hissing-like sound when brake/clutch pedal is pressed...???

Hi, I'm new.

I don't know a THING about cars. I don't know the names of the parts, nothing, LOL. I just got a used saturn sl1 96' 4-door, last week and I got a question or maybe not a qustion, but a minor concern.

Whenever I got to the car, to start it up and step on clutch I can hear a little hissing-like (kinda like a pump) sound coming from "it" (????).

I press the pedal 2, 3 times and then noises go away, the pedal becames harder and acts normal when driving... The car has ABS, etc.

I went back to the dealer that got me the car, he said, "it's just the vacuum. nothing to worry about." He said they can double check it for me tomorrow but it's normal.

EDIT: The car has had brand new brakes installed. A new exaust, oil changed, etc.

EDIT2: Did I mention everything else is workin correctly? Well, I'm browsing the forum and I have to say I have none of the problems mentioned in this forum by other users. Everything's perfecto.

I don't know, I just can't stop worrying. :p Like I said, I don't know much about cars. I don't know what the hell a vacuum is doing in a car. :p

Hehehehe. Thanks a lot people, later. :)

its not like sucky sucky vacuum. the clutch is controlled by a hydraulic system.

check out http://auto.howstuffworks.com/brake3.htm for details, or basicly...

The basic idea behind any hydraulic system is very simple: Force applied at one point is transmitted to another point using an incompressible fluid(in this case, brake fluid, don't get confused, the brakes and the clutch pedal are two completely different systems, independant of each other, but they use the same type of fluid).

now here is what i am thinking... the hydraulic system is self adjusting for wear. meaning that as the clutch wears down smaller and smaller over time, the hydraulic system will make up for the slack. it does this by allowing only a small amount of fluid into the system at a time, and only while the pedal is up(if the fluid could move freely when the clutch pedal is down, the clutch would never disengage) confused yet?? that popping nosie MAY(this is completely theory on my behalf) be the fluid passing thru the little hole for when it self adjusts. i can imagine two reasons for this. one - bad fluid or air in the fluid. two - the system is getting to hot and creating a pressure differencial when it cools down.

again, thats just a theory, knowing my luck i'm betcha i'm wrong. there is a very very small chance its the throw-out bearing or the pilot bearing, but since pumping the pedal helps, its most likey the hydraulics.

Thanks, friend. I'll look into the liquid thing. Could you point me in the direction of... this liquid. :D I would find these things under the hood, right? Time to dig out the manual. :)

Not sure if related but my "coolant" control has been flashin lately...

Could that be related?

the clutch fluid is a little of a pain to get to, not too bad... behind the battery is the brake master cylinder/ABS system/brake fiuld resiouver(SP?), behind and under that is another resiouver with a black cap thats the clutch fluid, clean the cap and nearby area before removing the cap with a paper towel, as the the brake/clutch fluid is very sensitive to dirt. it should be a light brown color,maybe a little dark. not too dark, if it looks like cola, thats bad. the dark color means the fluid is contaminated(SP again?).

coolent can cause a hissing noise,but shouldn't be affected by clutch position. the coolent resiouver is on the other side of the engine bay, above the wiper fluid, check it with the engine dead cold(waiting over nite is your best bet) the proper level is marked on the side. most good oil shops will top it off with a service, the dealership defintly should. if the level is fine, next time you are at the dealership have them check to see if the ECT(Engine coolent temp sensor) has ever been replaced. the old design(up til around 2000 or 01) failed commonly after a few years. the new brass design works much better. its a $15 peice.

thank you very much man.

i ve been able to tackle the coolant problem and now, i'll look into the clutch fluid.

the info was very hepful.

the poppin sound def sounds like they fluid passin thru. i'll check the tank out first thing in the moring when the car cools down.

later.