Date: Thu, 4 Sep 2014 13:06:32 -1000
Reply-To: "SDF ( aka ;jim lahey' - Scott )" <scottdaniel@TURBOVANS.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: "SDF ( aka ;jim lahey' - Scott )" <scottdaniel@TURBOVANS.COM>
Organization: Cosmic Reminders
Subject: Re: Sudden clutch nothing...while parked
In-Reply-To: <CAHTkEuLtd+UktZQH8gAffchah=vNic0AELsU13Kv1JmA3iMXKw@mail.gmail.com>
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look up in there above your clutch pedal for any signs of fluid coming
from the clutch master.
If it's say 10 or 15 yrs old..highly likely.
the slave is not that hard to inspect visually for signs of fluid, or
fluid in the boot.
Clutch hyd. fluid should be changed every two yrs..
along with brake fluid to all wheels.
I just bleed 5 cylinders in a row ...the 3rd one being the clutch.
corroded metal line is a possibility too ..
though I have yet to actually see one.
if you end up replacing the clutch master -----it's 'really a lot of
fun' ( it sucks actually. )
here's a trick you won't read anywhere else I bet..
comes from back in the day working on Citroens that have two galllons of
brake fluid for their suspension system ..
castor oil ..the kind you buy in a drug store ..
'can'....'barely' ...'maybe' ...help thicken the clutch BF a little to
help things seal temporarily. Not an official recommendation ! ...
or try beer !
On 9/4/2014 12:44 PM, Don Hanson wrote:
> 84 van with 5sp and inline motor: No prior indications at all, no
> shifting issues, no soft brakes, nuthin! Been driving to windsurf every
> day, 100 mile round trip with plenty of hills and headwinds, a lot of
> shifting, but nothing out of my normal pattern. Everything was operating
> at 100% as I reached home...
> So I park the van, slightly head up, as I normally do, on my sloped
> drive, after coming in from a great day on the water, a few days ago. I
> take my other work van to work, two days the Vanagon sits
> still...again...this is not unusual... Today I go to drive it and the
> clutch pedal goes down without any feel, no hydraulics there at all.
> Flacid! Hmmm...I pop the instrument cowl and find the brake reservoir is
> very low...I add almost 3 dixie cups of brake fluid before it hits the
> "max" line.
> There is no trace of leaking that I could see, on the ground where I
> was parked..For diagnostics, I coast away from my shop in reverse, engine
> off and when pointed downhill, I select my very low gear and muscle the
> gears into place then fire the starter...Van moves out, engine starts as
> normal, but in gear and nothing is slipping..
> So no clutch action, all of a sudden. When parked this happened...Normal
> failure mode? Is there a bleed proceedure, if I ran low on fluid and got
> air into something...clutch master or slave?
>
> Thanks, When I have had issues with the clutch in the past I have
> always had some warning signs...this time, it just happened...
>
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