Google the term below.

c-m5F0zEvyo

This video goes through replacing the master and slave cylinder. At the end, it shows how to bleed the system. This should help you get the car to the shop by watching how to bleed the air out of the system.

 

second update..... I checked and the fluid level in the clutch MC had not gone down at all. hence, I decided to follow JimBlake's suggestion. I kept pumping the clutch.... not 50 but almost over 10 times, and the pedal gained quite a bit of resistance.. There is still a little bit of softness to it at the beginning, but its action seems to have recovered almost 80%. Of course, I have not tried driving it yet, since it is dark out and I do not want to take any risk, but I did put the car in 1st as well as reverse to see how it reacts as I let off the clutch. The car moves normally (again, of course I tested it for just a few inches) and it did not jump as it did on Tuesday morning, when I first found out that the clutch has gone soft.

Just thought of posting the update... I am curious to know experts' opinions, warnings, suggestions....

Thank you all very much!

 

deffenetly sounds like you need to bleed the clutch my dads jeep had the same problem also its just like if you were to bleed the brakes make sure the clutch fluid stays toped off when you do it or els youll just suck more air into the lines and make it worse

 

Sounds like there is still some air in the system-you say it doesn't feel right.

Of course the biggest question is "where did it go"? If you're trying to avoid the tow, then I'd: 1st-recheck the fluid level. Then drive a block or two-shifting/clutching as much as possible. Re-check fluid. From there you'll need to figure out how quickly it is leaking. From there decide if the car will make it the 10 miles to the tech-the fluid had to go somewhere?

 

Yes, of course, the fluid did leak, which caused the problem. However, it took very very little amount of fluid to fill up the MC. Despite pumping the clutch for over 100 times, the fluid level did not go down noticeably. The clutch is not back to 100% normal but has recovered much. I am going to try and drive now, and post the experience as soon as I can.

Thank you very much for all your help.

 

So the car is driving fine. I did not see any problem during the 10 mins of my driving it. The fluid level was still the same. It did not go down (or up). Shifting was normal. I tried all gears except 4th and 5th, but I believe if R-1,2,3 work, then 4,5 should not have any problems, right?
I do want to get it checked now though.

 

If you can release the clutch in 1,2,&3, then it will release in 4&5. The clutch hydraulics don't care what gear the transmission is in.

You should look around for leaks . Look at the slave cylinder or behind the boot. Look around the master cylinder. When mine leaked at the slave, it was pretty obvious.

Also look inside the car where the clutch pedal rod goes through the firewall. See if there is a brown/black spot on the carpet below. I had this problem for years on my accord and would add brake fluid when needed.

I think all of this stuff is covered in that YouTube video I linked to.

 

I looked for the stains on the carpet below the clutch pedal... no stains whatsoever. The MC looks pretty clean, no signs of leakage that I could notice. The slave is oily, grimy, but I do not know whether it is from the leakage at the slave or the tiny oil leakage that is at or near the distributor, which is making everything around it covered with oil. The slave is below-to the left of distributor, and hence might be getting coated with this leakage.

 

I probably should've finished explaining.

Pumping it 100 times is kind of half-###ed substitute for bleeding the clutch. Just because it worked, I would properly bleed the clutch as the next step. And keep an eye on the fluid level from now on.

 

I just wanted to thank everyone who helped me with my clutch problem. I recently took the car to the mechanic just to be safe. He found a leak in the slave cylinder and replaced it ($75 part + $ 55 labor). The clutch feels better now.
Thanks you all!