My 2007 Aveo --problem with clutch

Well guys, I do believe I’ve bled the system as best as it can be bled. Took the master back out of the hole and did the old “in the car bench bleed” just in case, Tried the gravity bleed at the slave with a short hose standpipe to no avail. Ended up with a very spongy pedal until my wife got home and we did the standard bleed. no hint of air but only an approx. 1/2" of slave pushrod travel, no more than 5/8" for sure. Is this enough?
I’m guessing it’s drop-the-tranny time. The pain, the pain! Damn…

No I dont think that is enough travel to be honest with you… I wouldn’t go back in there up to your neck until you get good travel. Without proper push or travel from the slave and master…you are still stuck at that point. No trans dropping will make them throw further.

I HATE to say it but before a trans drop… I would RE-Replace the master and slave. Its cheap insurance before dropping the tranny again. Dont you think? I think that is what I would do…almost anything than to have to go back in there again.

You need like 1.5 in from the slave I think…Most slaves Ive seen have more travel than I thought they did…I DO recall being surprised at how far the slave would push on many occasions. It be great if we could look that detail up…the slave travel. I will see if I can find that spec for you. But Im Sure 1/2 to 5/8th is not gonna cut it.

Cheap insurance to re replace either the master or the slave…or both… they cant cost too much and you will be able to return the unused ones. Thats where my money would go. Unless you specified NEW parts…they will be reman’s… hell even new are subject to suspicion more than you would imagine…much more than you would imagine. Sometimes the defect is the inability to bleed them! Others is that they cannot hold pressure due to bore issues…rubber seal issues…etc… Happens a lot.

Yeah man…I would get meself a new set…new master, new slave and start again…it wont be wasted money because you will be able to return the defective units…it will just be your time…and shouldn’t take you long…Hell Youre a PRO at this point. Definitely, I would be doing THAT because you dont have the travel you need to be looking to blame the clutch components YET. You can then replace each component one at a time…see what you get. You will at least have 2 sets to play with at that point…I think you will see a lot more travel after you re replace those things. Cheap insurance if you ask me.

Blackbird

Ya, the lack of slave travel has always seemed unusual to me. There’s a groove worn into the transmission case where the fork/plate stop contacts and it currently doesn’t extend even halfway there. I’ve been looking for a travel spec since this mess started and couldn’t find one. If you run into any info, it would be so appreciated.

I REALLY DON’T want to get back into the transmission, especially with the car locked up on a fairly steep up-slope of a driveway. Jacking the front end to yank the driveshafts on that angle would be a bit hair raising.

I’m going to but the original slave back on. Bleeding it should be easy with the top end already bled. I don’t think I’ve had that combination yet, a bench bled master with the original slave. It’ll be easy. BTW, the reason I replaced the master first was that it was leaking at the boot. The same thing happened with my Acura a couple hundred thousand miles ago. When I fix this little nightmare of a car, we’ll sell it for whatever we can get and buy a used Acura or Honda.

Thanks so much for all your help and that goes for everyone else too. It’s great to have a knowledgeable group to throw ideas around with.

Here’s to Lady Luck!

Seriously… buy a new Master and Slave… Are they expensive or something? I dont know off hand…couldn’t be. Do that and you will do yourself a favor and buy some peace of mind methinks. Like I said…you can return the defective unit when you are finished…so you really dont lose anything…but time and a few strands of hair. IF you have any hair left that is…

Blackbird

No , they’re like $50 apiece. I’ll buy them from a different store, just in case.

I know it’s been beat to death but when you bleed a cylinder you push the rod in & fluid squirts out . Unless you seal the hole or tighten the bleeder { whatever the case may be } before you let or pull the rod back out it will suck air back in when the rod comes out .

The instructions for bench bleeding my Corolla’s clutch MC said it was important that it be perfectly level. I used a torpedo level to adjust it in the vice prior to bench bleeding.

@stieglman that sounds like good insurance… If you have any questions when you receive the new parts… You can call me directly… I can walk you through it if you think you need a few tips. Might be a lot faster than this game here… It seems like you have a handle on it if you ask me…and you’re dealing with a defective something… which I cannot tell from here.

Just shoot me a private msg and I will respond with my number…if you want it for discussion or just a few pointers…no worries.

Blackbird