I have a 93 Ford Ranger. No complaints it been a good vehicle. Over night the clutch pedal just changed. Went from engaging in the top half and the bottom half almost to the floor. What could cause this much change overnight? I checked the fluid level and it was maybe an ounce below the line. Filled it back up. No change. Its going to piss me off if I have to pay for a clutch right before I move out of this vehicle. Which leads me to question number two.

Interested in a Subaru Crosstrek. 2015 most come with the CVT transmission. Due to a past experience with this style of transmission (2003 Saturn VUE) I would like to avoid it if possible. Question. In 12 years time has this technology improved?

Internal leak of master cylinder.

The piston pressurize the fluid when you press the pedal, and if it leaks past the piston and the cylinder wall, it will provide no pressure and the pedal will travel to the floor with little resistance.

If you have no evidence of fluid leaking anywhere, and no significant loss of fluid from the reservoir.

The second, but not as likely is the release bearing leaking, and this is accompanied by "disappearing" fluid, as it is not often observed as wetness due to puddling or road grime "obscuring the evidence".

The spring band could have cracked or the friction disk has separated.

Will need a clutch, friction disk and release bearing. You can do this yourself.

Are you sure it uses fluid for the clutch? I'd be leaning towards a leak or the cylinder seals if so. I don't think the clutch spring would go bad overnight while the vehicle is sitting/cooling off.

I'm very familiar with the mustangs from that era and they used a manual clutch adjuster. You could re adjust them by lifting up on the clutch pedal with your foot about an inch and then working the pedal a few times.

quote:

Originally posted by sigmonkey:
Internal leak of master cylinder.

My '91 F-150 with manual transmission started doing the same thing a few years ago. Besides engaging in a different location it became much easier to push the pedal. A new master cylinder fixed the issue.

I do have evidence of a small leak of some kind. This vehicle has never leaked a drop of anything since I bought it. With the engagement much closer to the floor the pedal does feel a lot different. Mushy.

Sounds like your slave cylinder is leaking. I think it is mounted on the outside on this vehicle, some are in the bellhousing. There is a cylinder with a plastic line going into it (from the master cylinder). Look for leaks around this area. Left side of vehicle front of transmission.

I have a 2013 Crosstrek. The transmission is great for what it does. Jumps off the line. Pulls evenly. You have to get used to the fact that it's not shifting around. I very much like my Crosstrek and plan to keep it a long time. Great in the winter. I did drive a new Crosstrek as a service loaner a while back. The new one has more power and handles WAY too good for what it is. It was kind of freaking me out how well that car handled a very bendy road.

That year Ranger uses a concentric slave cylinder, so it's inside the bell housing and hard to see. It could have popped a leak and the fluid is inside the bell housing and not dripping, or as another poster mentioned it could be in the master cylinder. Some more trouble shooting would be needed to narrow it down.

Depending on the miles on the clutch I would lean towards putting a new clutch and slave cylinder in and seeing if that fixed it. If it doesn't then a new Master. I had the same basic set up on my old 95 F150, and that system is a PITA to fill and bleed. It does have a quick release at the slave cylinder though.

I have dealt with this a few times. The Ranger uses a hydraulic clutch. The master cylinder reservoir is very small to begin with, with much of its space further taken up by the cap gasket, which is a small bellows. Even a tiny amount of fluid leakage will cause the master cylinder to suck air. The most common source of this leakage is the slave cylinder. Unfortunately, it is a concentric cylinder, in line with the throwout bearing, and inside the transmission. You can take a rubber plug on the left side of the bellhousing and look inside. Once the system sucks air, it cannot be bled in the usual manner. If you make the repair, do yourself a BIG favor and get a prefilled and bled master cylinder with the line attached along with a prefilled slave.

That very thing happened to me on my '93 ranger. It was the slave cylinder. The transmission has to be dropped to replace it. If that's the case for yours I would go ahead and replace the clutch plates also while the transmission is out.

Slave cylinder. Had to replace one myself but it was in the summer.

I experienced much the same thing years ago in an ‘87. It was related to the pilot bearing/bushing.

One day depressing the clutch about 2/3 would disengage it completely. Next day there was no way of pressing it to disengage it completely.