Clutch pedal stuck up

[mathieux46]

Hi,

Everything was working fine, I stopped to the store, when I get back in the van, the clutch was stuck, the pedal could not be depressed. I had my girlfriend try to depress the pedal while I was checking the slave to see if it was moving, the slave cilinder looked like it moved just a little and then ''bang'' the clutch pedal went to the floor. I had the van towed home.

I didn't found any leak of oil. My feeling is that something in the clutch was stuck, and while applying extra pressure on the pedal, the slave or master broke. Anyone had similar experience?

Mat

[smokin_dodge]

I've had not the same experience but instead something the compete opposite - the pedal would go to the floor and not return ( system had no fluid)

on that note...

now remember, hydraulic and brake fluid is not compressable, the system itself is compressable as a whole - so my guess would be either the slave or master is frozen in place. Brake fluid is corrosive and it is possible that the cylinder has become corroded and slighly off center so it is stuck in place

with no leaking on the ground next would be to check the resevoir - if it is full then it's time to start checking the slave and master - should only take an afternoon with a manual in hand

I would start with dissasembly of the slave cylinder and make sure it is operating properly, then check the master

if that doesn't do it there could always be a clog in the line or something stuck on the pedal mechanism itself - but I'm gonna say slave cylinder
_________________
I do Subaru conversions - Front End work - Mechanical systems repair - PM for Details

[mightyart]

Sounds like you forced it and broke something else, I would guess the slave on the tranny.
It has happened before, it has been that the presure plate or more percisly the spring "fingers" are so worn they let the clutch return to far and it gets stuck.
Or something to that effect, anyways you need to drop the tranny and buy a clutch kit, your clutch assembly is gone because of excessive wear.

[mathieux46]

Here's an update.

I've dismantle the slave and master, both seems ok. I've found that I burst the plastic hose after the master. Probably from forcing the pedal. The clutch shaft cannot be moved, I now will remove tranny from the van to inspect.

I will post update. So now it's something with the clutch or the clutch arm.

Mat

[vanagonwithatemper]

I've recently experienced a similar problem. I broke the pedal assembly on my 83' Vanagon because I just kept pressing on the clutch. Turns out, the master cylinder I had was bad. So, after replacing the master cylinder, and replacing the pedal assembly and ALL the other dash components I went to bleeding the hydraulic system via the slave cylinder. Well, low and behold, it's frozen in place AGAIN. The slave cylinder was just rebuilt not too too long ago. As was the transmission. And the master cylinder is brand new. I checked all the nuts and bolts and they're all good. Any idea why it would just lock up like that?
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83' Vanagon

[mathieux46]

Finally, I just changed my slave cylinder and the problem was solved. I still doesn't understand. The old slave could be moved by hand once removed...

Mat

[brooklynvan]

My guess is broken clutch fork.
Happened in my 1990 just as I was pulling into a parking spot here in NYC.
clutch felt rock hard, but engine would run, and was not in gear.
rolled easy.
_________________
1990 Vanagon "Plain Jane" Bostig in the Back
TRADED: 1967 Panel for 1976 BMW 2002
SOLD: 1984 Sunroof Vanagon with EJ22
RIP 1986 Saab turbo
and my daily commuter: a Bicycle

[mathieux46]

Just broke gain..... I don't get it, I changed my slave recently then everything was fine but today same thing clutch pedal very hard, cannot go foward anymore, towing again. I can move the slave by hand in the back. No leak.

The clutch fork was ok, no broken weld when I removed the clutch when I changed the slave 2 weeks ago, I wanted to see if everything was fine on the clutch, no broken finger, everything look like new.

Now i'm leaning toward the pedal assembly maybe some worn component, I don't know. I will probably change the master, I bought one when the clutch stucked up last time, I didn't changed it since my problem seemed to be solve after replacing the slave.

Any help would be great....

Thanks

Mat

[fredn]

had this same problem. when I reinstalled the motor after a rebuild the carrier came off the clutch fork. Sometimes those springs that fold down to keep it attached to the clutch fork aren't that strong anymore and need a little tweak with the pliers.

[marshallatx]

@mathieux46 did you ever solve the problem? What was it?

I have a similar issue. I put brand new master and slave cyls in during an engine conversion (Bostig, baby), but my clutch is being strange. I bled the system, got all the air out for sure, but now the pedal only presses down about 1/3 of the way it should. About as far as the brake pedal when it's pressed down as far as it will go. Also brand new clutch. I suspect I didn't hook the springs on the throwout bearing up to the fork on the push rod that connects to the lever on the outside of the transmission, but I don't see how that would cause this issue. Tomorrow I'm going to pull the slave cyl off its bracket and see what happens when the pedal is pushed in. I guess I need to figure out if the issue is with the slave cyl or the push rod/lever assemble that moves the throwout bearing.

Any advice from others who have had and solved similar issues would be much appreciated.

[mathieux46]

Hi,

Try to push the transmission clutch arm, and you will see if it move. In my case it ended up being the small spring of the bearing that were loose and didn't hold well. The bearing couldn't be push straight since one spring was unhook. Maybe yours was not hook properly when you install it. But you can also check if your bearing was put in the right way, this can also be the cause.

Again, in my case as never been an issue with the slave or master. I changed the slave as a first step but this also helped the pedal smoothness one my problem was solve, the new slave works beytter than the old one.

Be careful not to force the pedal down, if it doesn't go, don't push too hard. I blew the front plastic hose when I asked the girlfriend to push on the pedal!!

I feel your pain if you have to remove the tranny again!

Mat