Clutch Pedal Issue

Hi Guys,
I think this might be my first post even though I've been a member for sometime. I've got a Def 130 300Tdi which has just started with a strange symptom, the clutch pedal all of a sudden loses all pressure going down and fails to return unless you manually pull it up. It does this for say 5- 10 minutes then suddenly the pressure is resumed and it is ok again and stays like that for days. I cannot see any leaks and the fluid reservoir level remains constant. The Master Cylinder was changed about 13 years ago and a new clutch was put in about 6-7 years ago and since then all good. Any ideas, I'm wondering if could be the Slave cylinder on its way out this time? I should probably add the Landy doesn't see much use these days, we took it round Africa for 7 years but since we brought it back in 2012 because its a big beast for town driving it tends to sit covered up on the drive over the Winter and only comes out again in Spring.

Doubt it will be the slave as they either seize, leak or work, master cylinder seals sound suspect. You may be lucky changing the fluid first

Kwakerman said:

Doubt it will be the slave as they either seize, leak or work, master cylinder seals sound suspect. You may be lucky changing the fluid first

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Thanks Kwakerman, yes maybe they start to perish with lack of use do you think? I will try bleeding/change fluid first though. Cheers

benbooafrica said:

Thanks Kwakerman, yes maybe they start to perish with lack of use do you think? I will try bleeding/change fluid first though. Cheers

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If the seal is starting to break up the fluid will look black, if that is the case then a fluid change (if it works) may only be a temporary fix. If you end up changing the master (or its seals) do the slave at the same time as it will be suffering too.

Had a fairly similar problem many years ago, and mine was 'cured' by fitting a 15lb pull spring between the pedal and the footwell.
This was only after I had found that there was a very conveniently positioned hole in the pedal lever and a suitably-placed anchor point in the footwell.
I then presumed that there might have been a spring fitted originally.