Hydraulic Clutch Fluid

[Radiohead]

Afternoon all,

New user here with a question and looking for some help and guidance. I picked up a 2010 C6 a few weeks ago from a Chevy dealer in South Western Ontario. As I have been trying to learn more the car I came across an interesting post on the Corvette Forum regarding the Hydraulic Clutch maintenance and correction. Link to the thread below

Clutch Pedal Issues—How-To Prevent and Cure - CorvetteForum - Chevrolet Corvette Forum Discussion



After gaining some knowledge from the thread, I checked my Clutch Fluid reservoir today and found that it was almost empty and the fluid looks like black ink? The cap was not installed correctly and I think it was spraying as you can see some residue on the top of the reservoir. I wiped away some before I took these photos.

Here are a few photos:

My questions are: How would I know if I have a leak in the seals and does the dark colour indicate anything wrong.

I have a 3-month certified used warranty from the dealer I purchased from so, I will likely contact the dealer tomorrow.

Thoughts on how to best handle this and what could be wrong.

Rick

 

[2009CGMZR1]

Nothing wrong with dark color. My buddy took delivery of his 2008 Corvette and it was dark after a few drives.


Oh, the fluid being low... not sure. best to check.

I flush mine now and then.

Brian

 

[theboss]

Brake fluid is a pretty good paint stripper, if some was sprayed around, there would have been paint damage on surronding part, better check for leak or worn out clutch, the thinner the clutch disc gets, the more fluid the slave cylinder will need to push the trow out bearing. I think the dealer should of check the fluid level and quality before delivery. Asking them to replace the fluid and make sure the level is right would be just fair IMHO, then you can check the level to see if it goes down. You will be surprise how fast this liquid gets black. Good luck.

 

[Rruuff Day]

Can't remember where RH but we have discussed clutch fluid in some depth here in the past... My C9 reservoir when I got it was also black as night and seemed to be mixed with soot as well... I changed mine myself by sucking the reservoir out with a turkey baster, then adding new fluid to the fill line; then (with engine off) pump clutch 30 times; suck out reservoir again (it will be black again); fill with new fluid again and keep repeating this until the fluid remains clear after you pump the clutch the token 30 times.... word of warning though: do not pump the clutch with an empty reservoir. It will draw air into the system which is much more difficult to get rid of.
Once you have clean fluid, drive your car for 200 km and check the reservoir. It will be black again which is very frustrating....lol.... After that I changed it once a yer and didn't worry about it.....

 

[Riley P]

I agree with all the above posts.....so in effect, I'm just upping my post count.
It's great you noticed the fluid and are getting it corrected early!

 

[Radiohead]

Thanks for the replies.

I picked up some DOT 4 Chevy Clutch fluid today and filled to level. I have enough to clean the system, which I will do next weekend as posted above. As I was filling the system, I took notice of the reservoir and the shrouding area. The was some residual along the top and down the side of the reservoir and drips on the connecting hose and on the plastic wheel well. The reservoir in right next to the side wheel well which was plastic so although I could see drips there was no areas where paint was removed or stripped. It looked like the reservoir was leaking due to the cap not being secured properly. After filling it, I cleaned the reservoir and surrounding area and triple checked the cap.

I did also talk to my local Chevy dealer, which is the dealer that I will have the vechile serviced at. I purchased the car in SWO. They did confirm that I have warranty until mid December under the Certified used program through GM. Since there is a small deductible, they coached me to refill the system and check it frequently to see if it goes down again. I will take the car in for an oil change before winter storage and they said they would check everything out at that time with a second set of eyes.

My guess is the cap was not secure and the dealer did not check the fluids. Sucks, but hopefully that is all it is And is now resolved.

 

[Riley P]

Whew! Good news! Hopefully everything is good to go otherwise it's nice that you have some warranty invade there's a small
Leak somewhere.