Why is clutch pedal hard to push

[merkyworks]

Starting to have this weird issue happen and not sure whats causing it or if a part is going bad. Car has RXT clutch, SS line and new slave cylinder installed ~12-15k miles ago & 13-14 clutch master cylinder and dedicated clutch fluid reservoir installed ~5k miles ago.

Issue is....

• On freeway for 15-20 minutes in 6th gear and never push the clutch in.
• I exit freeway and go to push clutch pedal in and the pedal feels hard and doesn't want to push in.
• I keep trying to push the pedal in and eventually (1-2 seconds later) it pushes in, it then feels normal and isn't hard to push in anymore.

This started to happen about a month ago and only happens when I'm on the freeway and running for long periods of time and not pushing the clutch pedal. If at some point on the freeway I downshift from 6th to 5th to pass someone the clutch doesn't act up. At no other time does the clutch pedal feel this way, car can not run and sit for days with no issues, car can be idling for long periods or I can be driving around and shifting gears for long periods of time without any issue. The clutch pedal doesn't go to the floor like air is in the lines, it stays in place and is just hard to push in, like something is stopping/opposing the pedal from going down.

What could this be?

 

[Catmonkey]

I'd suspect the slave cylinder is binding, or possibly the clutch master. I had to shim my clutch stop to prevent contact between the clutch master and the pedal assembly. Did you do anything like that?

 

[Jam421]

Did you replace the slave when the RXT was installed 12K miles ago ? When I had my '13 swapped to the RXT I was scratching my chin for a bit until I decided to heed that $200 advice. Any signs of leakage or low clutch fluid? Also...I'm sure McCleod has a tech Line to provide some insight.

 

[merkyworks]

I'd suspect the slave cylinder is binding, or possibly the clutch master. I had to shim my clutch stop to prevent contact between the clutch master and the pedal assembly. Did you do anything like that?

Yes I shimmed the stop when I installed, I noticed it made contact as well. I'm suspecting some sort of slave cylinder binding as well, just odd how it only does it at certain times.

Did you replace the slave when the RXT was installed 12K miles ago ? When I had my '13 swapped to the RXT I was scratching my chin for a bit until I decided to heed that $200 advice. Any signs of leakage or low clutch fluid? Also...I'm sure McCleod has a tech Line to provide some insight.

Yes the slave cylinder was changed out when RXT was installed. No fluid leaks under the car and the clutch reservoir fluid levels remain the same.

 

[Catmonkey]

Yes I shimmed the stop when I installed, I noticed it made contact as well.

Let me ask you this. Did you have to shim the contact for the clutch safety switch after you did that?

 

[merkyworks]

Let me ask you this. Did you have to shim the contact for the clutch safety switch after you did that?

Yes I had to do that as well.

When I installed the '13 master cylinder I got rid of the plastic stop and use a bolt with a nut on each side of the plastic pedal assembly as my stop, area circle in red. The pedal travel was limited enough that when I went to start the car for the first time it wouldn't start. Realized what was going on and had to shim the rubber pad (circled in blue) out more so it would push the safety switch in enough.

Pic is for ref and not my car.

 

[Catmonkey]

Same here. I found a rubber snubber that I bolted into place with a 10-24 cap screw. I just wondered if my clutch switch wasn't messed up so I wanted to compare notes.

 

[biminiLX]

Take out that spring!
Otherwise they have you covered
-J

 

[merkyworks]

Take out that spring!
Otherwise they have you covered
-J

My car doesn't have a spring, that was just a pic I found to use as a visual aid. But if I did have that spring it would be removed for sure.

 

[GT Premi]

You're not putting in enough leg days at the gym.