OZcar

Hi guys! (been a while since I post anything on here) Anyways, yesterday when I went to start my car the clutch felt super soft and only felt like it was doing anything on the last inch of travel. My buddy who is a mechanic told me to check the brake/clutch fluid tank. I did and it was kind of low. So I replenished the fluids and pumped the pedal several times and eventually it stiffened out. I thought all was good until today when I got back in my car and the pedal was all weird and soft again. I pumped it a few times and it eventually got stiff again.

I spent the last few minutes reading posts about this sort of thing and everyone seems to be performing "bleedings" and other techniques. Is this sort of thing expensive to have done at the dealership...what about is the slave or master cylinders are bad? How much will that cost? If anyone can help me out I'd appreciate it...thanks guys!

otter

iTrader: (14)

If the fluid is low and you're losing pressure then you're leaking fluid somewhere. Look for a leak and go from there.

nunyas

iTrader: (2)

if the fluid was low enough for the pedal to not be effective then there's a good chance that air got introduced into the system. You'll need to bleed the system to get the air out. Also, like otter said, check for fluid leaks, or take the car in for service since that should be covered by warranty... if it's an '08

OZcar

Awesome, thanks guys! I'm assuming to fix a leak it should not be too expensive right?

Mark Hubley

If you're still under warranty with what I assume is your '03, then it will cost you nothing. If you're out of warranty, then you're looking at a few hundred $$$. If there is a leak, then the likely culprits are either the clutch slave cylinder or the clutch master cylinder. Never changed them on a Mitsu, but I changed both on a Porsche 944. Pretty easy DIY:

Slave cylinder, probably can be found for about $50.
Master cylinder, probably about $100.
Fixing your car yourself, priceless.

If you're not under warranty, see if you can find someone in your area to help you. Or, find instructions on the web. Or, suck it up and shell out the $$$.

nunyas

iTrader: (2)

there an additional possibility of a flex line leaking... though, I've never been under a Lancer, so I don't really know if there is a flex line in the clutch hydraulics system.

Either way, once you get under the car you should be able to determine where the leak might be.

OZcar

Coooool!, thats for all the feedback!

OZcar

So I scheduled an appointment to get that looked at, I'll let you all know what happened. As for right now I'm still driving my car but for some reason it will only smoothly shift into 2nd and 4th. Hope it does not set me back too much.....

OZcar

Well here is the aftermath of my debacle. Needed a new cylinder for the clutch and since it is located near the tranny or some ****, he said it would be cheaper or replace the clutch now too. So I got a tune-up, oil change, new rear bulb(I noticed it was out when I took it in), new clutch... grand total $1080. Sucks *** but I but I need a car..whadd-are-ya-gonna-do huh??

I also took off my CAI because the city I live in is known for puddles and **** so I went back to the stock intake. Feels a lil slower but it's probably in my head...i mean it probably only added like 8hp or something. Psychosomatic: like that time I was working out on Creatine and I benched 225lbs, then my brother told me it was sugar.

Anyways, thought you guys would like to know how things turned out. OK now who wants Mojitos!?!!?!??!>cue the Salsa music as the lights start strobing!!<

OZcar

Hey! No love? jk what is this myspace,,,

Mark Hubley

Damn! So they didn't help you out with the failed slave cylinder (I assume it's the slave), and they also hit you up for a new clutch??? You need to find another dealer!

By the way, since Mitsu didn't give you any warranty coverage, you could have taken the car elsewhere. Yeah, hindsight is 20:20.

I bet the slave cylinder can be had for about $50. If Mitsu put that thing where the tranny needs to be removed, then their engineers are a**ho**s. A slave cylinder shouldn't be that hard to access, because it's not uncommon for one to fail. On any normal vehicle, we're talking two hours labor at the most.

How much was the cost of the clutch? Are you really that hard on the clutch that it was worth replacing at 10K miles?

Anyway, I'm not trying to give you a hard time. The love is for you, the hate is for the dealer.

ES_02

iTrader: (3)

im having the same problem..... but what im gonna do is buy the clutch and slave cylinder kit on ebay for like 250 and take it to a mechanic who will do it for me for 200
so total comes out to like 450.. i would do it my self but i have no tools and little experince...

SLVROZ_03

iTrader: (10)

It's the labor costs that'll get yah! They were right about asking about the clutch while already being in there. That was to your benefit.

You can still use the CAI, just use the first section of it and mount the filter on it thus turning it into a SRI. You'll not have issues with water then.

Mark Hubley

I'm a big fan of saving $$$, but here's one concern I have about doing this sort of thing: If anything fails after the repair, then the mechanic can avoid any responsibility because you supplied your own parts. If the mechanic gets the parts, and something goes wrong, then the responsibility is clearly on the mechanic.

Just a thought. Weigh that against how much you save on the parts.

ES_02

iTrader: (3)

^^^ yeah i know what you're saying.... but im only 16 and i dont have 1k or more to spend on fixin it so im just tryin to do what i can afford... but the clutch kit im gettin is from ebay and the seller says its an oem exedy clutch... and the person who is doing it for me is a tech at a nissan dealership..