Gen 1 clutch questions

[sfm79]

Hi Gang, I have a 94 Gen 1 that I've owned since June. A few weeks ago I had a hard time getting it from neutral into any gear. It was a cold morning and I finally got it in gear and it ran fine when it warmed up. Yesterday I was moving the car out of the garage and the clutch felt soft. It went into first gear and when I tried reverse, it would not move from neutral to any gear. I pumped the clutch a few times and finally it went into gear. I noticed a small amount of fluid on the garage floor and the car has never leaked before. After reading a few post, it sounds like the slave cylinder. I don't know much about car repairs so I'm looking for a little advice.

Does this problem sound like a slave cylinder?

If I need a new slave cylinder, where do you recommend I take it for repairs (I'm in south east Michigan)?

Approx. how much should a repair like this cost?

Can the car still be driven without causing more damage? (sunny and in the 70's for the next 5-6 days)

Thanks for helping a newbie.

 

[Timnineside]

DON'T DRIVE IT! I don't know what harm would be done, but your practically throwing the car into gears without depressing the clutch. Almost identical problem I had with my GTS about two years ago when I first purchased the car. I called the dealership and their "Viper" tech said Clutch. Didn't seem right to me because the clutch was relatively new and seemed solid with NO slipping etc. I called my normal mechanic and he said Clutch "master" cylinder or Clutch "slave" cylinder. I am not 100% positive the name.

Check your clutch fluid and see if it is low. Then I would try someone local, or that you trust. Ran me about $800 parts/labor. Cylinder was about $350 of that. My fluid was low, but never seen and spotting or anyting in the garage. Seemed to all leak and stay up in the car somewhere.

Good Luck and keep posted results.

-Tim

 

[cfiiman]

Sounds like a slave to me, I just had to replace the master in my DD Honda. However, another alternative could be a split line in which if the fluid got low enough the system would **** air causing that. As a check put your foot on your clutch pedal with a minimal amount of force, will the pedal reach the ground eventually? If so you have a bad master. I'm basing all this on my knowledge of my DD Honda though, so Viper might be a little different but I think a hydraulic clutch is pretty much the same, and b/c you have fluid on the floor it is either leaking from a line, master or slave - good luck and let us know what you find out.

 

[RT/ED]

Sounds like air in the line which would be an easy fix. Assuming you do not see any leaks around the master cylinder area, flywheel area under the car, you may only need to flush the clutch fluid system with fresh fluid. Several write ups in the "how to" section on this site. Good luck!

 

[klamathpro]

I have replaced both the master and slave on my other cars. Usually it was the slave that went bad. A bad master rarely leaks, it just gets blowby internally. Leaks are usually from slaves. Call Chuck Tator.

 

[jdeft1]

Bad Slave.

 

[bluesrt]

send me 5k and i will give you instructions on what to do next

 

[Mopar Steve]

The master cylinder is under the hood, the slave cylinder is "inside the trans" at the clutch/pressure plate. There is likely not just air in the system. This is a sealed system and in order for air to get in, fluid likely came out. (leak). The volume of fluid that makes all this happen is quite small, and if there is a leak at the slave cylinder, the throw out bearing will not move such that the clutch is released. This is what makes it hard to put in gear. When the car warmed up, the fluid expanded just that little bit and that was enough to get it to function, just a little. I have changed these (slaves) myself and it is not a huge job. If there was a leak, and you are paying to go in there anyway, I would recommend having the flywheel surfaced and the clutch/pressure plate changed at the same time. Any good repair shop could perform this work for you, just make sure they respect your Viper! Good luck.

 

[Canuck]

I agree with the other owners, that sounds like slave.