Break pedal to the floor and fluid leak

[spanos70]

Was stopped at a red light with car in neutral. stepped on the clutch to shift to first, heard and felt a slight pop in the clutch pedal. The pedal now remains on the floor and hydraulic fluid was leaking from under the car. was unable to get the car into gear while running, so I turned off the engine, shifted to first and got the car off the road... Then flat-bedded to mechanic. Could this be the master/slave cylinder or possibly a leak elsewhere?

Is there a DIY procedure to replace master/slave cylinder?

Thanks.........

2001 boxster 56k

[amondc]

Sounds like the slave cylinder broke. There is one 13mm bolt that holds it in. Pretty easy to change out.

[ARModen]

Never really seen a procedure for it, and my boxster is automatic, but I have done this work on a 944 and an RX-7. But here's what I've learned from fixing/screwing those up. Generally there is a a master cylinder connected to the pedals, a reservoir on top of the master cylinder, a line from the master cylinder to the slave, and then slave cylinder. If the cylinders have rubber gaskets sealing their plungers, if either have ruptured you'll see a loss of pressure and an oil leak.

I've had the master go, which gave me oil under the pedal inside the car. I've never seen a slave go, but that would give you oil under the car. When I replaced the master cylinder in the RX-7 I failed to torque the bleed valve sufficiently, which caused it to pop off and gave me the same symptoms you saw. On the 944 I had a section of braided steel hose with rubber coating on it. Whenever I pushed the clutch the hose would weep oil, which is very confusing if you're working on the system by yourself, because the oil just seems to appear from no where.

[Lil bastard]

First you need to find out what the problem is. It's just as likely to be a split hydraulic hose as either the master or the slave. These cars are getting older and this kind of unusual failure is going to become more common.

Whether the hose, master or slave, if it were me, I'd replace all three given that the car is now 10 yrs. old. The master is a very straightforward swap, so is the slave, but access is tight. The clutch master lives on the firewall pretty much just behind the brake pedal and is fed from lines from the brake master reservoir. The slave lives on the side no the tranny. Jack up the car and follow the hydraulic line and you'll see it.

The clutch system uses the same reservoir as the brake master and so assuming you lost a lot of fluid, and even if you didn't because the system has been exposed to air, you'll need to bleed the brakes as well as the clutch system once repaired. The fluid should be swapped every two years anyway so you're likely due.

A dealer or mechanic will charge you pretty good for all this. The labor will be significant, and as always, they'll upcharge the parts. Using simple tools, you can do the work yourself in less than an afternoon and save a bundle.

Cheers!