barduch

My guess is that either you are a very lucky corvette owner or you are looking at the brake fluid reservoir. If it is indeed the clutch fluid reservoir that you are looking at then the GM engineers should study your car and fix their original design.

kimdjay

the brake fluid is actually much dirtier looking. Maybe I should change that out. i certainly will continue to watch both of these. Just didn't know these needed to be changed. Never changed them in any of my other cars i've owned. hmm good stuff to know.

unnerv

I did this over the weekend and it looks like mine is one of the lucky ones too. The color of the fluid was a honey in color and pretty clear. I'll keep an eye on it, but thanks for the easy method. I was in and out in about 10 min. I flushed it twice to get the honey colored fluid out, now I still have about 1/2 liter that I don't know what to do with. Is the low vescosity pentosin ok to use on the brakes?

Henryr01

I’ve only had my vette for about 45 days and after reading this decided to take a look at it. Sure enough, it was really BLACK, low in level and had “stuff” floating on the top.
Due to time, I just topped it off and used a paper towel to pick up the stuff floating, but will be acquiring the kit to do the modified ranger method this weekend.

As a side note, I really drive my vette. It is NOT a garage queen and is driven in a “spirited” manner as soon as the engine warms up. I bought it in July with 17K miles and I’m rapidly approaching 29K. AND I work from home with ZERO commute. 

Thanks for everyone taking time to post for us new members!

Boomer111

While this modified method might be better I find that with my every 2 month standard Ranger method cleaning ( once ) the fluid stays golden.

Just hard to teach an old dog new tricks...

Nevertheless great write up of new procedure.

Whoop

I just purchased my 2011 GS a month or so ago. Only 15k but stupid me I changed the oil when I got it but didn't check brake or clutch fluids. Things have been great but after a few fun laps at the Cresson track on Monday my clutch went to the floor. I check the reservoir and it was basically empty. I have added new fluid and tried the Ranger method but no luck. Still no pedal. Will the modified method with the syringe push out any air bubbles or is my only choice the reach the bleeder valve?

veloz

most likely you have an air bubble in the line that you have to bleed out...you might have to pump it quite a few times and check fluid level until it comes out...if you cant then you might have to take it from the bottom...however one of the major causes of the clutch pedal to the floor is overheating of the oem hydraulic line. under heavy load - racing events, the fluid gets hot and has a hard time going thru the small oem rubber line. there are several mfr'rs that make retrofit kits which replaces the entire line with a bigger ss braided line that allows more fluid to get to the slave cylinder in the bellhousing engaging the TO bearing with ease. other causes include clutch dust build up in the shaft and not using high performance high temp fluid or not changing used fluid out.

I had the same pblm and ended up replacing the line with
Tick Performance Adjustable Clutch Master Cylinder Kit and it solved the problem..i also would change the fluid per Ranger Method every time I went to the track...kept it very clean...doing these two things it helped a lot...good luck

RC4G

While I had no problem sourcing the black, nylon tubing I did go with a larger ID (.95) than what the OP originally specified. While the ID increased to .95 the OD remained the same at .125:

Since I had Amazon Prime shipping was free and showed up at my house 2 days later.

However finding the syringes were an issue. I checked with local vet supply stores (didn't stock the larger 100ml size I originally wanted). The only syringe I could find at Walmart (for mixing oil/gas for 2-strokes) did not use a rubber plunger end so pulling the plunger was very tight because it was plastic to plastic. Any of the syringes I found online (100ml) or larger had a 4-6 week delivery time because they were going from Chinese suppliers. So I went a different route and went with an inexpensive meat seasoning injector syringe from my local Ace Hardware store:
http://www.acehardware.com/product/i...pla=pla_986584



There are a couple advantages to this option:
1. They are cheaper than online options. I payed $3.27 per syringe, so I purchased two so that I could use one for extracting dirty fluid and one for filling clean fluid.
2. The needle tip is removable from the syringe, allowing you to easily swap out the nylon tubing for larger ID hose for some other extraction purpose.
3. You can find similar meat seasoning injector syringes everywhere (e.g. grocery stores, sporting goods stores, hardware stores, etc). Altough it is 60ml that is more than enough to flush the clutch line in one pass.

I used a dremel to cut the needle tip and connected the black nylon tubing to the needle using 1/2" of clear fuel line I had from a 2-stroke engine carb rebuild I had previously done. The fuel line kits are available at just about anywhere that carries/services 2-stoke lawn equipment: small engine repair shops, Advanced Auto Parts, etc. You could use standard clear vinyl hose (also available at Ace) if you don't want to bother with fuel line since the black nylon hose and the injector needle end butt right up to each other exposing almost none of the vinyl hose to brake fluid.

You only need about 18-24" of nylon tubing so I have plenty of left-over material if anyone needs some.

I performed the clutch fluid replacement on my MT6 Grandsport this weekend using this method. Took me longer to assemble the pieces than it did to perform the fluid swap. After removing the dirty/black fluid from the clutch reservoir I snaked the black nylon tubing down the hole in the clutch reservoir as far as it would go to remove the old fluid from the supply line. After wiping out the reservoir to remove the old fluid residue I snaked the line back down and pushed fresh fluid from the bottom up. What was suprising to me was the amount of free-floating particulate that came surging up into the reservoir as I pushed fluid in from the bottom. I removed the remaining dirty fluid/debris from the reservoir and kept pushing clean fluid in until the fluid in the reservoir was clean as new. While I had the fluid and syringes out I went ahead and did a full fluid swap on the brake master cylinder as well. Fluid quantities worked out perfect as I used all of the freshly opened bottle of Prestone DOT 4 Synthetic brake fluid between the two swaps.

INFERNO Z07

Did anyone else receive a letter from GM on the clutch pedal to the floor issue? I got one last week, said if you've had repair they'll reimburse, otherwise they extended the 'warranty' for this issue. Not at home but can get/post details later.

I've used the original Ranger method for years and never any issues with the clutch on 3 C6 Z06's. So I'll just keep doing it....

need-for-speed

Yessir. Just got the same letter.

need-for-speed

I just received a letter from GM about the clutch. Did you get one? They may fix it for free.

jwf

I have a 2011 M6 GS and also received the letter. The letter says your clutch may fail if "unapproved" fluids are used. So I guess my question is.... Is there any problem with using Prestone dot 4 fluid?

jsucraig

From what I understand it is from people servicing the Clutch Slave Cylinder Master Cylinder with DOT 3 as the Clutch Slave Cylinder Master Cylinder top is not placarded as DOT 4 Fluid, but the Brake Master Cylinder is placarded DOT 3.

hotmotorsports

This is the GM recommended DOT4 Fluid. I don't use anything else.

GM Part# 19299570. It's easy enough to get at your local Chevrolet Dealer.

The picture below came out big! Any way to adjust that?

Chuck M

jsucraig

Prestone DOT 4 Meets the same FMVSS 116 and SAE J1703 & J1704, that's what make it DOT 4, as the AC Delco GM PN: 19299570 because it is also DOT 4.

hotmotorsports

I know, but for me I'll stick to the GM stuff!

Chuck M

jsucraig

ZR1Cat

While that is the safest decision, the GM fluid, for all we know, maybe relabeled Prestone fluid and made by Prestone.

v26278

My owners manual specifies "Super" Dot 4:

"Hydraulic Clutch System Hydraulic Clutch Fluid. Use only GM Part No. U.S. 88958860, in Canada 88901244, Super DOT-4 brake fluid."

Like you, I use the actual GM stuff, even if it's a couple of bucks more. So far no issues with 4+ years of daily driving and flushes once yearly. I alternate between Ranger method and a full flush & bleed out at the dealer each year.

Whats the difference between Super and regular Dot 4?

T1gra

Here's my $32 Amazon "Modified Ranger" kit. The fuel line is for mating the nylon tubing to the syringe. Note that I chose ones with catheter tips.

Hope this works!