I am thinking it might be a good idea to change the clutch fluid in my 2K2 SE 6-spd and would appreciate some input on the following questions I have:

1) Is it a good idea to do this and is there a recommended maintenance interval for changing the clutch fluid?

2) I would assume that using a good quality DOT 3 brake fluid like Valvoline synthetic would be a correct choice for this application?

3) As a relative newbie to DIY maintenance, is there a good step-by-step writeup somewhere for me to follow?

4) When it's cold outside (i.e. below -20C) I have noticed that the clutch gets much stiffer. Would replacing my existing fluid with synthetic as mentioned above help this?

Thanks in advance for the help. I am a long time reader on this site and don't remember coming across a whole lot of information regarding replacing clutch fluid.

 

i am also about tho do this but not till the weather warms up. so here goes

1. i have never seen a service interval for this but i think that is just because they do it anyway when they change the clutch. most fluids say "good for the life of the clutch"
2.the valvoline is what i am using but i understand you can get really good brake fluid from online performance companies. i am not sure how they work as clutch fluid though. any good quality fluid will work fine.
3. i dont know of a good write-up for this but i am planning on just bleeding the line until the fluid coming out of the bleeder is clean.
4. i dont know about this i think you just need to deal with it. this is a pretty advanced issue that involves alot of variable in the material and chemicals in the fluid. if you reaaly want to correct this e-mail the companies who make the fluid and ask them the viscosity varience of thier product with respect to temperature. the lower the better.

P.S. you probably wont get much response.

 

use www.motorvate.ca he has a very good write-up on how to bleed the clutch system...

 

Thanks to Matt and Michael for the responses.

For all those considering doing this, I recommend that you go for it. I followed the instructions on motorvate.ca and they worked really well. It only took me about 20 minutes and I am not very mechanically adept.

I would say the most difficult part is trying to get access to the bleed screw on the clutch slave cylinder. It is in kind of an awkward location and for those with a stock intake like me, the easiest way to get at it is to remove the first piece (air entry part) of the intake. This is the only step that deviates from the instructions on the motorvate.ca. Follow the rest verbatim and this is a piece of cake.

I am not going to BS and tell everyone that now my clutch feels 100X better than it did before, but it for sure feels just as good and I have the added assurance of knowing I have brand new fluid in there. I haven't gotten any really cold weather since I did this to see if it feels better (i.e. not as stiff) in the extreme cold.

BTW, I used the Valvoline DOT 3/4 synthetic brake fluid.