I have a 99 Protege with the 1.6L. It is a five speed manual. I find my clutch rather difficult to push in compared to other people's cars I have driven. Also, the clutch pedal makes a squeaking sound about half the time when I push in the clutch. In fact, it makes a squeaking sound when it comes out as well. The squeaking seems to go away after I have been driving for a while and but if I let the car sit overnight, the next day it is very squeaky.
So, anyone know if the squeaking and the difficulty/heaviness of the clutch are related? What is causing the clutch heaviness?

 

Can you hear the squeak with door open and listening under car? If not then the two are probably unrelated. You may have a clutch master cylinder going out but that will 99% of time leave you with a soft or non returning pedal. The most common cause by far of a stiff clutch pedal is bad return springs in the clutch cover. Have not seen this on a protege but is not too uncommon on later model b trucks. May be putting excessive pressure on your clutch hydraulics system which are now complaining to you by way of a squeak when applying or releasing pedal.

 

Thanks for the tip. The return is fine, so I don't think the master cylinder is to blame. It almost sounds like a rusty hinge and after repeated use, the rust disapates. It is always hard to push in, however. I'll keep looking. Thanks agian.

 

Was trying to get isolated between being a noise heard only inside or also outside. If you have a helper, try getting down in front of car where the clutch release cylinder is and have helper start pushing down and releasing pedal. If you can hear it from the transmission area then you may have a dry release bearing slide or release fork pivot. They are both lubricated with grease when installed and if you have some miles on car then grease could have dryed out.