My 1995 Ford Escort SW has just over 200,000 miles on it. I must pump the clutch to change gears or to get the car out of gear. It didn’t help to replace the slave cylinder and bleed lines. Original clutch was replaced at 125,000. My mechanic now wants to replace the gear box, but my dad thinks its the master cylinder (however, I have no problems with braking). Other than this issue, the car is fantastic and I hope to run it at least another 50,000 miles. Ideas? Thanks!!
Open the hood and you’ll see the brake master cylinder. Along side the brake master cylinder is the clutch master cylinder. That’s the component that probably requires replacement.
Tester
Tester, you read my mind… again.
Good comments above. I had this exact symptom on my Corolla and I fixed it last weekend by replacing the clutch master cylinder. Don’t replace the brake master cylinder by mistake. Those are two different parts. Follow the hydraulic line, it will connect the clutch master cylinder to the clutch slave cylinder.
The clutch slave cylinder is a very simple device and isn’t a common failure item. It is almost always the clutch master cylinder that causes this problem.
"My 'mechanic " needs a second opinion. If a doctor told you to get surgery and you had doubts, you would seek a second opinion (and a third) if it disagreed with the first. Rather then just start replacing parts willey nilly and posting back again that you still had problems, I would advise you try another mechanic. @tester is “probably” right and from what you describe, it sounds like the culprit, but no one is there to actually look at the car. If it is the transmission, you just wasted time and money replacing the clutch master cylinder. I know you want to save money, but does anyone know for sure…if it is an easy fix by someone else, I would find another mechanic you can call your own. ;=)
Certainly make sure the clutch master is full of brake fluid as a first step.