I bought a manual '04 Crossfire recently, about 2 months ago, and it's been fantastic. Running really well and fun to drive.
I just had a few small issues, nothing unexpected for a 20 year old car and nothing that was a major hassle, just little things that, if fixed, would make it more enjoyable to drive. Just e.g. stuff like the speed control not working, I can live without it but would be nice to have, that kind of thing.
I took it to this Mopar authorized Jeep/Chrysler dealership, because I figured if anyone was going to be able to source some hard to find parts for it, would be these guys.
They held onto it for 6 days, I picked it up yesterday and have only driven less than 20km/12.5mi, the clutch has completely given out.
Clutch pedal is extremely hard to push in, can't shift gears with the engine running (gearbox moves through gears smoothly with the engine switched off), I started it in gear and it was like the clutch was right at the bite point, as soon as I let off the brake it started moving (probably because the pedal so tight I couldn't push it any further past the bite point. I only had it running like this for about 10-15 seconds, as soon as I realized what was going on I killed the engine).
I'm fairly technical as a small electronics repair technician, but know very little about cars/mechanics. As in this is actually my first car (I've been riding motorcycles for ~20 years). I did notice a wet line on my driveway when I pulled out this morning, but thought nothing of it I just thought maybe it was fluid from the windshield cleaner that had pooled somewhere and dripped out when I started moving - in hindsight, it was way too much for that to have been what it was.
It seems pretty obvious that there's some kind of fluid leak. Best guess is that somewhere during their extensive 6 days of diagnosis, a maybe old and brittle hydraulic line shifted or cracked causing a leak. As far as what I can tell from reading up in the service manual, I'm fairly certain it's the Hydraulic Clutch Fluid, but I have no idea what this is or where the reservoir is to check the level. Service manual says the reservoir is mounted on the dash panel, but that seems wrong. I definitely have no fluid reservoirs on my dash. I asked reddit as well and most are in agreement that clutch hydraulics use brake fluid. Would that be right for the Crossfire?
Just looking for some advice from people that are a lot more cluey than I am where to even start on this. If it's just a fluid leak, it is possible to just top it up to temporarily move the car? What reservoir would I actually need to top up?
As it is currently, it's completely un-driveable because the clutch isn't working. There's a mechanic very nearby, 200m up the road but it's up a very steep hill, not feasible to even push it up in neutral, it would take more people than you could fit behind the car to push it (it's no joke about a 40 degree incline).
I'd appreciate absolutely any advice at all, even the simplest things. I know absolutely nothing.
Also, nice to meet everyone
First post from an otherwise very happy new owner of an old car.