Clutch clicking

Phixnation · 10-01-2008, 08:16 PM

My car has 67k miles and the clutch pedal is starting to make clicking noises. I went to the dealership and they said it was the clutch master cylinder estimating a cost of 320 to 350 dollars to replace.... Does anyone know if the clicking caused by the cylinder will cause further damage or if there is a cheaper solution to this?

HoRRo · 10-01-2008, 10:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Phixnation

My car has 67k miles and the clutch pedal is starting to make clicking noises. I went to the dealership and they said it was the clutch master cylinder estimating a cost of 320 to 350 dollars to replace.... Does anyone know if the clicking caused by the cylinder will cause further damage or if there is a cheaper solution to this?

Does the clutch only "click" at the bottom/fully depressed (or top)?

yonseispeed · 10-02-2008, 10:17 PM

could also be the release bearing.

gmchu · 10-02-2008, 11:00 PM

here is a DIY I followed this past weekend to fix this issue. Took no longer than 15 min. most of that time was spent looking around down there. If you don't want to DIY, I believe there is a TSB regarding this so do not pay your dealership to replace the clutch master cylinder, they should be doing that for free. I also do not believe the clicking is doing any damage...it is just annoying.

Quote:

Originally Posted by JimDaugherty

Though many owners have written about the “clutch click,” I am unable to find a how-to-do-it thread on the clutch click repair. My clutch had a pronounced click near the bottom of the travel.

It took me about 30 minutes to do this repair and take pictures with my phone. I suspect that this repair is similar to the dealer’s “lubricate clutch linkage.” If this procedure stops the click, you do not need a clutch master cylinder replacement.

In addition to some lubricant, you will need a light and a Philips screwdriver. Here, remove the one screw in the cover below the steering column. (The two metal fingers in the right bottom is the light's hook.)

This cover is held in place by this screw and 3 or 4 plastic clips (my index finger) which are inserted in the square holes (my pinky). I pulled the cover off being careful not to twist the cover and break the clips.

The kick panel over the footwell is held in place with the same kind of clips. Carefully pull it down at the clips at the edge closest to you.

When this edge is down, you can pull the kick panel toward you. The attachment at the firewall is just two pins that slide slots attached to the firewall.

I needed a light to see the clutch linkage while lying on my back in the footwell. My index finger points to the pad for the top switch (cruise control release). This switch made an audible click. There was no lack of yellow grease on the joints of the clutch linkage. I just smeared the grease that was there back into the link pins. This did not help the click at the bottom of the travel.

Here the clutch pedal is depressed. I also smeared the grease into the top switch (at the center of the picture, the switch pushrod is extended). This is probably not recommended, but it did make the switch click much softer. Here you can see the base of the clutch master cylinder (about three inches to the right and above the pad for the top switch). I squirted silicone spray lubricant into the base of the clutch pushrod using a tube from a can of WD-40 to keep from spraying the stuff all over the car’s interior. (Note that there is almost no chance of contaminating the clutch fluid doing this.) I suppose that about any lubricant would work; though some would last longer than others would. (Think Lubriplate, WD-40, lithium grease, Vaseline, wheel bearing grease, etc). You save yourself the pain of disassembling and reassembling the linkage if you can squirt something into the clutch master cylinder where the pushrod goes in. (I suspect the fix would last for years if you can get some wheel bearing grease where the clutch pushrod meets the base of the clutch master cylinder piston.) Without a doubt, other posters will provide some suggestions on appropriate lubricant.

The closest dealer is a 50-mile round trip and takes the better part of a morning for any task. Even if this fix is temporary, it would only take me ten minutes to do it again. However, the next time I would get a more durable lubricant before I started.

I hope this helps.

Phixnation · 10-02-2008, 11:45 PM

Thanks man I'll try this out when I have time.

Luwin1026 · 10-03-2008, 01:04 PM

I had this same issue and had my dealer replace the master cylinder and the pedal assembly while they were at it. (under warranty) - this was around a month ago - and no more click.

MrHeeltoe · 10-03-2008, 01:26 PM

gmchu, nice diy....done like a former BMW owner....it is so?

ricky rooster · 04-19-2009, 05:29 PM

worked great write up

TXPTuff · 07-25-2009, 01:30 AM

For me the dealer replaced the master and slave clutch cylinders three times. I think I'm on revision #4 or #5 for the parts. Unfortunately, I'm outside my warranty so, every 3 months I spray white lithium grease or some special silicone stuff following gmchu's instructions. I know it's time for a treatment when I start feeling small popping or hear a rubber squeaking sound when I push/release the clutch. Not as bad during the colder months.

aeon · 07-25-2009, 01:47 AM

what exactly is this clicking noise? I've been driving with it for a long time now. Doesn't bother me too much though. should I look into getting it fixed?

Acuramaru · 10-04-2009, 07:29 PM

Why isn't this a sticky? This thread just saved me $500 that the dealer wanted to replace the clutch pedal.
Thanks!

CraZie · 10-04-2009, 07:57 PM

hmm mines clicks also. Should have the dealer check it out. Where can i go to check if my vehicle has any recalls or TSB?

Age · 10-04-2009, 09:17 PM

Funny that I just fixed my creaking/ clicking clutch pedal this morning. I put a big glob of lithium grease in the cylinder that goes through the firewall and worked it in with my finger while pressing the clutch in.

Noise is gone.

audioserf · 10-05-2009, 02:00 PM

My clutch has done this for at least two years. Hasn't seemed to hurt anything or get any worse. 04 with 57k miles. I just deal with it because I hate going to the dealership.

tsx 2 nv · 10-05-2009, 02:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by audioserf

My clutch has done this for at least two years. Hasn't seemed to hurt anything or get any worse. 04 with 57k miles. I just deal with it because I hate going to the dealership.

same here...04 with 82k miles