Clutch is loose to the floor & very hard to shift

i took some pictures. is the slave cylinder what i have outlined in red?

it's near the starter as was suggested earlier...





don't laugh at my sorry attempt to do the 12V relay fix for the no start problem -- it seems to have done the job.

 

i will check the rubber boot. the reason for the duct tape is that my brother did the modification for me when he was passing through town. he was supposed to bring his tools. we met at a restaurant so he wouldn't have to drive all the way to my house. he did it in the parking lot. but he forgot to bring his tools. so we just had to make do with what was available between our two cars. nobody had electrical tape but i had some duct tape in the trunk. i've been meaning to replace it but the mod seems to have done the job so i haven't really been motivated to get out there and mess with it.

one other question -- when i added the DOT3 brake fluid, i was suprised to see it is clear since the stuff in there was brown. is brown fluid problematic?

 

one week later, car still drives fine but the fluid has visibly dropped in the reserior. so i guess it's leaking somewhere...