# Clutch hydraulics gone, clicking sound on acceleration



## jblackburn (Apr 14, 2012)

The clutch hydraulics work off the same reservoir as the brakes. Is the fluid low by chance? 

There have been a couple reports of people here having busted slave cylinders in the clutch hydraulic system, which would do almost exactly what you're describing.


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## MyShibbyEco (Jan 21, 2012)

Brake reservoir is halfway between the min and max lines. I suppose it's not impossible there is air in the lines, but I doubt it. I will watch the brake level and see if it goes down. Brakes work fine and don't feel any different. I am ruling out the temperatures seeing how it was 10* this morning (vs. -5 yesterday, and I have never had a problem before) and did the same thing. I suppose this will end with a call to the dealer just to tell me it's not covered under the 100k warranty.


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## Blue Angel (Feb 18, 2011)

MyShibbyEco said:


> I suppose this will end with a call to the dealer just to tell me it's not covered under the 100k warranty.


My guess is that they will tell you they'll look at it, but if it's something that's not covered under the 100k powertrain warranty you'll be charged for the fix. Since it's the clutch we're talking about chances are it won't be covered unless it's a mechanical failure of the pressure plate or something major like that. Based on your description, the clutch itself is working OK but the pedal/hydraulic system is at fault which would lead me to believe it's not going to be covered.

Can't hurt to call and see what they say.


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## MyShibbyEco (Jan 21, 2012)

jblackburn said:


> There have been a couple reports of people here having busted slave cylinders in the clutch hydraulic system, which would do almost exactly what you're describing.


The more I think about it (without trying to over think it) I believe you are right. Last night there was a time when stopped at a light I could rest my foot on the clutch in just the right spot without putting enough pressure to disengage the clutch and get it to squeal. Also, the clicking/ticking sound may be something with the slave cylinder being broken and around some hot moving parts. Which, by the way, the sound started to happen about a week before this clutch issue, maybe as a warning for what will happen?

I also called the dealer, "it's a gray area" were the words I got. Basically, like Blue Angel said, unless something mechanically failed, which hydraulics and the slave cylinder do not count as "mechanical" apparently, it will not be covered (and I was told the clutch is not covered under the 36k warranty). On top of that, if I bring it in with the expectation that it will be warranty work, but turns out to not be, I will be subject to the shop rates just for diagnosing the problem.

I know this business practice is not specific to GM, but if one brings something in for warranty and it turns out it's not covered and you say you would rather fix it, they should at least not charge you $130 bucks just to tell you what you already know/assumed. </rant>


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## Dragonsys (May 27, 2013)

MyShibbyEco said:


> I know this business practice is not specific to GM, but if one brings something in for warranty and it turns out it's not covered and you say you would rather fix it, they should at least not charge you $130 bucks just to tell you what you already know/assumed. </rant>


I always hated this. Had a mechanic charged a $80 diag fee, and all he did was tell me what my CEL Code meant (which I had already told him when I showed up and said I had the code), and all I wanted was an estimate to fix it.


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## jblackburn (Apr 14, 2012)

Dragonsys said:


> I always hated this. Had a mechanic charged a $80 diag fee, and all he did was tell me what my CEL Code meant (which I had already told him when I showed up and said I had the code), and all I wanted was an estimate to fix it.


I hate bringing a car into a shop like that, telling them what the problem is, and then still being charged a diagnostic fee because "we had to make sure that's what the problem was". 

Yes, I KNOW my alternator is bad....No, I don't want you to diagnose it; I'm just paying you to replace the part because I don't have time/tools to do it myself...

It was terrible being in a small college town with only a few shops around and nothing else for MILES.


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## Robby (Mar 1, 2013)

The way the warranty is written, the mechanical elements of the clutch are covered.
That would be, the clutch slave, clutch master, throwout bearing, flywheel, and pressure plate......if the flywheel and/or pressure plate are damaged due to friction disc wear they would not be covered as that is consequential damage.

Good luck,

Rob


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## Chevy Customer Care (Oct 29, 2011)

MyShibbyEco, 

Please be sure to keep us posted on your concern. If you need assistance while at the dealership, please do not hesitate to reach out. 

Erica Tiffany
Chevrolet Customer Care


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## MyShibbyEco (Jan 21, 2012)

Here's a little info. I think I'll be updating this thread as the problem does/doesn't persist.

Driving home from work and the problem, for the most part, went away (but it is also 15* today). The pedal felt squishy at one time and that was it. A single pump and it was back to normal. I've driven it around a couple times now trying to get it to repeat and it won't. The initial push when starting the car feels a little weak, but I can't remember if it was always like that or not so I'm going to say "whatever" to that.

The clicking sound got a little louder and I think it's the mud flaps, or body related, instead of transmission/clutch related. For now I am going to ignore it until I can get the mud flaps off and drive it with them off for a while. I will update this thread related to that issue as well.

As for self-diagnosing the car, known facts are;
- There is absolutely no leaking anywhere on the clutch hydraulic lines from the pedal inside the car to the connection at the transmission (unless they are inside the transmission).
- Brake fluid does not appear to be dropping or at least not at the rate expected for this problem.
- Listening to the clutch line/transmission while someone pushes the clutch you can hear the fluid move, and the clutch move away from the engine (engine off, of course). The hydraulic line also moves slightly as the pedal is pushed because of the short piece of flexible rubber hose in the system as pressure increases.

Lastly, I cannot find where the clutch hydraulics tap in to the brake fluid reservoir. I traced the clutch line all the way from the firewall to the transmission and on my car it is a single line with no splitting or T's, Y's, etc that I can find. Also, the diagrams online that show a second line coming from the master cylinder is not there on my car. I have a single hydraulic line with a wire coming out next to it at the firewall, but no second hydraulic line/split to the brake reservoir. Any pictures or info on that would be appreciated.

@Erica, thank you for helping out. If needed I will contact you. For now I will see what I can deduce before bringing it in.


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## MyShibbyEco (Jan 21, 2012)

Story time. Left the car outside overnight for the first time since I had it happen the first time. We also had sub-zero temps. This time, I am not able to get the clutch to come back at all. I pumped it for a good 30+ minutes and let the engine warm up and it never once felt like it was coming back. What I do know is;
- Only duplicated in sub-zero temps.
- Must sit for a couple hours, at least, before the car does this.
- There is now visible brake fluid dripping from the transmission (not oil, I can see where on the transmission it is leaking from). So much that it pools on the shield and drips on to the ground.
- The brake reservoir was almost to the bottom of the min arrow (I found the line connecting the master cylinder to the reservoir, I was covering it up with rags and stuff before, and it is a separate line). Topped it off and still no clutch.

With that said, I believe I have a hairline fracture in the slave cylinder. This explains 1) the fluid that is being lost, 2) the loss of pedal pressure, 3) why it is only doing this in sub-temps (the metal shrinks enough to leak through the crack when cold, once warm it expands enough to close the gap so it can build pressure), and 4) the rough where-abouts it is leaking from on the transmission.

I will be calling the dealer first thing tomorrow and get it towed in, and will post another update to let people know the issue/fix (for future references). IMHO, this shouldn't matter what is broken/not working, it should be covered under warranty due to no longer being able to put the car in gear to drive it, and/or it being a safety hazard if I could drive it.

@Erica; I may be reaching out depending on what the dealer says since they said it was a "gray area" last time and did not give me the warm fuzzies I think everyone deserves when dealing with what should be warranty service.


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## Robby (Mar 1, 2013)

A mechanical failure of the clutch release mechanism is a powertrain type warranty claim.

Rob


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## Merc6 (Jun 8, 2013)

I'd still reach out to Erica to leave a trail so this doesn't become a looong tug of war.


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## Merc6 (Jun 8, 2013)

Blue_RS said:


> Almost sounds like theres moisture in the brake/ clutch fluid.


I meant to ask how long has he had the same fluid but let it go after a crack was found.


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## MyShibbyEco (Jan 21, 2012)

Merc6 said:


> I meant to ask how long has he had the same fluid but let it go after a crack was found.


Actually, a crack has not been found [yet]. I am speculating that. Either a crack or the flare nut connecting the hose to the slave cylinder is loose. Either way, there is fluid leaking out of the transmission. On top of that, I highly doubt condensation in the line would cause the clutch to act this way. I would expect moisture of some kind to be noticeable at all times, and most likely also affect the brakes since they share fluid. But who knows, cars do weird things some times.


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## MyShibbyEco (Jan 21, 2012)

Dealer just called, it wasn't a crack, but basically the same thing. The slave cylinder seal went out (not sure how or where, I didn't get to look at it). It is covered under the 100k warranty as you all have said.

Hopefully this helps someone else in the future if they have a similar problem.


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## Aussie (Sep 16, 2012)

Maybe there was a bit of water build up in the fluid and in cold weather the water froze solid expanded and damaged the seal. Water and oil don't mix, so this is a possibility. Might be wise to remove and replace brake/clutch fluid at the fall every year, or at least every second year?


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## obermd (Mar 3, 2012)

The 2014 North American Cruze owners manual shows clutch fluid replacement every 30K miles.


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## MyShibbyEco (Jan 21, 2012)

obermd said:


> The 2014 North American Cruze owners manual shows clutch fluid replacement every 30K miles.


Pulling up the manuals of a 2012 (my car) and 2014 Cruze from Chevy Vehicle Manuals and Videos | Owners Manuals | Chevrolet shows this exists in the 2014 manual. The 2012 owners manual says no such thing, in fact it does not have a brake _or_ clutch suggested maintenance schedule. I wonder if they discovered this and put it in the newer car manuals as a "we know it happens so just service it" kind of thing. And on top of that, the 2014 manual has "2nd print" in the file name.

Edit: Just going to add that the 2011 does not mention anything outside of a "brake inspection" either. No fluid flushes or changes. The 2013 is the first year that mentions changing the brake and clutch fluid.


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## varkwso (May 6, 2012)

Thanks for link. Sounds Similiar. I have no leakage. Put it on my lift. Clutch shares master cylinder brake fluid?

Sent from AutoGuide.com Free App


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## obermd (Mar 3, 2012)

MyShibbyEco said:


> Pulling up the manuals of a 2012 (my car) and 2014 Cruze from Chevy Vehicle Manuals and Videos | Owners Manuals | Chevrolet shows this exists in the 2014 manual. The 2012 owners manual says no such thing, in fact it does not have a brake _or_ clutch suggested maintenance schedule. I wonder if they discovered this and put it in the newer car manuals as a "we know it happens so just service it" kind of thing. And on top of that, the 2014 manual has "2nd print" in the file name.
> 
> Edit: Just going to add that the 2011 does not mention anything outside of a "brake inspection" either. No fluid flushes or changes. The 2013 is the first year that mentions changing the brake and clutch fluid.


True, but since the power train hasn't changed since 2011 I recommend everyone use the 2014 maintenance schedule for their 2011-2013 North American Cruzen.


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