Civic Master Clutch Cylinder

Our repair shop mentioned to us that the Master Clutch Cylinder needs to be replaced. They said its leaking fluid. We put the repair off, but they said we needed to do it right away. Well…we put off the repair and time flew on us. 6000 miles later we aren’t noticing any noticable impact to our clutch.

Our 2000 Honda Civic with 160k on it.



Does this mean our repair shop was full of it or does it mean that we could suddenly feel the clutch give out and stop working.



We haven’t seen any noticeable fluid on the garage floor.

Ask to see the leak and check the fluid level. If it is leaking it should be replaced.

It may not even be leaking on the outside of the car. Look underneath the dash at the clutch pedal where the small rod connects the pedal to the master cylinder. See if it’s wet there. (May have to roll the carpet back a tiny bit.)

Also look at the firewall of the car underneath the clutch master cylinder. Any dampness is a sign of leakage and often the paint on the firewall may be wrinkled slightly if the leak has been present for a while.

It’s possible to have a leak in either place with no drips on the floor and it’s also quite possible to have a failing cylinder with no drips at all.

Replace the master cylinder and slave cylinder together. If one is leaking, the other is probably close behind. Saves from having to purge and bleed the system twice.

Open your hood, look for the clutch master cylinder, and see if the fluid level is low.
If it is, it probably needs attention.
If it is full, and you haven’t touched it like you said, then it probably doesn’t need any attention.

BC.