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Ok its not a major thing(i think) but i was today it got pretty damn cold out in central alberta -30*C . After unplugging blockheater , getting out of garage and alittle warm up drive to freeway. everything was fine until on the freeway i got to 100kph, then i tried to upshift and like last year my clutch had become unbearably stiff(and stayed like that until i got to work and parkd. I know that the clutch fluid is getting chilled and was wondering if there was anything i could do to prevent that from happening

 
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Nothing much really. Maybe you could wrap foam pipe insulation around the clutch hose to keep the wind from getting to it.

 
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The fluid in the clutch master/slave cylinder is the same as brake fluid so I would think that if it was cold enough to cause problems for the clutch you would have brake problems as well. If the brake system has been flushed and the clutch has not there could be moisture that is raising the freezing point. At the same time the entire clutch system is under the hood and should be warming up as you drive so I would expect problems from cold weather to be greater when you first start up rather than after you drive a while.

 
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^ that

also, moving thread to "general automotive discussion"

 
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In extreme cold, the fluids DO get 'thicker' (more viscous), and you may need to allow for a lag when working the clutch and brakes.
I have noticed various cars over the years (with hydraulic clutch) that have a significant delay in the action when you release the clutch pedal in extreme cold..

Not sure about why the pedal would be stiffer when you try to PUSH the pedal though...If it isn't a mechanical issue, then I'd also guess that the fluid has absorbed a significant amount of moisture and is freezing.
Try flushing the clutch system with fresh DOT3 brake fluid.


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The clutch fluid and its piping is quite far away from the engine itself, so it can't absorb engine heat directly. It would only get heat via air passing through the radiator, IF the thermostat ever opens. But at -30*, there isn't going to be much heating of anything else in the engine compartment at all, that negates most of the heat dissipated by the radiator.

Cars have no mucous membranes (or any skin that can have moisture sapped out of it), therefore they are completely unaffected by wind chill factor.....
BUT when it's -30* and you are moving down the road, there isn't going to be much spare heat in the engine compartment to warm up the clutch fluid at all.

 
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Minus 30 degrees !! Insane.

 
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I suppose you don't have rust down there either?

I might see -20*F here once every few years.....

You know, when it's -30* it doesn't matter if you are talking Fahrenheit or Celsius, it's still freekin cold.

 
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Here in OH they pre-treat the roads with that brine crap (certainly do NOT want to go over it still wet) and the salt flows like candy.

Do you use a block heater ??

That is a test of man and machine.

 
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thanks for the help, i took alook at the fluid in the cylinders and it did look a bit icky

 
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CRAP I thought you were in Tejas for some strange reason. My bad.
I'm ....uh ...I think you probably get some of our weather about a day after we see it.


Yeah, we have that brine crap over here too. Can't avoid it. They start on the bridges and keep them salted or soaking in brine if there is even a hint of a chance of a freeze.
Never had one to use. I have never installed any as an accessory here either.
We used to install them all the time at the Benz dealer though. Diesels love and need them.

 
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tell me about it...
Up in Quebec, the worst was -38...
sat in the seat and it felt like rock... yeah, the seat was frozen solid...
block heater, battery heater on and it almost did not fire up that morning... Brrrr!

talking about, this morning lots of places were iced here in TN. Drove my manual steering miata, it was funny how much feedback there was on the steering - i could tell when the front tires were sliding (several times in a quick corner).
Much better, naturally that would not save me, but i could tell in case i needed to brace myself for impact - no, no crashes - slowed down enough because i could tell it was not safe (car does not have ABS either, you know )

 
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I said the same in Quebec tho i called that FF - Fu*%$^$ Freezing!!!!
good thing is that you don't feel it for long 2 minutes is ALL you will feel for a while
plus the F/C crosses over at -40