Q: Clutch has to manually be lifted from floor

asked by on June 24, 2016

Sporadically, the clutch has no pressure and goes limp. If I reach down and manually lift the clutch pedal back into position it will return to its normal pressure and work well. I’ve checked and the clutch fluid is full. What do you suggest that I do to fix the clutch so that it will resume its proper function.

Hello! This reminds me of a similar experience I had last summer. The clutch would work most of the time but sometimes I would have to lift it up from the floor manually with my hand, pump it a few times then it would return to a normal clutch pedal feeling. I ended up finding out that the cause of this was air being trapped in the hydraulic system from a recent repair.

The reason the clutch pedal would return to the normal feel after a few pumps is because when you pump the clutch the air or fluid will be moved through the clutch hydraulic system. There is a spot in every clutch hydraulic system where air will feel ten times worst. When the air reaches this spot the pedal will become stuck to the floor.

Pushing the clutch pedal repetitively will move the air spot to another location and it will be less noticeable(clutch will feel more normal) until the air spot reaches that bad spot again. I suggest that you have a technician bleed your clutch and check your hydraulic system for leaks. If there is no air found present then the problem will likely lay within the clutch slave cylinder.

If you need some assistance with getting this fixed, consider enlisting a qualified mechanic who can diagnose your clutch pedal’s symptoms and fix it accordingly.

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