest manner possible so I did not remove anything that was not completely necessary or did not make it easier to get to the next part. This will be a general guide and not a complete tutorial of every single nut and bolt that needs to be removed.

Pictures at the end show the location of the clutch master cylinder.

Aside from a new clutch master cylinder and about a quart of type 3 synthetic brake fluid, you will need:
• 10mm, 12mm, and 14mm wrenches and sockets
• 10mm flare nut wrench
• Pliers, flat and Phillips screw driver.



1. I had to remove the wipers, the plastic cowl, the wiper motor, and the metal pan under the cowl.
2. Remove the airbox, I also disconnected the air intake so I could twist it out of the way.
3. Remove the brake master cylinder assembly.
4. Remove the brake actuator. Use the flare nut wrenches to disconnect all hoses.
5. Remove the brake booster.
6. Remove the clutch pedal spring
7. Remove clutch master cylinder push rod clevis with hole pin. Remove the clip and the hole pin.
8. Remove the clutch master cylinder.

You will notice your old clutch master cylinder is almost completely plastic and feels dry and brittle which is likely the reason for its failure. Your replacement should be almost entirely metal. I opted for the Beck Arnley Clutch Master Cylinder part number 072-9713 which can be found on Amazon for about $60.

The installation is the reversal of the removal except your very last step will be bleeding the clutch (pain in the butt) and bleeding the brakes (pain in the butt x4).

It could just be all in my head, but it the pedal push feels much more solid and fluid over stock.

Hope this helps somebody.

Location of the clutch master cylinder is behind the strut tower and next to the brake booster.


New clutch master cylinder nestled into it's new home.

pierre_tec

Nice to know, good info for anyone in the need for changing the brake booster also, mine died 3 weeks ago, i didnt find any diy, only going to the car and start taking bolts out, 6hr later brake booster done, back to topic, i love this car plastic pieces and his "great" to work location, thanks for the info

toolz

Yeah, I spent a good 6 hours just yanking and pulling stuff out. Reinstalling though was a quick 2.5 hours including bleeding.

Metalcoffin

Guess I have this to look forward to sometime in the future. How many miles did you have on your xB's when this happened?

toolz

107k miles. Not highway miles but not stop and go either. About 10 miles of dirt road per week and 40 miles of curvy country road per day.

Like I mentioned though. The problem seems to be with the OEM plastic construction. It was a bit dry and brittle after I wrangled it out of there. Hydraulics and plastic don't have a great relationship.

TrevorS

iTrader: (1)

Thanks for the heads up -- interesting they combined the two reservoirs.

Metalcoffin

Right on, I'm only at 50k, so awhile to go yet hopefully. I can't believe it's mostly plastic, that's just designed to fail! Probably lucky it lasted as long as it did.

And I always kind of wondered where the reservoir was for the clutch cylinder too.

toolz

Yeah I feel stupid for not noticing before. I'm not a very good mechanic.

Metalcoffin

Wouldn't say that, its not that common, at least I've never seen it before. Besides a good mechanic understands he/she cannot know everything. There's way to many makes, models, and designs out there. In fact in my experience the "know it alls" are the worst mechanics.

toolz

Ugh, I know this from first hand experience. I always try to consult Google before any project. Not only does the knowledge make the job quicker but I'm lazy as heck and don't want to have to go get new tools from the shed or store in the middle of working.

Metalcoffin

Yeah that always sucks when you're in the middle of a project(or repair) and something breaks, or you realize you don't have the right tool, and you have to run to the store.