strange clutch problem

[Calvin Krug]

In case this ever happens to you..........
Tonight, as I was exiting the interstate in my 200, after about an 
hour's drive, I depressed the clutch pedal, and it went to the floor, 
without disengaging.  I pulled the pedal back up- the only "feel" it 
had was from the overcenter spring on the pedal itself, it definitely 
wasn't pushing anything.  Luckily, I was close to a friends house. 
So, the car sat outside in the cold for a couple of hours, depositing 
a small puddle of DOT 3 on the pavement.  So, apparently, I've  blown 
the flex hose to the slave cylinder.  I get the car jacked up, and 
look.  Well, yes, things are a little damp, but not too much so.  I 
have my friend depress the pedal to see if it squirts fluid out 
somewhere, and it just seeps a little bit where the rubber part of 
the hose meets the metal fitting at the slave cylinder.  But wait, 
the pedal is working!  I top off the fluid, and drive back home 
without incident.  Here's what I think has happened- the clutch hose 
is going bad, and when the fluid got a little warm, it collapsed 
internally, preventing the fluid from reaching the slave cyinder. 
When it sat outside at 34 degrees, the hose cooled down, and returned 
to shape.  I'm going to get a new hose on the way tomorrow, and 
should probably replace the fluid, too.  Hopefully, this will be the 
end of this problem......unless someone else has had this happen and 
I'm wrong in my diagnosis (been known to happen occasionally)


Calvin Krug