Last night on my drive home (~40 miles) I pressed in the clutch pedal and it felt spongy and when it got to the bottom it had no "spring" to go back up, and evidently it was also no longer operating the clutch. when I let off the pedal slowly rose back up. From experimenting on the drive home, I discovered that when I first push the pedal in, I get a split second of operational clutch-time.

I'm guessing a fluid leak--it did look like my brake fluid has been slowly going down, but it didn't look *too* low--admittedly I gave it a cursory check and saw there was fluid there, didn't notice where the "min" mark was. But I mean I wasn't getting a "fluid" light or anything so I'm guessing it's a leak at or below the master cylinder--maybe a pinhole that got bigger?

when this kind of thing happens is it usually all or nothing? because like I said the pedal still "works" for a split second but by the time the pedal is to the floor the clutch has re-engaged.


BTW--for anyone for whole this happens--as a society we seem to've lost the fine art of shifting without a clutch. Thank God I had a long conversation with a guy about this a few months ago. I'd never practiced but basically the theory is that if you match the engine speed to what it would be if you were in that gear, you can slide into gear without the clutch. You simply let off the gas a touch to slide into neutral, then match the engine speed and put a small amount of pressure on the stick towards the gear you want. When the speed is just right, it'll slide right in. I was amazed at how well it worked, and I got home (another 20 miles) just fine.

The bentley manual says I need a special pressurization tool to bleed the clutch--any workarounds? *tight-budget-alert!*

Many many thanks to all my Saab friends!
Sky


posted by 204.152.215...

• clutch-less drive home, Sky, Fri, 26 Mar 2010 08:12:35 <-- Viewing This Message
  • no special skills needed without a clutch, smt, Fri, 26 Mar 2010 13:04:16
  • DIY "pressure bleeder", derf, Fri, 26 Mar 2010 09:03:02
    • if it's a turbo, you can, Carl, Sat, 27 Mar 2010 08:18:08
    • or, saab86, Fri, 26 Mar 2010 11:35:05
    • awesome! what about "reverse bleeding"?, Sky, Fri, 26 Mar 2010 09:27:14
      • what about "reverse bleeding"?, derf, Fri, 26 Mar 2010 10:21:36
      • Just say no..., Larry West , Fri, 26 Mar 2010 09:30:40
        • ewwww.... old fluid...., Sky, Fri, 26 Mar 2010 09:36:52
          • Re: ewwww.... old fluid...., Larry West , Fri, 26 Mar 2010 09:43:30
          • Re: ewwww.... old fluid...., Larry West , Fri, 26 Mar 2010 09:41:52
  • Re: clutch-less drive home, saab86, Fri, 26 Mar 2010 08:35:50
  • Re: clutch-less drive home, Larry West , Fri, 26 Mar 2010 08:23:23
    • 1990 SPG, Sky, Fri, 26 Mar 2010 08:45:45
      • Re: 1990 SPG, Larry West , Fri, 26 Mar 2010 09:35:27
  • one more detail, Sky, Fri, 26 Mar 2010 08:23:14
    • Re: one more detail, Larry West , Fri, 26 Mar 2010 08:25:40
      • i'll check, Sky, Fri, 26 Mar 2010 08:38:43
        • Re: i'll check, CBS , Fri, 26 Mar 2010 09:37:51

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