Clutch pedal drops to floor? Read this!

A few weeks ago, while driving in traffic, my clutch pedal dropped right to the floor and would not come up, while I continued driving!

The problem involved the plastic clip that connects the clutch pedal to the push-rod that goes into the clutch master cylinder. A local VW dealer did a "get-you-home" fix while the plastic clip ($1.70) was on order. A week later, they put the new clip in, but it still wasn't right, and then they were telling me that the clutch pedal was worn out ...

Fast forward to today, I didn't have time to fiddle with this so I took the car to my local independent mechanic, who determined that the REAL problem is that the dealer did not snap the clip in place over the ball-end of the push-rod properly. Clutch pedal is fine. To do it right, you HAVE to unbolt the clutch master cylinder from within the engine compartment, and then he said it was an absolute bear to get that clip onto the end of the push-rod (which probably means it's not gonna come off again for a long time). After that - no more linkage problem.

But ... and here's the kicker. The clutch now engages almost at the top of its travel and I can slip it under load. I knew it was on the way out anyway, but the worn-out clip had masked the real point where the clutch engagement was occurring. I know by the way the clutch pedal feels now that my clutch is SHOT. Been down that road before (but not with this car).

So, if your clutch pedal drops to the floor, have a look at that clip, and make sure the new one gets put on there properly, and SOON. Too much limping around trying not to shift gears finished off my clutch!

This failure occurred at 364,000 km, for reference - other hi-milers take note.

I don't understand how this masked a slipping clutch. If it wasn't slipping before how is it going to slip now, unless there is something wrong, and the pedal is, in effect, partially depressed now.

It didn't mask the slipping clutch - the wear of the pushrod deeper and deeper into that plastic piece masked the slow rise of the engagement point off the floor, and that is one of the telltale signs of a clutch about to let go. I didn't know the engagement point was getting that high - and I didn't know the plastic piece was wearing out sorta compensating for what would have been the telltale.

I've known that the clutch was on the ragged edge for probably the last 50,000 km due to intermittent slippage. All the second-gear starts in the last couple of weeks due to not wanting to use the clutch linkage much finished it off. It was going to wear out anyway, it is now worn out!

The clutch is hydraulically actuated. You may have residual pressure remaining in the slave cylinder. The clip installation procedure used may not be allowing the clutch slave to return to its fully relaxed position. The clutch pedal is possibly stopping the master before the slave is fully depressurized. Try bleeding a bit of fluid out of the slave to see if any improvement is noticed.
A bit of lost fluid is cheaper than a clutch.

<edit>285,000 miles (458,500km) and still on the original clutch.<end edit>

i just went through this on my car, the master cylinder went. i had to replace the slave before i realized this, though. i agree - that clip is a total bear to replace. easy enough to remove with a screwdriver, but nearly impossible to replace.

all in all a very easy job, though anything with brake fluid is inherently messy. you also definitely need to bleed at least a bottle of fluid through the system before everything works properly again. i tried using a power bleeder but ultimately got better results doing with the two-man method.

on my car when it went it didn't sink to the floor, but the clutch pedal was no longer doing a whole lot. i could engage/disengage the transmission, but i couldn't shift unless the car was off and stationary. made for a fun trip back through the city to get home, in second gear all the way.

I'm having a problem with my clutch pedal hugging the floor. I had to brake really quickly one day, and right after that the clutch pedal got stuck in the down position. Moving it up with my foot solved the problem, but the problem would return every now and then, until yesterday, when pushing in the clutch about 3/4 of the way caused the pedal to pull itself completely down. I can even do it now when the car isn't running. I pull the clutch pedal up, then gently depress it, and about 3/4 of the way down, it just travels all the way down all by itself. I'm reading several threads and so far have not seen anybody talk about the pedal actually being sucked down.
Any ideas?
Regards
Frans

I think I've just read this four times on different threads.

So, I guess I'll give it a shot.

The clutch is hydraulic - so you could have a problem with the master cylander, slave cylander, air in the system, or, kinda the same as air - lack of fluid.

Since this happened after hard braking, I'd go for the #4, since it shares brake fluid.

How are your brakes?

A quick fix might be to add brake fluid. A better fix would be to find where it's leaking, and deal with that problem. Remember, it could be in the brake system.

If the slave cylinder was leaking on the clutch lever side I imagine it would trash the clutch disk, no?

Anything getting on the clutch disk can cause real problems there. I haven't torn into the clutch, so I'm not sure if that's likely.

I'm curious as to whether the fluid is leaking, and if so, where. If it's not leaking, then either the master or slave is toast, and the timing with hard braking is just a coincidence.

Hi,
I'm not losing any brake fluid (this is based on both visual inspection of the lines and the fact that the brake fluid level has not changed).

I just bled the clutch system and there was no air at all in the system. What I'm hearing, though, is a sucking, squishing sound when I pull the clutch pedal back up (I don't hear it when pushing down), and the sound clearly comes from the master cylinder, not the slave cylinder. I think that means, replace master cylinder. Does that make sense to you all? My parts guy says: replace them both, they're both wear items. Makes sense to me too, since the slave cylinder is not that expensive (around $ 90 for the slave, 165 for the master). Any comments?

Also repeatedly pushing the pedal doesn't help anything either. What surprises me is the suddenness of things, unless the warning was the earlier occasional binding of the pedal.
Thanks and regards,
Frans

I agree that they are both wear items. Part of the problem with the change is to change the fluid - and if there has been no replacing of them in the past, you might as well do them both since the system is open/drained. Sounds like one of the seals really tore or somehow came off the plunger.

Good luck.

Here's how I fixed mine - with photos

Happily driving along I push in my clutch pedal and it goes to the floor and stays there. Yikes! Long story short, the small welded "box" on the side of the clutch pedal broke its weld and the master cylinder piston and fun white clip everyone is talking about here shot right through the new unwanted opening.

After 10+ hours off and on fiddling around in a cold garage with various ways to fix this which did not end up working, I am posting some pictures of what I did to fix it (albeit a little duct tapey). One angle iron and a loose bolt from the ole coffee can and I'm back in business. Yeah, as another poster says, you HAVE to unbolt the clutch master cylinder and slide it forward into the engine bay to do it right. I broke the white clip too ($3.50 list as of 11/07 at the stealership and 1 day lead time in Chicago). This fix feels very solid in action. I bent the angle iron slightly as you can see in the 2nd photo. There was already a hole in the clutch pedal which I used. I smeared some JBWeld I had in the garage drawer on the nut and assembly after I took the photos for extra hold. Why not.

If you don't get the clip snapped properly onto the piston rod, the clip snugly into its place, etc etc etc, your clutch pedal will not feel right. In fact, I rigged up an earlier fix and the clutch was like 5% engaged constantly while I drove it on an errand. Couldn't feel it until I gunned it and the rpms spiked but the MPH did not spike!

Good luck and may you spend less time in a cold garage if this happens to you! -Todd 96 B4 165K miles

Todd,
Thanks for posting that fix. I may wind up doing just that. I'll have to see about getting the welder going, first.

It happened to me, when I was starting the car, to go back to work, from lunch. What a PITA.

Tony