I searched and couldn't find anything similar to my problem so here goes:

This past Friday, while in line at the ATM, my car started sputtering like it was about to stall. It was in 1st gear, but I had the clutch pushed in and my foot on the break. Thought to myself, "that's wierd" so I went to put the shifter in neutral and it didn't want to move. After playing with it some (not forcefully) I got it to go in neutral and took my foot off the clutch and the sputtering stopped. Car drove completely fine the rest of the day (no sputtering, stalling, grinding, slipping, etc. NOTHING).

Did not drive the car Saturday or Sunday.

Monday morning, I get in my car to go to work, push the clutch in to start the car and the pedal shoots to the floor. No pressure, no resistance, nothing. Popped the hood and checked the clutch fluid, which looked good and clean still, but was SLIGHTLY below the "min" line (like 1/8 in. maybe less). So I took my g/f's car up to the parts store and picked up some clutch fluid. Went back. topped it off, tried the pedal again and nothing.

After doing some searching, I determined that the master cylinder was a likely suspect and thankfully the dealer had one in stock. Got the part (which was the master cyl, reservoir and lines... "pre-filled" with fluid), installed it and checked the pedal which felt responsive, but SLIGHTLY spongey, so I bled the system. Hopped in the car, checked the pedal and it felt perfect. Test drove the car about 10+ miles with NO problems (aside from I could tell the shift linkage was bumping the line... stupid redesign on GM's part imo). Got home around 3pm from that test drive and did not drive the car anymore that evening.

This morning I get in my car to go to work, push the clutch and the pedal goes straight to the floor just like it did Monday. Popped the hood and checked the fluid and it was about 1/2 in below the "min" line, AND there was a small air bubble in the bottom of the reservoir at the opening for the line. Topped off the fluid (grasping at straws, I know) and tried the pedal again to no avail.

I know it's most likely the slave cylinder leaking, but I wanna get some input/ideas before I go dropping my transmission.
-If the slave cylinder IS leaking, would I have been able to drive it as much as I did with NO problems the entire time?
-What is the likelyhood that there is just air in the system because it wasn't bled well enough (the bleeder I was using was old and the hoses came off a couple times when the clutch was pushed in so I had to hold all the lines together)
-What is the correct way to bleed the clutch lines? I did it the same way you would brakes. small clear tube in a container with fluid. Loosen the bleeder screw, have someone push the clutch, tighten the bleeder, have them pull the pedal back up. Repeat)

Thanks in advance for any info =)


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