gimmeshelter67

2008 G37 Manual.

A few months back I was turning and my clutch was slow to come back up. It didn't do it again so I didn't think anything about it. I had a Jetta that did that a couple of times with no other problems.

Last week I took a two hour trip and the clutch started to not return easily. I'd have to pull it up with my foot.

I tried to drive straight home since it was a Sunday. The problem kept getting worse and worse so I decided to pull over and call a tow truck. Before I could do that it would not come back at all or change gears. I was right in the middle of an intersection. I turned the car off and then started it in gear and took took to park away from the intersection.

The tow truck picked me up and I dropped the car off at home.

I got on the forums and started reading up. I'm sure it's too late to try and change the fluid as some threads say. I could call the dealer and have them look at it, but right now I'm not too happy with them. My melting dashboard is the source of some heated arguments.

I only have 48K on it and don't drive wild and crazy with it. The clutch still felt like it was grabbing good. Seems to be the Master or Slave Cylinder

My question is. Can I check out the master cylinder myself? (I'm not a mechanic, but I've done work on all of my cars before)

Ricio1991

How many miles on the car? When that happened to me my clutch was toast and had to replace the whole kit (clutch, flywheel, master, slave) so I went with a JWT kit with a z speed concentric slave cylinder. The only way to find out is to drop the transmission and check it out its probably your clutch or slave only or both. If you do end up having to replace your clutch you have to pretty much replace it all. My car little by little started having issues with the clutch sticking and trouble to put in gear at low mph. One day I went to a Restaurant and got stuck in be parking lot and clutch stuck all the way down and couldn't put it in gear so I took it to a shop and they determined I needed a clutch kit. Oem is way too expensive so JWT or is the way to go. Good luck my car had 88k miles I believe

gimmeshelter67

I have about 48K miles on the car.

D

Ricio1991

It could be possible that you need a clutch or just a slave or master. It's best to take it to a reputable shop and have them check it out. Do you have any extended warranty on the vehicle?

G37Sam

Pedal to the floor is generally caused by loss of pressure in the system (which essentially keeps everything tight and in place). Could be a faulty slave/master or a leak somewhere in your system, have you checked the fluid level?

If you do replace your cylinders, try and go aftermarket .

gimmeshelter67

I looked at the smaller reservoir next to the break reservoir. It's full. fluid is on the brown side. Tonight I will examine closer.

Someone mentioned looking inside the car about the nut that adjusts the clutch pedal and then look for leaks in the system.

Doug

Rochester

iTrader: (9)

Your dealership will tell you different, because they just don't see many 6MT G's... but here in the forum, the clutch slave cylinder is a common point of failure. Mine died at 18K miles... clutch pedal dumped to the floor and never came back. It was pretty unnerving.

If it's the CSC, and you take it to the dealer with OEM parts, figure $1400 repair give or take. It's time-intensive, because they have to lower the transmission for access.

JSolo

iTrader: (14)

With most CSC failures, the reservoir is empty. I'm partial to think it might be a master failure instead. Those are rare but do happen. Much easier and cheaper to repair.

Have an assistant slowly pump the pedal while you look at the small reservoir next to the *brake* reservoir (with the cap off) to see if there's any bubbles or fluid movement. A MC with an internal leak will present similar symptoms as a failed slave. Essentially seals on the mc piston wear and don't seal properly resulting in the inability to generate any hydraulic pressure - ie dead pedal.

For others reading this, clutch fluid should be replaced every 2 years, same as brake fluid.

saywat?

iTrader: (3)

could just me the master. i just replaced mine. one thing i learned on these cars is that doing the pedal thing to bleed the system is a waste of time and energy . just gravity bleed itll make your life easier. thats the first and easiest thing i would suggest you do before replacing the mc

kennyz424

iTrader: (147)

Could be the slave or the master cylinder... regardless since you're going to change one I'd just change them both while you're at it if you can spring the extra bucks to do so. Best of luck brother and keep us updated on what happens.

Mattimus

I agree with this. I ended up replacing my CSC and MC around 50k as well. My pedal didn't hit the floor, but it got real soft. My fluid was also dark brown. While I was doing that I went ahead and upgraded my clutch and flywheel since they drop the tranny for the CSC anyways.

saywat?

iTrader: (3)

I understand the reasoning but if u can DIY do the mc first and see wat happens. If ur gonna pay then might as well do both

sLADe781

iTrader: (1)

^^This. If your MC is full, you might be in luck and it could just be a failing MC rather than your slave.

Here's my thread when I had this issue last year: https://www.myg37.com/forums/general...tch-pedal.html


Agreed!! Gravity bleeding is the way to go as the whole pumping the pedal was such a pain in the @$$!! lol

JSolo

iTrader: (14)

Here's the thing, replacing the CSC and/or other clutch parts within the bell housing is at least 8-10x what it costs to replace the MC, whether done as a DIY or at a shop. About the only overlap between the two in terms of labor is bleeding the system when done.

Given the symptoms described and no loss of fluid, I really don't see how it could be the slave.

To the OP, what were the results of the test I described earlier?

saywat?

iTrader: (3)

this was my issue. maybe others can relate to it and figure theirs out. every morning my pedal would lose pressure and very soft pedal. i still could shift no problem jus very low pressure and it would take about 30 mins of driving or more for the pressure to build and give me a nice firm pedal again. on top of that the fluid was dark. so i replaced the mc. while doing it there was brown build up in the clutch reservoir hose. so id suggest you change that too if your having dark fluid issues. i didnt plan for that so i just cleaned mine. the nipple on the old mc that the hose attaches too was also rusted looking.

now i have consistent pedal feel (esp in the mornings) and fluid is clear ( if you just change out the fluid itll jus turn brown again in a few weeks bc of the mc)

yea you can fix both mc and csc and guarantee fix watever issue ur having or you can try the mc first and save a lot of money and later if you have issues again you know for sure its most likely the csc since the mc was replaced.

thats my suggestion. if ur a diy be prepared to have nightmares cus its pretty tough to wiggle out