Does anyone know what would keep causing a clutch master cylinder to fail? My gf has a 2000 Honda Accord 4cyl 5sp. This thing must have been changed at least 4 times. I changed the slave cylinder the first time along with the master cylinder. When i initially bleed the hydraulic clutch system it works great til about 6 mos or so. Usually would give a warning before it would fail but this time it just went completely out. Any help on this subject would be greatly appreciated.

 

Are you buying OEM or Aftermarket?? Are you buying New or Reman??? A little more info would help.

 

actually "I" am not buying them this is my gf's issue with her Accord...but they are aftermarket. I will have to ask if it is reman'd or not i cant remember that. I was wondering if incorrect pedal adjustment could cause premature failure...i.e." pedal too high" causing too long of a stroke on clutch pedal rod going to mastercylinder. Or is the pedal height adjustment a matter of driver comfort since its a hydraulic clutch?

 

I don't think it has anything to do with the pedal adjustments. However, it should definitely be re-adjusted each time a replacement was installed. Do you know if the replacement units were bench bled prior to installation? If not, maybe a small amount of air is still in the master cylinder causing you to think they go bad?

Lastly, what are the exact symptoms? Is the clutch not disengaging? Are you leaking fluid? I had a 92 Civic VX which was 5spd and had clutch problems. I readjusted the pedal and it was fine for a little bit. But then, boom, no more gears while the car is on. I could put the car in gear, then start it, but the car would jump forward (while the pedal is on the floor). I replaced the clutch master cylinder and the slave cylinder, but nothing changed unfortunately. I person who ended up buying the car from me mentioned that is it probably something do with the pressure plate malfunctioning. I agreed with him as there was nothing else to point fingers at.

I wish I heard back from him about it. I would like to know if that was the actual problem or not. I would have replaced the clutch/pressure plate/flywheel/etc myself, but I just didn't have the time for the car anymore. Plus, the VX was only something temporary until I got my 99 Civic EX back from the shop.

 

No they were not bench bled...i am certain of that. So you may be correct as far as having some air still in it but on this last unit....it did not fade out like the rest it just simply quit working. We were both thinking that it may be something else such as somewhere on the flywheel i.e. pressure plate for it to have failed the number of times it has but...after installing a new clutch master cylinder it worked excellent for about 6 mos before starting to fade..and by fade i mean effective clutch pedal pressure. There were never any leaks on any of them. I only replaced the slave cylinder the first time it failed.

oh yeah and the same with your situation as far as being able to put it in gear with the car off...but once started it was almost impossible. It did jump forward once while starting but once clutch master cylinder was replaced everything worked fine.

 

You know the thought just can to me that replacing just the master cylinder & not the slave cylinder maybe causing the issues your having.
Are you doing the work or is a shop? If a shop I would get an answer from them.

 

I changed it the first 2 times....her brother changed them the rest. I know i only changed the slave cylinder once....i think he changed it the last time since they gave you the slave cylinder if you bought the master cylinder. So since this last time it seems to be working great oh yeah by the way i started this thread after it had failed. So now i will have to wait and see how long it last...i hope this is it.

 

damn, this is interesting!