W58 Clutch worn down or bad clutch slave cylinder?

[MK3Powah!]

I've been having problem with my clutch pedal engagement. Clutch disengagement doesn't start until when you have about maybe 1/8 inch left before you get to the bottom of the clutch pedal travel (watched cylinder rod movement and it matches clutch pedal operation). Also, the clutch does not engage until you have an inch left on clutch pedal travel (Hopefully I am making sense here). I have already bled my slave several times in hopes to increase pedal travel. I found no bubbles. No leaks either coming from the slave cylinder. Master cylinder is a brand new oem unit with no leaks detected. There is no clutch slip even at hard launches or all day driving so I am inclined that it is my slave cylinder but I need more people's opinions.

 

[Silver MK3]

You may just need to adjust the clutch engagement and freeplay. There are instructions in the TSRM. I'm pretty sure you are supposed to do this after replacing any parts on the system.

 

[MK3Powah!]

You may just need to adjust the clutch engagement and freeplay. There are instructions in the TSRM. I'm pretty sure you are supposed to do this after replacing any parts on the system.

It's hard to explain but there's little free play. I've bled the clutch several times already and the engagement stays the same: just an inch before the bottom.

 

[Silver MK3]

I'm not going to tell you that the problem is the slave because I do not know, but I do know that you should replace both the master and the slave when you replace one.

 

[destrux]

A bad slave cylinder will leak fluid out. If it's not leaking, it's not bad.

A bad clutch master cylinder can cause what you're describing.

So can a bad pressure plate (but that's rare).

So can air in the system. Clutch systems can be very difficult to bleed and there is more than one way to bleed them. I prefer the GM bleederless method (pump clutch 25 times fast, hold down, wait 10 seconds, release, wait 5 seconds, pump 25 times...repeat process 5 times). There's zero mess and you can do it alone. You leave the bleeder closed the entire time. The air rises up and exits into the reservoir during the release after the "wait" step. It works well, better than using the bleeder usually. I use it on just about everything.

 

[Jeff Lange]

I'm not going to tell you that the problem is the slave because I do not know, but I do know that you should replace both the master and the slave when you replace one.

Since when? That's not true at all.

Jeff

 

[TaylorRacing]

A bad slave cylinder will leak fluid out. If it's not leaking, it's not bad.

Says who? I had one go out no leaks. would lose "pressure" the peddle would move without any resistance. move it back and forth 5-10 times and you would feel hydro pressure build back up and if you held it down, you could feel it "leave". Replaced slave and all problems gone


To the OP, Sounds like air in the line which can happen with a bad slave cylinder.(had a corrado that had that issue). if you have bled it repeatedly with the same results and are confident in the slave being ok(replaced it within a year) my thoughts would lean more towards the clutch assembly. But this sounds like text book "air in the line" to me. you are describing what i have personally had to go through on two diff cars.

remember its a toyota, bet kragen has that slave cylinder for 40-60 bucks. lot cheaper then a clutch, if you want to throw parts at a problem and hope it goes away


-Mike

 

[MK3Powah!]

A bad slave cylinder will leak fluid out. If it's not leaking, it's not bad.

A bad clutch master cylinder can cause what you're describing.

So can a bad pressure plate (but that's rare).

So can air in the system. Clutch systems can be very difficult to bleed and there is more than one way to bleed them. I prefer the GM bleederless method (pump clutch 25 times fast, hold down, wait 10 seconds, release, wait 5 seconds, pump 25 times...repeat process 5 times). There's zero mess and you can do it alone. You leave the bleeder closed the entire time. The air rises up and exits into the reservoir during the release after the "wait" step. It works well, better than using the bleeder usually. I use it on just about everything.

I will try your method this weekend. I never had so much issues with air in the line if that is the actual problem. I may try replacing the master and slave cylinders to pinpoint the actual problem. The master is a brand new Toyota part however, the slave has never been replaced. I leaned towards it because that would be the normal culprit but I was leery since there's no leaks anywhere.

 

[MK3Powah!]

Says who? I had one go out no leaks. would lose "pressure" the peddle would move without any resistance. move it back and forth 5-10 times and you would feel hydro pressure build back up and if you held it down, you could feel it "leave". Replaced slave and all problems gone


To the OP, Sounds like air in the line which can happen with a bad slave cylinder.(had a corrado that had that issue). if you have bled it repeatedly with the same results and are confident in the slave being ok(replaced it within a year) my thoughts would lean more towards the clutch assembly. But this sounds like text book "air in the line" to me. you are describing what i have personally had to go through on two diff cars.

remember its a toyota, bet kragen has that slave cylinder for 40-60 bucks. lot cheaper then a clutch, if you want to throw parts at a problem and hope it goes away


-Mike

Mike,
I thought about the clutch assembly too but it never slips so I thought of looking into the master and slave. I will post my findings over the weekend. Hopefully it's just air in the lines.

 

[Beals]

I had a problem with holding my clutch in and it would creep out on its own and stall out at lights. I swapped out the master cylinder and it fixed the problem. My clutch is set to engage at the end of the pedal though, I prefer it that way.

 

[Silver MK3]

Since when? That's not true at all.

Jeff

You don't have to replace both, but I remember when I replaced mine it was recommended everywhere to replace both at the same time. It makes sense to just replace both since they aren't super expensive. Then you only have to work on the system once and if you have problems you know that it isn't the master or slave cylinder. It also seems like when you only replace one end of a system that the other end usually fails soon afterwards.