69gaugeman

There should not be any fluid in that dust cover. It is important to make sure that the clutch actuating rod is seated properly in the release arm as well.

There should be a fair amount of spring pressure on the cylinder when installing it. It holds the release bearing against the pressure plate so there are no shock starts on the release bearing. If there is no force, maybe the piston is retracting back and you don't get enough travel from the master cylinder to release the clutch..

Don Carter

Stan,

Interesting theory. I may dig into the slave tomorrow, but your post did make me think about the old MC, so I went out to the garage and was able to extract the stuck piston. I found the spring in tack but large chunks missing from both seals. This is the original MC that I tried to rebuild from inside the car, with the guts from a MC that I found very cheap on close out. The piston and spring were not exactly the same but close. The bore is fairly smooth in the cylinder so not sure what could have caused the seal failure.

At this point I have purchased two new MC and two new slaves. 3 out of 4 from Roger, so I'm fairly confident I have the right parts.

69,

The rod from the slave is in the right place. There is consistent spring force on the slave, it was the MC piston that was not always retracting completely back. I think when it's not all the way retracted, the hole in the MC that allows fluid in is blocked, which has caused some of my problems in the past, but manually working the slave seems to force the MC piston back where it should be, and fluid flows freely.

It was so easy 2 weeks ago, pumped fluid up from below until it overflowed, and that was it, only one try and it worked perfectly. Now nothing seems to work. O well, will take a fresh look at it tomorrow. The Lizard shifter feels sweet! I think it's hitting all the gears on the first try, no adjustment to the rear coupler needed.

Don Carter

I think I've confirmed today what is happening, when I bleed the system, then the pedal goes to the floor, it's not air in the system, it's fluid flowing past the slave seals and into the dust cover. Checking with Roger now if anyone else has reported failures like this. There is no sign of debris or broken springs. The master seems to be working normally.

Don Carter

After some emails with Roger, I opened up the slave cylinder and can't see or feel anything wrong with the seal, piston or bore. I'm starting to wonder if there's something wrong with the clutch that's causing it to take more force than normal to disengage. Should I be able to push hard with a screwdriver in the spot where the slave rod goes, and move the release arm? I also tried prying through the inspection hole with a larger screw driver, but the arm doesn't move much.

Don Carter

Geez....I put it all back together, bled the system, and the clutch worked to my surprise. I took it for a drive and about 2 miles from the house the clutch went to the floor. I got back ok in 2nd, only having to kill the engine and start in gear once. I put it back on the lift and removed the slave, and there’s no bulge of fluid in the dust cover, but the piston seems stuck and not springing back the way it should. I’m stumped.

Hilton

http://www.rockauto.com/catalog/rafr...arcode=1263473

Replace the slave

The last time I saw clutch slaves for sale cheaply, I bought three ($15 each lol).

The ones I got (branded Beck Arnley) were the factory piece (made by ***), down to the stampings - I can't imagine there are any aftermarket makers of clutch slaves, so I'd just grab one of the rockauto ones figuring they're probably the same too, and be done with it.

Don Carter

Hilton,

I think it was a Rockauto ($36) MC that started my problems, but for that price($27), I did grab a slave. Did you notice that it's remanufactured? Anyway, if it work, then that confirms the FTE slave from Roger is defective and he has already told me he'd take care of it. This will be the 3rd slave.