No clutch action

[Power Surge]

got the GTM out of the garage and body off, to powerwash a decade or more of accumulated dirt and grime. My car is an 06, and has only been run as a go kart a hand full of times, and not run in many years. I have it firing up now, but there's no clutch pedal. I messed with it this weekend to no avail.

Here's the info...

- fluid will not gravity bleed at the slave.
- fluid will not vacuum bleed at the slave.
- if I pump the pedal with my hand and crack the bleeder at the master, fluid comes out.
- if I disconnect the line at the slave, no fluid comes out no matter what you do.

It's like there's a blockage in the line, but I find that unlikely. The master also doesn't push the pedal all the way back, like the internal spring is hanging up. I am thinking maybe the piston is not getting full motion, allowing internal bypassing of pressure in the master.

I'm also not sure what fluid was used in it. I am thinking DOT5 since it's bluish purple, but I have also seen performance blue DOT3/4 fluid. Might have to try the water mix test.

Thoughts?

[crash]

Did you try cracking the line open at the master while trying to actuate the master? Just work your way down the line. Realize that brake fluid, unless you get the silicone stuff, will wash off with simple water, so just crack the nut and see if anything comes out onto a rag. Then immediately wash the area with water to make sure no standing fluid and you will be fine.

I believe there are a number of methods to bleeding the rear slave, but IIRC they require the slave to be unbolted from the trans.

As I just stated, brake fluid is water soluble so if you have left it for 10 years there is a high likelihood that water has gotten into the system and damage could have occurred. You may be down to replacing parts.

[VRaptor SpeedWorks, LLC]

Adding to what Crash said.....is the fluid in the clutch MC the only one that's a different color? For some reason, the clutch fluid always seems to turn dark on these cars....not sure if it's something to do with the slave cyl or what, but I've seen that on almost every GTM. Most likely, it's just DOT 3 brake fluid unless the fluid for the brakes is also the same color.

The other issue I've seen is the MC rod get bent from a poorly engineered pedal/clevis arrangement where the clevis binds up on the back of the pedal and then bends the MC rod....basically destroying the MC.

Yes, try bleeding the MC first and see if that gets you anywhere. On most GTMs, if the clutch doesn't bleed via typical methods (with the slave unbolted and held so that the bleeder is the highest point....don't put any real pressure on it with the pedal at this point or it will try to shoot the guts out of the slave!), on most GTM's the only way I ended up getting it to bleed was to reverse bleed it by pumping brake fluid into the slave and forcing it up into the MC. Watch your MC so it doesn't over-flow.

Not sure why the clutch is always a PITA to bleed on these cars, but it is.....and like I said, when all else fails, I reverse bleed it and that has ALWAYS worked for me.

[Power Surge]

Definitely all good points.

The fluid is definitely blue/purple. In all 3 holes. I will probably have to water test it to see if it's 3/4 or 5.

My main concern is why can't I pull any fluid to the back of the car from the master. Forget the slave...fluid isn't even making it there yet. I can't get any fluid out the line disconnected from the slave. Not with vacuum or pedal pressure.

Shane might have an interesting point with the reverse bleed (even if my current issue is a mechanical problem). I had to reverse bleed the system on my supercharged SVT Focus years ago...after 3 days of trying to bleed it the conventional way.

[Power Surge]

Doing some research last night on various GTM clutch info, I think I am going to just replace the master and slave and start fresh. But I am going to switch to the 5/8 master for better pedal feel and the Porsche slave to eliminate the over travel issue.

[Shoeless]

For some reason the quote isn't working for me, but this comment from Shane is key. You need to literally grind away clearance on the clevis or it will hit the MC rod and bend it.

"The other issue I've seen is the MC rod get bent from a poorly engineered pedal/clevis arrangement where the clevis binds up on the back of the pedal and then bends the MC rod....basically destroying the MC."

[Power Surge]

For some reason the quote isn't working for me, but this comment from Shane is key. You need to literally grind away clearance on the clevis or it will hit the MC rod and bend it.

"The other issue I've seen is the MC rod get bent from a poorly engineered pedal/clevis arrangement where the clevis binds up on the back of the pedal and then bends the MC rod....basically destroying the MC."

I'll check that out!

[VRaptor SpeedWorks, LLC]

I'll check that out!

I don't think you should have that issue with the clevis on your car if it's chassis #30.......I don't think I ran into that until the first Gen II that I built.....but still worth looking at based on the issues you're having.