Ok so you'll have to forgive me and my noobish question but I just got my '94 Civic from a friend of mineand I needed some help on diagnosing a problem with the clutch. So here it goes:When I go to to push the clutch the pedalgoes all the way to the floor and then just sticks there. I can manually pull it back up and when I do it feels really loose. Some one told me that it might be the linkage, but I sadly dont know what the heck that is... The only other thing I can think of is that the clutch itself is bad and that Ill have to get a new one. What strikes me as odd is that I need the clutch pressed to start the car and I can start her just fine when its down. Any advise or input would be greatly appreciated and I would really love to avoid a hefty chunk of change for a new clutch.

-EdV

 

The clutch is operated by a hydraulic system similar to the brakes. It sounds to me like the clutch fluid (same as brake fluid) is low or leaking from the system. Start by checking the fluid level in the clutch master cylinder (picture). Once filled, pump the clutch to test whether clutch pedal pressure builds up. If not, check for leaks around the the clutch pedal, master cylinder, and slave cylinder (picture). If no leaks are seen, then bleed the system using the bleeder screw located at the slave cylinder.

 

Check the fluid level. If you have fluid, see if the clutch works. If the clutch otherwise works except the pedal doesn't come up by itself, the assist spring on the top of the pedal lever is probably broken.