Hello everyone, this is my first post and I am sure this is easy for most of you but I am an electrical nerd and not much of a mechanic...

My car was acting normal till about a 2 weeks ago when I noticed the car would not slide into gear easily. Having owned the Haynes manual for my car, I looked up possible causes and of course looked at the easiest which was filling my master reservoir. Being that I have no clue, I pulled off the cap and poured some DOT4 in (Unfortunately, I found out later that the irregularly shaped black piece should have come out with the cap and that I merely filled the inside of the black piece instead of filling the reservoir... lesson learned). Because what I thought was filled and the problem persisted, I went deeper into what could be the cause.

Enlisting the help of come co-workers to assist with holding the clutch, I attempted to bleed the slave cylinder of air. Because I am stationed in the UK at the moment and do not have all my tools that I normally would in the States, I am without means to jack the vehicle up but attempted to do this anyway as best as I could. I modified an old Camelback hose to fit over the bleeder valve and put the other end into at least 2" of DOT4 Fluid in a container. Then, applied pressure to the clutch and DID see air bubbles come out along with fluid (Pushed in and out the clutch while hose was still attached then, not knowing this was wrong to do). Eventually nothing came out at all and now the clutch was sticking to the floor... We checked the level of fluid again and that's when I realized my first mistake and proceeded to empty out fluid from black piece into actual reservoir. Pumped the clutch in and out many times but still received the clutch sticking to the floor.

After several more attempts to bleed using the same method, I wanted to verify that my slave cylinder had not been broken and went to a local scrap yard to find a replacement. We were in luck because someone had just driven a 2000 Accord on the lot to be scraped for spar cash before shipping back to the States and we ripped in out for only £15 instead of paying the £50 for a new one and waiting for it to be delivered. Got back to the house, installed the new one, proceeded to pump the clutch many times to build pressure and the pedal comes back up on its own the majority of the time now but gives no resistance when pressed in. Started the car in Neutral, but still will not go into gear...

I know about gravity and the effects of air, but is there another way to bleed the system since I have no means of raising the car? Because it is not going into gear, I am unable to drive it to a lift as well... As you can see, my car knowledge is noobish at best and need some help.

Thanks

 

Sounds like you still have air in the system. These are not fun to bleed. If you were in the states I'd suggest a speed bleeder for this - IMO they work wonders for the clutch system.

Since you are not here, I'm guessing more quality time with the "hose" method and your friends.

If you are still have issues, just know that the clutch master might have been the "source" to begin with. From inside the car look up where the clutch master is, is there signs of fluid there?

 

@poorman212

Thank You for the quick response. I did look into this one already and no fluid coming from the master at all.

 

Just a side note: When I press the pedal down normally, it comes back up but when I press it in slow, it sticks to the floor.

 

Beginning to sound like the master - they also leak internally.

 

Just went out and bought a speed bleeder and found a crack in the replacement slave cylinder... It was not there when we pulled it from the junkyard, so we probably broke it. Put the old one back in since it was not conclusive that it was actually bad and getting ready to bleed the system again.

 

After putting he original slave cylinder back in and bleeding the system using the speed bleeder, it took about 10 minutes and pressure was back. Took for a test drive through all the gears and it is working. Needless to say, most of the issue was self-inflicted and I learned a great deal and what not to do has been learned.

Thank You to poorman212 for the assistance. I noticed the Marine Corps uniform and from this Air Force SSgt, I hope you stay out of the thick.

 

Glad you were able to get it resolved.

That pic is my "memorial" to my oldest son - it is from OCS Graduation Day.

Again glad you have a working car again - that is the goal of this forum....keep an eye on the fluid level over the next few weeks just to be sure there isn't some other issue.

I thank you and all of the others who serve(d) our country!