Driving with leaking clutch master/slave cylinder

Question

It seems I have a leaking clutch master or slave cylinder.
I think so because I found my clutch fluid disappeared and the drivers footwell had liquid underneath it.  Also today it had become u driveable ie wasn’t going into gear.
I added some clutch fluid and the situation improved though at times gear changing is challenging.  It may also be gears are not engaging fully cos car doesn’t feel right but it does seem to be shifting better since adding the fluid.
Anyway I’m not in a position to diagnose it properly my trusted  mechanics are 8-25 miles away.
Will u be ok to drive those distances or is this something I have to get repaired without driving because damage is occurring to transmission?
Like I say topping up clutch fluid seems to have made a difference but something still feels funny.
Also when I press the clutch am I meant to see the clutch fluid go down which shows it is being utilised?
thanks

Pᴀᴜʟsᴛᴇʀ2 · Answer

Yes, but there are some caveats:

If you are continually leaking brake fluid into the interior of the car, it will eat the paint on the floor pan, making it prone to rusting in the future.
Since you are leaking into the interior, this will collect on the padding and will most likely not come out, which will make it far worse for the condition noted in the first bullet point.
You need to ensure you have a supply of brake fluid with you at all times.

Bottom line, yes you can do it, but you are going to cause yourself other issues along the way.

Enot · Answer

Sounds like it'd be your master cylinder leaking through the piston. You're okay to drive whatever short distance, make sure you clean up the fluid that leaked inside like @Paulster said.
In theory, you only need the clutch to start from a complete stop, if you're pretty good at driving a manual, you can minimize the use of clutch on this trip matching revs.

Driving with leaking clutch master/slave cylinder

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