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.

 

Congratulations on your car and welcome to the forum.
NEVER and I mean NEVER take your car to a Chrysler dealer! They don't know sh*t about these cars. Your car is based on A Mercedes-Benz R170 model (2003 SLK 320). Mecedes-Benz won't touch it because of the Chrysler badge.
Your best bet is to find an independent Mercedes repair shop. There are other Australian owners on here that can help you with that.

On to your problem: If it is your clutch fluid, they probably either never tightened the nipple on the clutch slave cylinder valve. The clutch reservoir is located inside of your brake reservoir.
I'm going to post a link to a post I did about flushing the clutch fluid. The post has a lot of pictures with descriptions. I have made a lot of posts in the My journey with my 2006 Roadster "Svengoolie" series. You might a lot of them to be helpful.
Here is the link to the post: Flushing the Clutch Fluid CLICK HERE
I hope this helps,
John

 

Hey, thanks so much for the info! That whole thread is a treasure trove of knowledge.
It's way beyond what I'm comfortable doing, but I went and spoke to the guys at the shop I mentioned 200m up the road, and one of them might wander down at some point today to have a look at it and see if it's something they even want to work on. I'll show it to him, I'm sure it will help to convince him- especially that there's an accessible bleed nipple on the bottom there - the head mechanic was saying the clutch slave cylinder (I assume this is different from the clutch reservoir?) is inside the gearbox??
At least having that bleed nipple accessible means they might be able to confirm that the fluid has leaked out, without needing to open up the whole gearbox?

I have no idea what I'm talking about, just making my best guesses based on little info. I'm keen to start learning how to work on the Crossfire myself (your linked thread is a huge inspiration) but baby steps! I don't think I'm ready to jump right into this haha.

Thanks,
Also John

 

I'm glad that I could be of some help.
The slave cylinder is located in the gear box. They rarely go bad.
The brake fluid reservoir and the clutch reservoir are in the same place. The clutch reservoir has a little divider around it. They both use brake fluid.

Baby steps is how I started working on my cars many years ago.
Maintenance is key, so try doing the little things first like changing the air filters.
We're all here to help, so don't be nervous about asking. Also, I think there might be an Aussie group on here. You should try to find it.
I hope everything works out.

 

Hey so quick update on this, still haven't been able to move the car.
I had a long chat with my brother in law who's a properly qualified mechanic. He thinks, mostly based on the fact that the clutch pedal is harder to push in now than normal, that it's less likely to be the clutch fluid since if that had leaked the pedal should be super easy to push down with no resistance, and also it comes back up when letting off it it doesn't just stay down on the floor. The leak I saw down my driveway might be incidental, or still could be related, I don't know at this point.
Any thoughts on this? I suggested maybe there's some kind of spring assist that brings the pedal back up, but that doesn't explain why it's stiffer to press down than normal.

I've also spoken to 2 other different mechanics and both of them as well as my bro all agree that regardless whether it's the slave cylinder or something else, it'll probably need the gearbox dropped out to fix and if that's happening anyway then the clutch should be replaced while it's all stripped down- The car has 175000KM (a touch under 110,000 miles) and god only knows if it's even been done before, I didn't get a service history log when I bought the car.

There are 2 slave cylinders available in Aus that we've been able to find (both interstate and would need to be ordered in) but we can't find a single clutch kit available anywhere.

I'm wondering if a clutch kit from the R170 2003 SLK 320 mention earlier would be directly compatible/interchangeable with the Crossfire? Just to make the search a little easier.. I'll take any win I can get at this point

 

You're mechanics are correct, and I should of thought about that. The less fluid in any hydraulic system equals less resistance.
I found this article at FCPEuro.com. After reading it, it just might be the throw out bearing, which could be caused by leaking fluid. See the last paragraph: Link to FCPEuro article
Also here is a video about a hard clutch pedal. I'm not saying that this is your problem. These are just a couple of things I found while searching. Ask your mechanics if this is a possibility.

 

Thank you again for that info. I think at this point, whatever part it is causing the problem it sounds like I'm in for a whole new clutch kit - like I mentioned over 100k miles on the car and for all I know, still on the original clutch. This is the most simple "Occam's Razor" explanation for why it may have given up. It's just a matter of finding one to suit, which is proving to be a challenge! Any clue whether it uses the same clutch parts as the 2003 SLK you mentioned, or is that hoping a bit too much?

 

I went to Summit Racing Link to Summit Racing and I found a clutch kit, but it's out of stock. I checked fitment for a 2006 Crossfire base and it said it was good. I then checked fitment for a 2003 SLK 320 base and it said it was also good.
You can click the link and try it for yourself just to verify.
There is one in stock at Rockauto.com
Here is the link for a Crossfire: Link Rockauto Crossfie clutch kit
Here is the link for the SLK 320: Link Rockauto SLK 320 clutch kit
They're the same kit on that website.
Make sure that you verify this for yourself.
I don't know if they will ship to Australia, but you can call them and ask.
Best of luck to you