Hey everyone. I currently have a 2007 Saturn ion 5 speed manual that’s experiencing a big problem with the clutch. I’m a heavy equipment mechanic who’s seen a lot of issues but this just keeps kicking me. I left work a little too fast one day last week (tires spun)and the clutch started engaging very fast about a quarter way out or less. It started grinding a little when applying in low gears by the time I got home I had no clutch at all. I removed transmission after advice from a local mechanic buddy that these cars have the slave bearing combo all in one. Sure enough the bearing was rough and the boot was torn but I don’t recall any brake fluid coming out. I also never lost any brake fluid throughout this dilemma. After installing slave and bleeding for literally days I still can’t get the clutch to engage with good pedal. When the car is off the clutch is good and hard but when running it’s soft. Pumping when running doesn’t do much except for drop rpms a very very small bit and just for a second. I’ve tried pumping in gear ect with wheels off the ground but the clutch is doing nothing. I put an inspection camera inside and watched engagement. Everything seems to be working fine inside but still no clutch. The clutch felt excellent before this so I’ve been ruling that out at the moment but I’m definitely open to more suggestions concerning it. It sucks because I really do love this car even though I just bought a brand new one so if I can’t figure this out I have no choice but to scrap it. I’ve attached a few photos of both clutch engagement with vehicle off and also the new slave. If anyone knows the proper size orings for the clutch line that would be extremely helpful as I’d also like to change those just in case. Clutch engagement https://youtube.com/shorts/ZytC9JncDNQ?si=c0DQV9pR8QePt8Xw

 

What was the clutch like? You weren't losing fluid so I'm not sure why you replaced the slave.

 

Thanks for the quick reply. The clutch felt excellent before this never slipped no issues whatsoever speed and rpm were always matched in high gear. It grabbed strong and would only take 1/2 a pedal to disengage. It also looked fine when I had tranny out. This is the main reason I was ruling clutch out. It looks to me that the slave is not moving far enough to fully disengage the clutch. But I’m not entirely sure how far it moved before this to compare

 

After further diagnosis I’m definitely starting to lean toward bad orings on my clutch line when the clutch starts to get pressure the line moves a tiny bit far enough that it draws air. I’m wondering if anyone knows the actual size orings for the clutch line going in the slave. It seems that the ones I have to replace it with are either to big or small and of course I lost my old ones

 

I think you just need tp get rid of the air that's in it. It's not sucking air in.

 

I have an old line, and it still has one of the o rings on it. I believe the size is 9 x 1mm, but it looks like an 8 x 2mm will also work. A few months back, I needed a couple of o rings for another project, and bought an assortment on Amazon. 770 o rings, 18 sizes, for $9. They currently list about a dozen assortments. I think you'll find one that fits.

 

If I remember correctly, there are a whole mess of posts on this forum about what a bitch it is to successfully bleed all the air out of the ion master slave setup.

 

thank you everyone for your answers this has been very helpful. I ended up plugging the little bleed nipple because it was allowing a small bit of air to enter after doing this and using the vacuum bleed method I started to get some pedal but soon after the new slave started leaking and pouring out fluid. But even though it was leaking I still had more pedal then before with pumps of course. I am now going to convert to the cobalt slave. My only question is if I use the cobalt slave can I also use the cobalt line and fitting combo showed on rock auto. I know it fits in the slave obviously but will it fit the master. I read DropDeads sticky on this but I think he used the stainless redline one so I’m not sure if the cobalt masters and redlines are the same. The stainless line is way too much to ship to the rural area in Canada I’m at. I sent him a pm just waiting for a reply but if anyone else knows the answer I’d love to get these parts ordered

 

Best to put it under pressure and tap on the line from the master to the slave and the vibrations will move the bubbles and get them into the pressurized stream. Do you have a pressure bleeder? They are cheap and may be worth buying.

 

Bleeding the clutch lines on the Ion is pure agony. The clutch shares the fluid reservoir with the brake system, and the manual recommends pulling a vacuum on this reservoir. Complicating things, the line from the clutch master cylinder to the fitting on the bell housing is pretty much horizontal and nearly two feet long - kind of hard for bubbles to 'rise'. Further complicating things, the final four inches or so from the fitting on the bell housing to the slave cylinder is vertical, but is completely inaccessible with the transmission installed. There are several videos on YouTube with advice on how to bleed the system, but nothing sure fire. I myself replaced my transmission (and clutch, release bearing, slave cylinder, etc) shortly after I bought my Ion 4 1/2 years ago. I also replaced the hard to find hydraulic line because the ends were pretty much corroded into place and broke on removal. I spent days trying to get the system bled. I finally discovered (fluid dripping out of the hole at the bottom of the bell housing) that my new slave cylinder was defective. After changing it out (remove/reinstall transmission), I still spent hours getting it bled. I used a hand vacuum pump, every other recommended trick, and (it seemed) all of a sudden I had pedal.

What I'm saying is that it is not easy. If a shop tells you they can do it no problem, agree on a price (before hand), then let them. It's a job I don't ever want to do again.