Over the past few months, the clutch fluid seems to have found a way to escape, and the reservoir is draining dry with increasing regularity. I've had a good look at everything I can see easily, and cannot actually see any signs of a leak anywhere - there's never been anything on the ground either, that I've seen.

It's a rather odd affair. It doesn't seem to go down slowly, and seems to be full one day and gone the next, whether or not the car has been used much or not. When I refill the reservoir the clutch goes back to more or less normal after a helluva lot of pumping first, and while it can the gear changes can still be a bit notchy for a while, it does end up 'recovering' almost completely after a little bit of driving around.

And then a few days (or weeks) later, with no warning, it is completely empty again...

The other day, for example, I parked the car in the driveway with no symptoms whatsoever. I didn't use the car the next day, but the day after that I got in, started the engine, put my foot on the clutch...and the pedal just went straight to the floor and stayed there. When I checked, the reservoir was bone dry, but again, no signs of leaks anywhere.

I've checked everywhere I can think of. But what places should I be checking in order to track this down and fix it? The master and release cylinders are obvious culprits, but are there others as well? And are there specific things I can do to accurately rule them in or out as the culprit? I'm just a bit stumped at the moment, given that it doesn't seem like it should be this hard to work out! Any advice much appreciated. :-)

Is it possible that the clutch master cylinder is the culprit, but is leaking *inside* the cabin? (ie. through the seal where the 'ram' passes through the firewall)

I've been search around elsewhere online and came across a comment that prompted an inspection inside, which I hadn't thought of at all before - never occured to me. I'll post a pic in a moment.

EDIT: the pic is proving a bit difficult to do, as it's a bit tricky to get sufficient light to it for the photo to be useful (even with the flash).

BUT, it does appear that there is definite discolouring of the mat around the hole that the 'ram' passes through, immediately below the ram itself. Silly question time, but is there any other likely scenario other than a leak in the clutch master cylinder? It's hard to tell how fresh it is tho, and we are talking about a car with 352,000km on the clock, so there's always the chance that it's an old stain.

If it does turn out to be the clutch master cylinder, what is the best way to go? Get a kit or replace it completely? What costs would I be up for? I'd do it myself, so parts are all I'd need.

take the car to a brake and clutch centre
have it tested there

you can resleave yours or have a rebuilt or new one fitted

In the last two weeks, I've had to fork out for rego (which included an extra $320 to replace a CV shaft), got screwed when my employer managed to stuff up a payment usually made direct from my pay and leaving me $260 out of pocket as a result, and then another few hundred dollars worth of unexpected bills turned up yesterday just to rub things in.

My only problem here is in trying to make sure I have the fault properly diagnosed before I start pulling things apart. I will have no problem either replacing the master cylinder myself, or servicing it with a kit, I just want to make sure which of these is the best way to go.

And when you consider the above as well, you'll understand why I have even more reason than usual to not want to spend any more than is absolutely necessary to get the job done!

start with the clutch master cylinder

after dismantling and cleaned in metho

inspect the master and if it is servicable

fit a rubber kit

Found a new one here:

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/Mitsubishi-Magna-Verada-Clutch-Master-Cylinder-PBR_W0QQitemZ250150565838QQihZ015QQcategoryZ6763QQ rdZ1QQssPageNameZWD1VQQcmdZViewItemQQ_trksidZp1638 Q2em118Q2el1247

Even better, even with delivery costs it is $120 cheaper than Repco, who quoted $211 for the same thing (by PBR as well).

Probably a bit of grit under one of the rubbers. Strip both master and slave cylinders, clean and inspect - if the rubbers are grooved replace them. Simple!

Probably a bit of grit under one of the rubbers. Strip both master and slave cylinders, clean and inspect - if the rubbers are grooved replace them. Simple!

Where could I get hold of them? I asked the Repco guy about a kit, and he said you could only get one for the slave, not the master. How much stuffing around is involved in servicing them as above anyway? If it's very straightforward then I'll do it, but if there's going to be much stuffing around then I'd rather just do a straight swap with a new part and not worry about it.

try bursons or supercheap or
any brake place and ask them to just supply master cyl rubber kit

you need circlip pliers,metric spanners,10 mm brake spanner if handy
, sockets and pliers or screwdriver for the pedal clip pin

hope that helps

Sounds pretty straightforward, I'll check with the local Supercheap in the morning. Thanks.

Dont go stripping stuff and end up where you started.

3 places to check

first all, slave cyl, push back to boot, if dry leave it alone.

Check the pipes, no doubt you already have, check joints etc

Get a brake hose clamp, clamp off the rubber line, put moderate pressure on the clutch pedal and see if after a few minutes it sinks, if it does is your master cyl

REPLACE IT WITH A NEW ONE, do not kit as it is only temp.

To check the master, get a good light, look up under the dash, you can see the rubber boot through the fire wall. Carefully run your finger around the boot and the firewall insulation, if there is fluid there you will smell it. The cyl is not hard to get out and you can check it this way too if you wish

"first all, slave cyl, push back to boot, if dry leave it alone."

Is this a model-specific thing? I've got a 94 TS, and there's nothing on the slave that I've seen that could be "pushed back".

"Check the pipes, no doubt you already have, check joints etc"

Yep, followed them as best I can through the maze, and haven't seen anything suspicious at all. The car is always parked on concrete, and I've never seen even a hint of a leak of anything, let alone brake fluid.

"Get a brake hose clamp, clamp off the rubber line, put moderate pressure on the clutch pedal and see if after a few minutes it sinks, if it does is your master cyl"

Where is this rubber line? The only lines I can remember seeing, associated with the clutch system, were all metal.

"To check the master, get a good light, look up under the dash, you can see the rubber boot through the fire wall. Carefully run your finger around the boot and the firewall insulation, if there is fluid there you will smell it. The cyl is not hard to get out and you can check it this way too if you wish."

I've got my head up under there as best I can, and while I couldn't see anything "fresh", there were obvious signs of leakage at some stage. The big unknown for me is whether or not it is a recent leak, or something older. By the time I got under there for a look, it had been several days, and may have dried enough in the interim. It doesn't seem to leak constantly, it just seems to be there one day and gone the next.

It's a crazy world we live in.

I got three quotes for a new clutch master cylinder. Each retailer is selling the one made my PBR.

Repco: $211
Supercheap: $140
eBay: $80 (+$12 postage)