Having to pump clutch a lot
 

Hi there

I am having problems with my clutch since the weather turned cold in this neck of the woods.
Before the cold snap that happen Ned here a couple of weeks ago my clutch worked fine. Now I have to pump the clutch several times just so that I can start the vehicle when in gear without the starter moving the vehicle.

You don’t want to even know how much I have to pump it to get it to shift from fourth down into third.

So, I think that I am getting air in my clutch line. I have checked the fluid and it does not seem to be low.

Any suggestions on what I should do?

I was thinking of first just bleeding the line but, the clutch situation has been getting progressively worse, so, I was thinking that there might be some sort of fault that is letting air in. The cold snap may have caused something to shrink.

Any suggestions are welcome.

Welcome to FTE saskatchewan,
#1 > Do not assume. Definately check the clutch reservoir fluid to the fill line.
#2 > The only way this can happen is if you let your fluid run low.
#3 > It sounds like your clutch master cylinder is weakening + the cold is causing the hydraulic piston cup to shrink.
Having to pump it up several times, to build the pressure that you need, to actuate the clutch slave cylinder is the symptom.

If you have made it to #3, you need a new clutch master cylinder.

Hi again

Thanks for the advice.

I bouight the truck in the summer and the clutch was new. The fellow said it was new (it felt new) and that the slave cylinder had been replaced when the clutch had been done. However, he said nothing about the master cylinder.

I will check the fluid again tomorrow. It should be right up to the indicated level (I guess)?

And will look into the cost of a new master cylinder.

Any advice on things to look out for when changing the master cylinder?

Thanks

I have the same trouble on a 1989 F-150. I've looked into all the fixes but everything seems to be fine. One little trick i use is to take the lid off the reservoir and move the rubber seal around in the lid. This creates a better seal for the hydraulic system and seems to fix the problem for me.

Hey ya! saskatchewan,

Would of answered you 45 min ago.
Went surfing through 21 pages in this Forum + didn't find 1 thread for the topic of changing a clutch master cylinder because I haven't done one myself yet.

I do remember in a thread, that had this topic in it, that when installing the cylinder, do not depress the empty clutch pedal because it will bottom out and ruin the cup/piston device inside.

I'd install it, refill the clutch fluid reservoir, gravity bleed it, connect the pedal mechanism then manually bleed the system.

What ya' think?

Thanks for searching the links

I found another link that was talking about a similar problem and the person found that even after relpacing the master cylinder, it only solved the problem for a couple of weeks and then it started to act up again.

I am not sure why, but, I will certainly take your advice on keeping an eye on the fluid while bleeding the system.

Thanks again