Clutch Free Play Problem

[CasiCUA]

Hey all, new to the forum. I actually came here cause of a problem I'm having with my 99 GS-R Integra 4 door.
When it's cold, and I start the car, there seems to be about 3/4" to 1" of free play in the clutch pedal. After a bit of driving, the pedal goes back to normal. Anyone know what could be the culprit? I was thinking maybe air leak in the line?

The clutch engages fine when the pedal has all that free play, I just have to press the pedal all the way down. After the car warms up a bit, the pedal goes back up, and the clutch goes back to normal.
Any help would be appreciated. Thanks!

[casperGSR]

clutch free play is normal don't worry about it.

[CasiCUA]

thanks for the reply. Yeah, usually I realize clutch play is normal. I adjust it sometimes with that little screw stop at the pedal arm.
What I described, though is not normal for my car. 1" of free play is a lot. Usually, it's just a nudge until I get some resistence on the pedal.
But like I said, the problem happens when cold and gets better as the car is warmed up/being driven a bit- and it specifically just started happening now, at around 104K Miles (Never had this problem before). Usually, the clutch has the same amount of free play no matter how cold or warm the car is. Is it time to look into replacing something?

[casperGSR]

generally as a rule of thumb with most cars you should have approximately one inch of freeplay so you do want that there... as far as it changing as the car warms up that kinda puzzles me...
the only thing I can come with at the moment is having something to do with the fluid heating up and expanding but I'm not sure if it would actually heat up enough to really make a difference, just thinking out loud on this one... and I don't think it is necessarily related to the clutch plate itself because if that was starting to go I'm pretty sure it would still grip at the same release point regardless of how warm the engine is... I'll see if I can figure something out on that one or maybe someone in the forum has had a similar problem...

[dopenoze]

it could be your master cylinder. i was having the same problem on my 94 ls. I took it to a mechanic and he said my master cylinder was about to go out. I had it replaced and its been fine ever since.

[Kven]

actually for a honda is much less then 1", its like 3-4mm(about 1/4"), 1" is alot.

[CasiCUA]

Update: Checked out the car, and the clutch reservoir was completely empty. Looked in the engine bay, and there didn't seem to be any leaking. So I looked under the dash, and there it was! The master cylinder was leaking at the cylinder piston and dripping onto my carpet....awesome.
Anyway, gotta love eBay- picked one up for $38, should get it Monday at the latest. THanks for all the replies, fellas. I'll update when it's installed. The haynes manual should guide me well.