Im the proud owner of a 84 se. but today was not the cars greatest day I drove it to school and the clutch was fine and everything was normal then got it home parked it for about an hour drove it to work and then it sat through my eight hour shift started it the clutch seemed fine when i pushed it in to start it but im guessing thats just cause i wasent expecting anything to be wrong it idled for a couple minutes then i went to take of not fast or anything and the clutch peddle is stiffer than normal and when i shift and then relese the peddle it comes out really slow compared to normal. whats going on? this is the second clutch in the car the first owner replaced it ounce and im not sure how many miles are on this one the car only has 47000 miles on it. (its a stock clutch everything on the car is sock) whats going on?

ok well if i need a new clutch does anyone have any opinions on the hd ram clutch from the fiero store?

The clutches in these cars tend to more often have problems with hydrolics rather than the clutch plate on the trans. Do a search for clutch problems, you'll find alot of info.

yeah i checked that it was full

I'll second the thought that it is hydraulics and not the clutch. With the pedal coming up slowly, it sounds like it is sucking air and losing fluid from a leak somwhere. First of all, it is amazing you found a stock Fiero with only 47000 miles. And even more amazing that this is the second clutch. Clutch plates "normally" don't go bad that quickly, but it could, so that would make me think something along the lines of hydraulics. Master cylinder, slave cylinder and any hydraulic lines associated with these items. Like 2.5 said, check the fluid level first. If it's low, replacing the fluid won't solve your problem. you have to find out why you lost the fluid. When you lose too much fluid, you will not be able to release the clutch and shifting will become progressively harder. The most common problem I have heard of here on this forum is a faulty slave cylinder. there is a rubber seal that internally fails and allows fluid to leak. Which even though there is only 47000 miles, it is 23 years old and rubber don't last forever. Bleed the slave and if the problem disappears immediatly, but then returns after use, you "probably" found the culprit, but not necessarily. There is also the possibilty that if the previous owner is the one that replaced the clutch, they did something wrong. Maybe something as simple as not tightening down a hose properly. Post more questions if you need to. Sorry I can,t be more specific and tell you exactly what the issue is, but home mechanic repair is a process of eliminating possible problems until you discover the real problem. Do a search on these items and good luck with your problem. Oh yeah, did I mention the banjo?

Jim

thanks that should be a good start. I got the car from my great uncle and my neighbor did the clutch the first time he is a very good mechanic and if Im unable to fix it my car goes to him but mistakes always happen so maybe

quote Originally posted by hammer18: i went and checked the clutch master cylinder again and it looks like there little particals of crap in there thats bad right could that be the problem? and its still full so I dont think there is a leak somewhere.

Particles of crap uh? The brake system is a closed system so the only way stuff could get in it is when the lid was off the master cylinder or maybe something is deteriorating internally. I'm not sure about that second thought. But crap in the system is definitely bad. What do you mean by crap? Chunks of metal or debri or is it chunks of gunk and goo? Either way, this debri could be blocking your fluid lines. Was the fluid ever changed in the system? Brake fluid can get dirty and weaken over time. I'm going to work, so you won't here from me for awhile, but I'll check your progress later tonight.

Jim

i went and checked that again and then i didnt see them anymore but I went to push the clutch peddle inand now it goes down about half way and then makes a sound not grinding more like a rubbing sound and then stops but the clutch peddle is pretty stiff stiffer than last night when i got it home

Stiff, sounds odd, Does the car still go into gears when its running? It is worth looking at the actual clutch pedal mechanism under the dash to see if anything looks out of whack, maybe the previous owner did something with that too?
Since this car was probably stored for a long time, there may be gunk in the clutch fluid system, mine had a grey substance I think from rubber parts breaking down, and there can also be rust in the lines. I disconnected both ends of the line and "flushed" it out with clean brake fluid using a hand pump. After hooking it back up you will need to bleed the system, LOTS of info on that here if you search. I would say the clutch is annoyance #1 on a Fiero!

ok thanks any ideas on what the pedel is rubbing up against or whatever is rubbing i think the sound was coming from the clutch but not sure. im affraid if i put it in gear it will never come out at least in nuetral i can roll it around and the pedal is the same running or not running so i think i could put it in gear just not sure about getting it out cause if the clutch is making the sound that would mean its not engaging like its out of aline maybe? im not sure just throwin things out there

quote Originally posted by hammer18: and i think the pedal looks normal but i havent exactly looked under there offten to know what normal should be and yeah the car sat in my great grandmas garage for 2 years i think befor i brought it to life again. that was a good day!

I think what you are looking for on the clutch pedal is the position of the pedal. It should be slightly higher than the brake pedal, and definitely not lower than the brake pedal.

All those floaties in the fluid is more than likely rubber particles from the seals in the master and slave breaking down. I second flushing your hydraulics. They need it on occasion. It would be best served to buy a rebuild kit for the slave and do it that way if in fact your slave is the culprit. As the aftermarket ones appear to not work very well due to missing an o-ring that the manufacturer uses when assembling these things.

my pedal looks good just slightly higher than the brake pedal im almost positive its the original slave on it so my seals are just bad hu? what about this whole rubbing thing i hear when I push the pedal in?

Where exactly does this rubbing sound like it's coming from? Any chance you could have someone push on the clutch to make the noise and use a mechanic's stethoscope (or long screwdriver) to fine it? Is it a squeak, rubbing, or grinding noise? Does it sound like mechanical failure, or just something that needs to be lubed? I know my 84 always made a squeak noise every time I pushed in on the clutch, but that was my clutch pedal.

Also when my slave was bad it would cause similar problems to what you are describing.

edit to add: is it a short noise or does it continue the whole time you have the clutch pressed in?

[This message has been edited by fieroluv (edited 08-17-2007).]

my pedal squeaks when i push it in to but its not that nois seems to come from the back thats why i thought clutch might not be on right but I dont know. the sound is more of a rubbing sound and maybe a slight squeak but the pedal only goes half way makes the nois and then stops going down any farther. to me its prolly more on the mechanical failure side of things but i could be wrong. and its a short nois when the pedal stops the nois stops.

ok this is confusing the hell out of me

I went to see if it would make the sound again and it didnt the pedal was still kinda hard it went almost to the floor though and i kept pumping it and it got rock hard and then back to being kinda hard like befor but no rubbing sounds at all. I think im going crazy or something.

does that mean theres air in the system?

Hi. I'm back. I thought about this a little at work. (I'm not a total goof off) I'm convinced it's the slave cylinder. Been wrong before but I'm pretty sure I'm right. The noise in the pedal is just that, noise. I don't think it means anything. You just need to quit guessing and commit to trying to fix this thing. I think your looking for a magic answer, but there rarely is one in auto repair. Replace or repair the slave and bleed the lines and go from there. I suggest replacing the slave, because from the tone of your comments, I don't think your up for rebuilding one. Replacing involves screwing in the fluid hose and bolting on the new unit and then bleeding. I'm not going to explain bleeding here. I'm sure you can find a manual somewhere, but a friend to pump the brakes is always helpful. I also definitely reccommend flushing the system not just bleeding. The car is 23 years old and it deserves it. Plus you need to get rid of that debri you mentioned. Like I said, no magic answers. If this doesn't work, you'll be out a little time and a little money and gained valuable experience. The slave may not be the problem but after 23 years it doesn' hurt to replace it. Good luck and post results, we're waiting.

im starting on it in the morning when i wake up