after depressing the clutch the pedal it does not come back up, have to reach down and pull it up, bled the slave cylinder and it works fine for couple of days, how could air get into the slave cylinder.

 

Did you bleed the slave cylinder properly? Just like brakes, you have to do it in this order:

1. loosen bleed bolt
2. push pedal down
3. close bleed bolt
4. lift pedal up
repeat until fluid coming out of the bleed bolt is clean and new

if you skip step 3, you will pull air and dirty fluid back into the system every time you lift the pedal back up.


If you did it properly, proceed to looking for signs of leaks:
1. Is the bleed bolt leaking fluid?
2. Check the level of the reservoir... is it the same as where you left it?
3. Look for leaks around the master cylinder at the top of the clutch pedal and also on the side in the engine bay.

 

The most obvious way for air to get in the system is by being pumped in by the master cylinder. For this to happen, there shall be no fluid in the reservoir. So the question is, like trustdestruction says, "is there an external leak?". Do you see air come out of the slave cylinder bleeder valve every time you bleed the system after the pedal stays down?

There could be the master cylinder having internal leak/bleed down.

There could be the pedal rigging problem that it is not letting it all the way up in order to open the check valve on the piston.

There could be problem with return assist spring on the pedal.

Proper way of bleeding the system is as described already, but it would require two person. If you are alone as I am most of the times, you could use long 1/8" clear tubing that goes from bleeder valve to the reservoir. With bleeder valve partially open, you could pump the pedal and see air going through the clear tubing at the same time. Make sure the reservoir is filled with fluid and the open end of the tube is submerged in the fluid at all times.

What do I know? I'm just a shade tree auto mechanic. Good luck to you.

 

^on my del sol I could bleed the clutch by myself, it just took longer. The pedal would stay down by itself until closing the bleed bolt and lifting the pedal back up manually... just takes a lot longer. Much better to have my sister sit in the car and just tell her when to push and lift the clutch pedal. lol

 

I did the clutch slave cylinder replacement alone two and half years ago. I don't remember if the pedal stayed down until I pull up. But, I do remember using a clear tube for the job because that is practically the only way I do the hydraulic jobs,,,.

I am happy working alone, but sometimes, I wish I had a helper, too.

 

I just got a 95 Honda Civic and I drove it 75 miles no problem, drove it back and as soon I get to the last light to my house the clutch goes down to the ground and won't come back up. I pulled it back up by hand and it went fine. I checked in the master and slave for any leaks and nothing, it's full with fluid. I was going to try and bleed the system to see if that remedies the problem. I haven't driven stick in a long time but from an earlier post there is a spring? where is that located? If bleeding it doesn't remedy the problem what else should I do?

 

A wore out slave cylinder will let air in also. I have seen an old slave cylinder get bled & about every week or so it needed to be bled, until a new cylinder was installed. Then as mentioned the master cylinder maybe bad also.

 

If it was one time deal discrepancy and there is no external leak, it could've been some kind of debris got stuck in some place in master cylinder. I would flush the system with fresh hydraulic fluid and see how it goes. If the problem comes back, I will be replacing the master cylinder and slave cylinder at the same time if I can afford.

You could use clear tubing and clean glass jar to collect old fluid, and dispose properly.

Good luck,,,

 

There is a spring at the top of the pedal arm, but it is just a light one to keep the pedal at the very top position when not pressed. The force that lifts it off the floor in the first place comes from the big spring in the clutch cover working backwards through the cylinders.

A couple of people have had their clutch fork arm (goes from the slave cylinder to the throwout bearing) crack and bend. That causes the clutch to get worse and worse until finally the piston comes all the way out of the slave cylinder and all the fluid runs out.