Hello mechanical (vehicle) folk.......

When I bought my Ford Courier ute about 6 years ago, it had a small problem with the clutch - it went soft on me one day, so took it to the garage. Seems it had run out of brake fluid, so that fixed the problem. I seem to recall being told "something" would need to be done one day, but no hurry. Have had no problems since then. When the clutch "goes soft", I just fill up the wee bottle with brake fluid and away we go again.

Anyway, went to town last week and the clutch pedal stuck at the floor. Ute was out of gear so pushed it to the side of the road. Put foot under the clutch pedal and pulled it up again, no problems. Filled up bottle again with brake fluid and thought that would be the end of it - but no.
When I put the ute into first gear, I have to release the clutch immediately, or it does it all on its own and the pedal sticks to the floor again. Same when I use reverse - have to be very quick or it does it itself. No problem when on the open road going through the gears, but try doing a tight 3 point turn out of a supermarket carpark !!!!!!!!

Any thoughts on whether this is a serious (read expensive) problem? or something minor. Am loathe to take it to our local garage as they charge like a wounded bull and have been known to "exagerate" what needs doing.

Have been using the ute to get to work with no further issues, as long as I take it out of gear when I stop at intersections etc, and only put it back into gear when ready to pull away from said intersection.
Can't afford to be without it and can't afford any major work just at present.

Any thoughts????

Best guess is the clutch cylinder has gone, ie a seal or something in it has given up the ghost. Supposedly $100ish for a new one, and a decent mechanic should be able to have it fitted withen 2 hours, so you shouldnt expect more than $250 all up, assuming that that is the problem of course!

What year is the ute?

Agree with FM slave cylender or main one needs new kit going on its history, when they "fixed" it first time they should have told you so you could get it done when not needed:(

Thanks guys - now I know what to talk to them about....

The ute is 1996, cab and a half model.

Am I likely to do any more damage driving it as is?
Will it get worse (loose the clutch altogether) or just likely to stay the same in the meantime?
I have a couple of weeks off work coming up, so can get it fixed then, but need it for work this weekend.

You need to "bleed" the slave cylinder. In the past you probably refilled the master cylinder just before completely running out. Sounds to me that this time it has totally run out and the hydraulic line has now got an air-lock. And yes, time to replace the master/slave cylinder. The foot pedal is connected to the master cylinder. Basically it is just a hydraulic pump.

Copied from an automotive forum. Talks about a 93 Ranger but the info is still applicable.

To find the bleed valve start at the clutch master cylinder and follow the hydraulic line to the bleeder nipple. Did my friends 93 Ranger. Tried to bleed the slave like you would bleed brakes, but it seemed to introduce more air into the system. What worked for us was to crack the bleeder valve open and just let the master cylinder gravity feed into the bleeder keeping the master full of fluid. Once we did this it only took one final stroke of the pedal to clear all the air out. If the clutch master hasn't been run dry this method should work for you.

sounds like not much need for me to put my oar in, but no you aren't going to damage the clucth by driving it like that if you don't change gear much, just get into a gear and stay in it, i.e. don't be sporty and change down for a corner, just let the engine drag you through.

What would damage the clutch would be if it wasn't quite engaging and the plates were spinning out of synch, but your problem is more to do with lack of disengagement.

A new cylinder (main or slave) isn't a big deal, but it is annoying to deal with.