Clutch Pedal Sticking down 1998 Outback

[Jerra49]

What is the probable cause of this problem. Car is not drivable with clutch
pedal stuck down.

 

[Hachiroku $B%O%A%m%/(B]

What is the probable cause of this problem. Car is not drivable with
clutch pedal stuck down.

Your slave cylinder is probably worn out and leaking. Could be the master,
also, but usually a bad master means you have to pump the pedal to get
enough pressure to actuate the clutch, while a bad slave won't return the
pedal.

 

[mulder]

What is the probable cause of this problem. Car is not drivable with clutch
pedal stuck down.

Depends if it's cable operated or hydraulic. If cable, the cable may
have broken. Hydraulic, probably a failed master or slave cylinder
(check the fluid reservoir under the hood to see if it's empty or very
low, if so there is a leak).

 

[S]

Hi Jerra!

What is the probable cause of this problem. Car is not drivable with clutch
pedal stuck down.

Your OB has an "assist" spring built into the clutch pedal to decrease
the effort required to disengage the clutch. If things aren't 100% in
the clutch pressure plate, throw-out bearing, or slave cylinder, the
pedal will go to the floor and stay, or come up off the floor after a
second or three delay; disconcerting in traffic, to say the least.
You're probably not gonna like the next part, tho.
If the issue is with the slave cylinder, you will notice that the
fluid is leaking; the cylinder will be wet, and you will continuously
be adding fluid to the reservoir. If this is the case, replace the
slave cylinder, and you should be good to go..
A more likely scenario is a bad pressure plate or a sticky throw-out
bearing, either of which require a clutch job. As the engine and
transmission must be separated to get to these parts, there's no sense
in not replacing the clutch parts. You didn't say, but if you have
_just_ replaced the clutch, and the pedal is sticking, best bet is a
sub-standard pressure plate. This happened on my '99 Forester after
installing a cheapo e-bay clutch, and I had to do the job all over
again :-(
There are a couple things you can try, tho.
Stand on your head in the drivers side foot well and spray some WD-40
or the like on the pivots in the clutch pedal linkage. This probably
won't help much, but it's cheap and easy enough to be worth a try,
anyway.
Cut a tennis ball in half and position one half behind the carpet
where the clutch pedal comes down to give it a little extra boost up
off of the floor. If this helps, you're still gonna have to service
the clutch, but it might buy a little time.
Hope this helps a bit.
ByeBye! S.



Steve Jernigan KG0MB
Laboratory Manager
Microelectronics Research
University of Colorado
(719) 262-3101

 

[S]

Hi Again!

What is the probable cause of this problem. Car is not drivable with clutch
pedal stuck down.

A third thing you might try would be to bleed the clutch hydraulics; I
suppose air in the system would keep the pedal from recovering as
well.
ByeBye! S.
Steve Jernigan KG0MB
Laboratory Manager
Microelectronics Research
University of Colorado
(719) 262-3101

 

[StephenH]

What is the probable cause of this problem.  Car is not drivable with clutch
pedal stuck down.

I agree with all the posts. Also there is a replacement master
cylinder to address this problem on some subies. i have only seen one
with this problem fixed this way, I still lean to the clutch pressure
plate itself. How old is the clutch? how does it "feel"