I own a 2004 Lexus IS 300 5 speed manual transmission. The problems started at around 30000 miles when the clutch went out. I had only owned the car for about 9000 miles and it sucked to have it replaced. Now at 49000 miles the master cylinder for the clutch went out and had to be replaced. In the process of replacing the master cylinder it was discovered that the slave cylinder wasn’t bolted to the car at all and the screws in it were cross threaded and one was missing (this is what caused the master cylinder to go out). After the master and slave cylinder were fixed the clutch was also bad again and needs to be replaced. From my knowlege a clutch should last more than 20000 miles. My question is could the bad hydraulic system have casued the clutch to go bad. Also should I ask LExus to warranty this clutch with only 20000 miles on it?
(This is my 3rd manual transmission vehicle so I have experience with a clutch and now how to drive)
You’re problem is a result of a mechanical failure.
For whatever reason, when the bolts that held the slave cylinder to the bellhousing stripped/fell out, that was the demise of the whole clutch operating system. This is a very important part of the system.
But now that it’s been discovered what caused these failures, you’ll probably never have a clutch problem once it’s been fixed.
Tester
If the slave cylinder was loose it may have prevented the clutch from disengaging completely, leading to rapid wear. I think, however, that you’d have noticed difficulty shifting, especially into first or reverse when the car was stationary.
I don’t see how a loose slave cylinder has any effect on the master cylinder, or how a bad slave cylinder can ruin a master cylinder. Something doesn’t add up.
Who replaced the first clutch? And why didn’t that person notice the loose slave cylinder? Or did that person cross the threads, and not properly tighten the slave cylinder?
As I said, something doesn’t add up.