Q – About a month ago, the clutch pedal on my 944 went to the floor and now I can’t shift. I can shift through the gears with the engine off but when I start the car, it lurches forward. Before it went all the way to the floor, it felt kind of mushy and the car was hard to shift. What happened? – Elliot
A – On your 944, the clutch pedal is linked to the clutch master cylinder which produces hydraulic pressure that is directed to the clutch slave cylinder. That action in turn pushes the clutch release bearing. The release bearing causes the clutch to disengage. My hunch is that your clutch master or clutch slave cylinders have failed or the flexible hose has ruptured.
Have you checked the brake fluid? When either cylinder fails, brake fluid which also feeds the clutch hydraulics can be lost. Typically when the clutch master fails, fluid will end up inside the car in the drivers foot well area near the clutch pedal. Sometimes the cylinder will fail with no leakage due to an internal valve issue. When the clutch slave cylinder fails, brake fluid leaks into the transmission clutch housing (and onto the ground). If the hose fails, the mess should be easy to see. Another far more insidious problem might be an internal failure inside the clutch itself but this is far less common, so we won’t even consider this until we eliminate the basics.
Start by checking the brake fluid. If it is low, inspect under the dash for signs of wetness. If nothing looks amiss, then remove the inspection cap in the transmission clutch housing (if it is even still there) and peer into the clutch area to detect wetness. Odds are it went one place or the other. Now if nothing is wet, and if the fluid level is OK, pressure bleed the clutch while exercising the pedal up and down and bleeding the slave. If clutch action returns, you win (for today). Some times in very cold weather, the clutch master will lose its prime and take in a big gulp of air leading to loss of pedal.
If you find wetness at either cylinder then the problem is obvious and the repair is inexpensive. Typically when a clutch slave fails, especially on a 20 year old car, I recommend that you also replace the clutch master since you can’t expect it to live much longer. While you are at it, inspect the flex hose for external cracks or discoloration around the ends that might indicate seepage. If you plan on keeping the car, replacing all three hydraulic components is the only guarantee that you will never have a problem for the life of the car. – MC