Can a bad clutch master and/or slave cylinder cause contamination of brake fluid?

**JeffPgh** · 10-27-2012 07:02 PM

I found some oily/greasy residue in my brake fluid reservour and wonder what could cause this. Clutch pedal is engaging dangerously high as well. Any thoughts/ideas?

**MikTip** · 10-27-2012 07:11 PM

Originally Posted by JeffPgh

I found some oily/greasy residue in my brake fluid reservour and wonder what could cause this. Clutch pedal is engaging dangerously high as well. Any thoughts/ideas?

Mixing the wrong/different brake fluids generally causes this....

Explain "Clutch pedal is engaging dangerously high as well" ? As thats the norm for the OE Audi clutch/pedal actuation....

**JeffPgh** · 10-27-2012 08:35 PM

Originally Posted by MikTip

Mixing the wrong/different brake fluids generally causes this....

Explain "Clutch pedal is engaging dangerously high as well" ? As thats the norm for the OE Audi clutch/pedal actuation....

I've owned for this car for its whole life and aware that the clutch has always engaged in the upper half of travel but it's now all the way at the top. What are symptoms of a bad clutch master or slave going/gone bad?

**MikTip** · 10-28-2012 07:06 AM

Originally Posted by JeffPgh

I've owned for this car for its whole life and aware that the clutch has always engaged in the upper half of travel but it's now all the way at the top. What are symptoms of a bad clutch master or slave going/gone bad?

Is it the original clutch in the car?

Generally when the slave or master are going bad they tend to not fully actuate the clutch pressure plate and give you the impression the clutch mechanicals are going....

Its easier to simply replace a suspected clutch slave cylinder and see if it fix's the problem. If it doesnt, then it maybe the master(PITA to change) or the actual clutch.

The clutch master and slave are both made of plastic

Ya might try to flush and change of the brake fluid in the master slave first, and see if that improves it. Especially since you stated there is an oily residue in the resivour.

**JeffPgh** · 10-28-2012 09:55 AM

Originally Posted by MikTip

Is it the original clutch in the car?

Generally when the slave or master are going bad they tend to not fully actuate the clutch pressure plate and give you the impression the clutch mechanicals are going....

Its easier to simply replace a suspected clutch slave cylinder and see if it fix's the problem. If it doesnt, then it maybe the master(PITA to change) or the actual clutch.

The clutch master and slave are both made of plastic

Ya might try to flush and change of the brake fluid in the master slave first, and see if that improves it. Especially since you stated there is an oily residue in the resivour.

Yep - original clutch with 134k on it. Rest basically stock; no chip. Thanks...

**incubusfc** · 10-28-2012 11:30 AM

Start with a fluid change. You'll probably have to buy a pressure bleeder (I don't think a mity vac will work, but I could be wrong.) Might as well bleed the brakes as well while you're at it. It's all the same fluid.

When my master/slave went out in my RX-7, the pedal would hit the floor + not come back up. Scared the shit out of me! I changed both at the same time. Obviously bled the system at the same time + it solved the problem.

You'll probably feel much better after bleeding the system. It's a cheap + easy start to diagnose your problems. Keep an eye on it after a while + see if it gets contaminated again. Like I said, do the brakes as well - you might see something wrong there. The brake + clutch fluid is shared in the same container so it's possible you might have a leak in your brake fluid as well. Not likely since you didn't say your brakes are affected, but it's possible.

**old guy** · 10-28-2012 03:06 PM

Originally Posted by JeffPgh

I found some oily/greasy residue in my brake fluid reservour and wonder what could cause this. Clutch pedal is engaging dangerously high as well. Any thoughts/ideas?

As others have already stated it would be a good idea to bleed the hydraulic system. The higher engagement point has nothing to do with the slave or master cylinder. It has to do with clutch wear. As the clutch disc wears the pedal engagement point will get higher and higher until it will no longer fully disengage. Usually it will start slipping before it gets that high.

**JeffPgh** · 10-29-2012 08:58 AM

Thanks, Old Guy. Was hoping I wasn't going to have to replace the clutch - I haven't chipped mostly to prolong life of stock parts. Maybe time to upgrade the clutch. Is the Valeo with single-mass flywheel a good option?

Car is at the shop right now anyway...just started taking a LONG time to heat up - probably stuck thermostat.