Dear Click and Clack, I have changed the clutch master cylinder on my '03 Honda Accord (6 cyl.) six times in the past 12 months. Either the o ring seal blows out or the bolts holding the plate down breaks off. I bleed the clutch of bubbles until the oil runs through also. What am I doing wrong? Please help me, I’m about to send this car packing. Thanks for your help. - Mike
“I bleed the clutch of bubbles until the oil runs through also”
I hope you’re using brake fluid, not oil.
I was going to guess you might be using the wrong clutch fluid, but I think you’re using the wrong mechanic (you). After changing the master cylinder for the second time, you should have realized you were in over your head and taken it to a qualified mechanic.
The real issue might be that you can’t usually tell if the problem is the master cylinder or the slave cylinder, so they should both usually be replaced at the same time.
Throw in the towel. Take it to a good mechanic.
Sometimes it is difficult to get the fluid path bled correctly, the result is a spongy feeling clutch that may be difficult to get the gears to engage correctly, but I’ve never experienced the symptoms you are having. Is the clutch pedal really hard to press down? If so, your clutch itself may be on the fritz. Something may be broken, or a linkage is locking up. Best like said above to get a professional assessment at this point. The symptoms you are having are very unusual and indicate some fundamental problem of some kind or another. A good inde local mechanic can get you on the right path, give you a correct diagnosis, even if you end up doing the fix-it work yourself.
Gotcha. Thanks for the feedback guys. I’m hoping to get to a mechanic this weekend.