clutch acting up

[outofstep]

hey everyone, i have a 2000 civic si, and over the past few days i noticed my clutch getting lower and lower before it has any tention to put it in gear, and tonite it got worse, it kinda sticks at the bottom then pops up after a second. and like the first 75-80% of pressing the clutch does nothing, it doesnt engage till like the last inch. this is my first hydro clutch, as i had a 90 civic before with a cable clutch. i wanted to know how to check the slave cylinder for leaks, or if there was anything else i can try?

[DeltaP]

Sounds like the master cylinder is beginning to bypass fluid due to wear in the bore and piston seals. Replace both the master and slave cylinder.The slave cyl will show external leakage the master may not as in your case. Mount the new assembly,refill with fluid, pump a few times and then gravity bleed the entire assembly. HTH
Another thing to know is that hydraulic clutches wont stand "clutch riding", or keeping your foot resting on the pedal. That keeps constant pressure on the hydraulics and transfers that pressure to the the throw out ,(or release),bearing. In time that will prematurely burn up the clutch and flywheel from slippage if it doesn't destroy the bearing first or both.

[outofstep]

ok so i took a look at it once it was day time and couldnt see any leakage around either clynder, however i pretty much couldnt get it in gear at all this morning, so i looked at the fluid level, and it was pretty empty, so i picked some fluid up and put it in, pumped up the petal and it got a little better, i was able to get to work. by the time i got off work, it was acting up again, but when i checked the fluids it was still full? any ideas?

[outofstep]

do i need to replace both if i dont see any leaks around the slave? i know the master can leak internally wasnt sure about the slave?

[outofstep]

and is there any brands you would recommend

[DeltaP]

Oem

[outofstep]

do you still think i need yo change both the master and slave?

[DeltaP]

That is my experienced opinion. The slave will be troublesome soon. It's got X number of miles on it and might give ya problems getting a good clutch release w/ the new master. I'm not even sure if they're sold separately.
Take note of what I said about riding the clutch. I'm not sayin ya do it but from what i've seen 90% of people do. It'll kill a master and a clutch prematurely. HTH

[outofstep]

cool thanks, yea they are sold seperately from autostores. and they told me its off for them to fail at the same time. thats why i asked if i really should do both.
as for the issue now, ive been able to get by just by pumping the clutch once the car is started, and since there is fluid its working, it just seems to leak while it sits for a while. i dont ride the clutch normally, i do tend to do it in R for some reason lol. but i hardly go in reverse. ive had the car for a year now, and i never realized it needed fluid for the clutch lol. i watched some generic videos on how to change the master cyl, how hard is it to do the slave?

[DeltaP]

Changing the slave is even easier than the master. Google some video on it. It'll probably gravity bleed. Put a tube from the bleeder into a bottle with about 2-3 oz of brake fluid in it. Make sure the tube is submerged to the bottom of the bottle, crack the bleeder, fill the master and stroke it through, not letting the master get too low on fluid. No more bubbles...no more troubles!
I see alot of 'blue flywheels' from dragging/ slipping clutches due to fat feet.
Where U at?

[outofstep]

Raleigh, NC. I used to beat on my old hatch, but it was built for it, this is my daily driver so i baby it, bought it off the original owner and aside from replacing the battery, this is the only thing ive had go wrong, and i wasnt too sure about hydro trannys since my hatch was cable and really simple to work on lol. the clutch is still grabbing strong though lol. am i gonna have to readjust the clutch for freeplay once i swap the cylinders or is it pretty much a swap out of parts then bleed?

[DeltaP]

The clutch compensates for wear but ya gotta have a certain clearance or 'free play' in any clutch to release bearing setup. The Honda is no exception or else it'll eventually slip and burn out if the slave piston rod puts pressure to the release bearing and the release bearing constantly contacts the clutch fingers. Theres a clearance proceedure at the pedal to master cylinder piston linkage. Gimme an e-mail address and I'll give ya what All Data's got for free play adjustment. ( pics and text).
Make sure ya replace the o ring between the slave and fluid line. And dont lose the 2 dowel pins holding the line to the slave.
Hey, I got friends in Durham.

[outofstep]

pmd, i found a pretty good video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&fe...&v=c-m5F0zEvyo

after seeing this, i went out and checked the Master under the dash and it was leaking like in this video lol. looks easy enough to do, still debating on waiting and ordering oem, or just going to advanced auto and picking up an off brand lol money is tight this time of year

[outofstep]

picked up a master and slave today, also got line wrench to be sure not to strip the lines lol, learned that mistake replacing calipers on my hatch, ended up having to replace an entire brake line lol.

[DeltaP]

Check yer e-mail. Sent ya some pertinent info on clutch master,slave cyl and pedal replacements and adjustments from Honda. HTH and have a happy holiday. DeltaP