Problems with clutch

[_Madman_]

I have problems with my GLSi, it seems that clutch hydraulic mech is dying. Each time I press clutch, the hydraulic part below clutch block moves to end pos, but then moves back. Its even worse now in winter, as it is hard to swithch from 1st to 2nd gear sometimes. Has anyone expierenced something similar, and how difficult it is to change this part, avg price?

[ken inn]

first, look at the clutch fluid resevoir. black=bad. you might try to bleed it first, but i think it is gone. it is really easy to change, but not that easy to get at. you need a flare end wrench to remove the solid line to the slave, and the 2 bolts holding the slave on are 12mm wrench, you need at least a good extension. there is 1 or 2 same size bolts holding the solid line to the side of the trans, if you remove them, it makes the job a lot easier. remove the banjo bolt on the slave, and take out the restrictor before you install it. with the slave off, you can pump the master, to evacuate all the bad fluid, and run some clean fluid thru, to get rid of all the black stuff. here's the problem. more than likely, the clutch master is on it's last legs, too. when you install the new slave, new fluid, the master will probably go, too. when it dies, fluid comes out the seal and runs down into the inside of the car, eats away the paint, and rapidly oxidizes the metal. even when it is leaking like this, it will still operate, but you will be adding fluid all the time, not knowing where it goes. so, if the car has a lot of miles on it, change out the master at the same time.

[_Madman_]

Thanks for your detalized reply, I'll look into it.