Changed the Clutch Master Cylinder

[flyncasafo]

I bought a 95 Prizm for $500 bucks with 150,000 miles on it. When the clutch was pressed in for more than 10 seconds, the car would go into gear and I could not get it out of gear until I pumped the clutch a few times. I crawled under the dash and noticed the push rod seal on the clutch master cylinder was leaking.

I have never done a clutch master cylinder and thought I would relay some info that I found. This is a fairly easy job to do. First, remove the panel below the steering wheel. Behind it is an air duct held in with one screw. Once these two items are out of the way you have easy access to mounting bolts for the master cylinder.

I had to remove all four bolts that hold the brake master cylinder on to allow it to slide out about 1/2 and inch in order to remove the clutch master cylinder. Once the old clutch master cylinder was out, the new one dropped right in. Bleed the system with all new fluid. The old fluid that came out was black. The bleeder screw on the slave cylinder got clogged from the old fluid. I had to remove it and clean it up. Once back in and cleaned up, bleeding the system was very easy. I did use a swivel connection on my 1/2 inch sockets to make getting at the bolts up under the dash easier.

This is an easy project that anyone can take on.

[Bitter]

i'd say you got a hell of a deal on that prizm!

[flyncasafo]

I did get a good deal. It runs great. However, it looks like it spent most of its life behind a gravel truck. The hood and bumper are covered with rock dings. But I do like the gas mileage that it gets.

[Bitter]

1.6 or 1.8? and yea, its mostly road salt that does that i think. its nasty stuff. hows the rust? inspect, clean, and adjust the rear brakes and you'll like it even more.

[flyncasafo]

It is a 1.6. Thanks for the tip on the rear brakes. The next thing I think that it needs is the right front motor mount needs to be replaced.

[Bitter]

its common for the front and the one one the passenger side to both be bad at the same age. replacing JUST the front will only help very little if that other one is bad as well. those are the two main ones that dampen engine vibration into the cabin. the rear mount doesnt do very much, the trans mount...you should visually inspect and replace as needed.