GTH

Not sure whats causing it, but my clutch pedal seems soft, it depresses about almost 2 full inches before any resistance is felt and then the clutch releases, i shift and IMMEDIATLY upon raising the clutch from the floor it engages. There is almost no play in coming up and 1-2 inches of play while depressing.

Breaks are also soft and be depressing both I (may be imagining) can feel a small difference in resistance and clutch point. Also my E break does not really engage.

any quick tips on how to test slave/master cylinder, or whatever else I maybe can just eyeball to see if any issues.

Oh, ive checked fluid levels, they appear fine.

NismoPick

Bleed the system.

WanganDevilZ

Isnt the E-brake a cable..?

Stop rippin that **** and powin-ovar

Could be worse, sometimes my Rx7's clutch pedal will sink to the floor and will still be engaged in gear, have to either pull it up with my foot, or with my hand. Also sometimes it engages early, like an inch from letting off the floor it will be 100% in gear.

tl;dr like Nismo said, bleed it.

GTH

yeah E breaks a cable.

Im gonna find a FAQ on bleeding the clutch.

GTH

ooooooo im no good at this, i made it worse then grabbed someone to help with pedal. now its back to how it started. I just bled the master cylinder (I think). There are two small bleed valves below the reservoir, I opened the one closer to the firewall and some break fluid came out, then it pulled air back in, DOH. So i got somone to press the pedal a few times and hold it down, opened the valve it spurted, some fluid, air fluid, closed valve. repeated a few times, the second and third time no air at all.

However, its doing the same thing, breaks feel soft, clutch prolly needs to be bled as well, but i cant get under the car right now. so thats gotta wait.

NismoPick

Correction... the "slave cylinder" needs to be bled. I know what ya meant... but the clutch isn't the actual hydraulic part of the system.

GTH

Heh, yeah. Thats what I ment.

OK, So I was in the parking lot and the clutch pretty much went to the floor and did not disengage. Could not shift (well not normally) started the car and let it sit for 20-30 seconds, pumped the clutch as fast as it would come off the floor while in neutral, and i started to get more and more resistance. now the clutch point seems to be about 1 inch off the floor and it will start grabbing about 1 inch down as well.

I haven't tested it in about 2 hours so i don't know if its softened up again.

I should prolly replace the master/slave as they are at least 14 years old (actually they are most likely the original ones, and also sat for 12 years.)

mayhem052

My clutch just goes to the floor and won't come back up unless I use my foot. I let the car sit for about three weeks without being driven and the car was running great before that. The clutch doesn't even engage when the pedal is on the floor. I'm guessing I have a similar problem to your's.

GTH

So i replaced the slave. everythings good.

And bled the breaks, but they seem to be the same. i think i just need new pads.

GTH

w00t, i googled 280zx soft clutch and this was the top result....my own thread from last time this happend hahaha. ok so i'll try bleeding it, and then replacing the master cylinder.

83turbo280zx

its possible you may have a master going out. also have you checked to make sure its not just the pushrod adjustment on the master cylinder? As for the brakes. 280zx brakes are a little tricky if you don't do it properly.

go to xenons130.com and download a free copy of the factory service manual. That way you can do some of your own diagnostics before you get on the forums for answers. It actually will answer a lot of your concerns. Bleeding the brakes should be in this order. Bleed the master cylinder first (Use a piece of hose from the bleeder screw back to the resovoir and just pump the pedal slowly. Then bleed the right rear, left rear, front right, and front left, then go back to the master. Repeat as necessary until you get a firm pedal.

FricFrac

Yea bleading the front brakes makes the job about 10x longer....

Skully

WildmaN

I can usually just bleed the master cylinder, and my brakes bleed fine. It has been a rare occasion, when I had to bleed each individual wheel.

The other cool thing is, I can bleed the master without using a hose. Because of my long arms. lol

83turbo280zx

haha nice! but with a hose it requires less work, why work harder when you can work smarter right?

GTH

So old but apparently its happening again.......doh. start with bleeding the system right?

GTH

there is a leak, small but there. right at the firewall. got a replacement gonna handle it this weekend. Bleeding it tides it over a few days at a time.

FricFrac

If your slave is still good the master might be on it's way out now...