[looking]

I recently bought a 1996 850 GLT SW (103K miles) and had the clutch replaced when the engine was pulled to replace a leaking rear main seal. Yesterday while driving, the clutch pedal suddenly went clear to the floor and the car could not be shifted, which was exciting. Luckily, I was close to home and this car can be started in gear, so I was able to nurse the car home in first.

I've never had a hydraulically actuated clutch before, only direct mechanical linkages, so I'm looking for help to diagnose and correct this failure.

The brake and clutch share the same fluid reservoir. I want to try bleeding the clutch master and slave cylinders to see whether I can figure out the problem, but I want to be sure that doing so will not affect the brakes (which still seem to operate fine). The Haynes manual says very little other than to bleed at the slave cylinder. There are few posts on manual clutches anywhere, really (many on brakes).

Would it be correct to assume that if I can manually bleed fluid from the slave cylinder bleed screw, then the clutch master cylinder is good and that, therefore, the slave cylinder is bad? Or, will a bad master still push fluid, such that I will be unable to rule it out as the problem?

Any insight on this hydraulic linkage would be greatly appreciated.

[Bay13]

The only bleed point on your system is the slave cylinder, that bleed point will remove any air from the clutch system. First thing to do is bleed the clutch system, and if the problem doesn't go away then consider a clutch master cylinder, it's under the the brake master cylinder.

[looking]

Thanks very much for your suggestion. I tried bleeding the clutch hydraulic system. That did not seem to be the problem. I took the car to a shop and they confirmed that the master/slave cylinders are good - no leaks. They suggested the problem is inside the bell housing.

Since I had a clutch kit put in this car less than 5,000 miles ago (and there was nothing really wrong with the clutch; the tranny was pulled to fix a leaking seal and the clutch was a "might as well" at 100K miles), I am at a loss to understand what can have gone wrong. Are there more hydraulics inside the bell housing? Do the forks break on these cars? If I have the car hauled to the shop way across town that replaced the clutch, am I likely to be told that the problem is something other than with the clutch kit?

Thanks again for any insight.