I live in Colorado, and it seems every winter when it gets below freezing over night, the next morning my clutch pedal hits the floor with no pressure. You can bleed the clutch and it works ok for a little while, then it loses all pressure again.

The master and slave cylinder are not leaking, and in fact have been replaced by either myself or the dealership every year.

I was out bleeding the clutch system again yesterday and was taking a better look, and with the bleeder valve closed, some pressure in the line, and the lid on the resevoir on, everytime the pedel was pushed some fluid would spill out from under the lid on the resevoir...

I cant imagine this is normal, nor can i see how this would allow air into the line (although id be happy to accept that im wrong on that because i honestly dont know)... It almost seems like there is maybe a blockage in the hard line??

Can anyone please help me diagnose this? I could just replace everything but id rather not spend a couple hundred bucks if its just the line or maybe a faulty resevoir or something.

Sorry this is long!

when it drops to the floor can you pump the pedal and get some pressure back or does it drop and stay dropped?

if its coming back up the resivor it does make it sound like there is some sort of restriction in the output hardline.
one thing though, there might be air getting back into the system from a crack in the hardlines or from a crappy bleeder screw.
especially if you got frustrated with bleeding and may have tightened it down a bit too much>?
start with the fittings you know you messed with, ie the master cylinder hardlines.

Thanks for the reply.

Yes, if you pump it you get a little bit of pressure back... sometimes so much pressure that the clutch grabs almost at the top when letting off the clutch... but then a couple shifts later it grabs all the way at the bottom again... its really wierd.

Im going to start with replacing the entire hardline, im trying to find a full stainless steel line but with little luck. Do you know of anywhere that sells it for the non-turbo (or do you know if the fittings are the same for both cars?). In the search people mentioned a company called RRE but it doesnt appear they are are in business anymore?

I say your master cylinder is bad.

This exact same thing happened to me when it got cold outside.

Get a master cylinder rebuild kit for like $15, and in a couple hours you can rebuild and bleed it.

I am not for sure that this is your problem, but I had almost the exact same thing happen and thats what I did.

You will probably have to go to satan to get that hard line...

Originally posted by adamzty
You will probably have to go to satan to get that hard line...

Thats what i was worried about... :(

go to a you pull it and grab the hardline out of a wrecked one or find someone that is parting out a car

if your going to replace the hardline then i would not recommend a full stainless replacement.
one reason is that it makes going around corners a bitch as the -3 line dosent like to make anything close to a 90* bend.
and unless you are very good, and damn patient, hand building -3 lines are a PITA! so then your stuck having someone make it for you and you have to make sure your measurements are exact.
then you have to make sure the whole thing is fastened down so it dosent wear through any wires of other vital components due to engine vibration or driving vibration.

if your gonna do it, grab some hardline, fittings, a flare tool and bend it yourself. it might take a bit longer, but in the long run you will be happier with it.
plus, as with SS line building, once you do a few you will love it and its an awesome skill to have

Originally posted by ajcfalcon

Originally posted by adamzty You will probably have to go to satan to get that hard line...

Thats what i was worried about... :(

Before you go to the dealership, disconnect the rubber line near the ECU, have someone pump the clutch while you hold a bottle or jar near the hardline. See if any trash comes out of the line. If no trash comes out, hook the rubber hose back up and then disconnect the line at the slave cylinder and see if you get any trash there.

Good advice, unfortunately i had already paid and placed the order by the time i read this... oh well