99 Max SE 5 speed, clutch pedal is spongy.. Found clutch master cylinder almost empty.. I inspected carefully for leaks, don't see any... Dry on both sides of firewall at master cylinder... pulled back the boot on the slave cylinder, no fluid came out... Cleaned grime off all the hoses and slave cylinder, had someone pump pedal repeatedly while watching, cant see a leak anywhere... Has anyone seen this? I refilled the master cylinder for now, but that fluid had to go someplace? This has never been serviced, car has 130K miles on it, original clutch...

 

I would put money on that you have a leak in the soft line that sits on top of the transmission.

 

i had the same thing happen with no signs of a leak and about a month later no leakage has occurred further

 

same thing happened to me too.Had to get a SS line and replace it.

 

thats the problem. its the line that goes directly to the slave cylinder.

 

My slave cylinder had a slight leak several years ago. I lost all my fluid with ZERO sign of it leaking (at least no drippage was evident). Replaced the slave cylinder and have had no problem since.

 

It doesnt really drip, more like seep out and down the fittings. I had one once, it was from the fitting that leads out of the master into the first bleeder, it sort of seeped out of the fitting and ran down slowly so you will not notice a "puddle" or splash on the firewall but you might notice the lines and fittings feel oily from the slow seepage. Over time the fluids that seep out will attract dust and grime and it will look like its just dirty engine bay gunk rather than a leak.

 

Thanks everyone.. I did have a lot of grime accumulation on top of the tranny where the soft hoses attach... I think there were 2 soft hoses? One attached to a bracket where the metal line from the master came down.. the other attached to the slave... and they join together on top of the tranny.. I guess for now I'll bleed it and see what happens... I am used to a more drastic failure with these things, but a tiny leak might be hard to isolate...

 

I think the SS line can replace both.Its like they both meet on this iron looking thing.Correct?

 

if you run one single line from the master to the slave then yes.