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stuck clutch pedal

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Hartford
#1
Last August, when I went to start my 2017 FiST, the clutch pedal stuck to the floorboard. After it did this a second time, I took it to the local Ford dealer to be repaired. I was told the problem was a low brake fluid level caused by rear rotors and pads that needed replacement. New ones were installed. The next day the pedal stuck to the floor again.

Back to the dealership. The service advisor informed me I needed a new clutch master cylinder. The car was towed in and a new cylinder installed. They kept the car overnight and a technician drove it home, testing the repair. I was assured the problem was fixed.

A few weeks ago it happened again. Since the new master cylinder was installed I’ve only driven the car 560 miles. (The car has 14,600 miles on the odometer). I’m neither a racer nor a novice with a stick and am really puzzled by this persistent problem, particularly on a car with such low mileage.

I have another service appointment scheduled for next week and am assuming I’ll be told the car needs a new clutch slave cylinder. It’s an amazing little car....but that’s with a functioning clutch.

Any advice or suggestions would be very appreciated.
 


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Location
Vancouver
#3
Sadly this seems like a common problem and has happened to me as well, but I haven't been able to pin point a specific failure point. First step is to monitor the fluid level in the reservoir.

Since you have a new clutch master, it's likely in good shape, but you can always get under the dash and put your fingers around that and the base of the pedal to feel for any wetness. You can also reach in from the engine back to the pipe connections to check for leaks there.

If you are handy enough, you can jack up the car and take a look at the pipes that lead into the clutch slave cylinder and see if there are any leaks there. Unfortunately the clutch slave cylinder is inside the transmission, so to get eyes on it you need to remove the transmission. The last place you can check is where the engine and transmission meet, and see if there's any wetness there (from a leaking slave cylinder).
 


SteveS

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#4
Yeah, it was actually the slave cylinder all along. That should be the first thing looked at and replaced when the clutch pedal sticks down. I had one of the cars at the Octane Academy do that to me while running the figure 8 exercise. You can pull the pedal back up and it will work OK for a while, but it only gets worse once it starts.
 


OP
L
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Hartford
Thread Starter #5
Sadly this seems like a common problem and has happened to me as well, but I haven't been able to pin point a specific failure point. First step is to monitor the fluid level in the reservoir.

Since you have a new clutch master, it's likely in good shape, but you can always get under the dash and put your fingers around that and the base of the pedal to feel for any wetness. You can also reach in from the engine back to the pipe connections to check for leaks there.

If you are handy enough, you can jack up the car and take a look at the pipes that lead into the clutch slave cylinder and see if there are any leaks there. Unfortunately the clutch slave cylinder is inside the transmission, so to get eyes on it you need to remove the transmission. The last place you can check is where the engine and transmission meet, and see if there's any wetness there (from a leaking slave cylinder).
Thanks. Everthing seems dry. That's why initially they decided it was the rear brakes causing the problem.
 


OP
L
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Thread Starter #6
Yeah, it was actually the slave cylinder all along. That should be the first thing looked at and replaced when the clutch pedal sticks down. I had one of the cars at the Octane Academy do that to me while running the figure 8 exercise. You can pull the pedal back up and it will work OK for a while, but it only gets worse once it starts.
Makes sense. When they put the new master cylinder in I asked if they could tell if the old one was defective. If it was still OK, I figured, then it would most likely be the slave cylinder. They said there was no way to tell. Process of elimination, I guess.
 


flbchbm

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#7
Slave cylinder. Mine splooged all over the disc and pressure plate around 11k miles. Too common a problem.

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TyphoonFiST

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Rich-fizzield
#8
Thanks. Everthing seems dry. That's why initially they decided it was the rear brakes causing the problem.
I think it was their lack of critical thinking and fundamentals of the clutch system that are the problem. The tech seemed lazy to me and didn't do the trouble tree and wanna pull the Trans to access the slave cyl if it pointed to slave faiure. If they told me it was the rear brakes I'd say you might wanna check your brain matter.....then say what this kid says to them high on laughing gas.



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