Trying to get the clutch on my 94 to work. Its got plenty of fluid and Ive blead the crud out of it. What else can I do to get it to fully operate? The pedal goes down and wont come up. Im not sure if its moving enough either.
Clutch adjustment?
- Thread starter Joejohn
- Start date
check out post #10 in this thread.
http://www.oilburners.net/forums/showthread.php?t=9851
http://www.oilburners.net/forums/showthread.php?t=9851
Do you still have the spring that is incorporated into the clutch pedal arm? It's a compression spring that rocks back and forth, and makes the pedal return to the top. It resides above the pedal arm in a "pocket" made into the pedal assembly casting.
NApa sells an adjustable clutch rod. If you just replaced your clutch and resurfaced the flywheel, or possibly just the brand difference can make for clearance difference. Set the rod so the pedal has 1" free play before contacting the throwout bearing and the clutch begins to grab about 1" off the floor. If you have the safety switch that wraps around the clutch rod, you will need to grind a notch in it for the nut to slip into.
When I went to a solid flywheel that had been resurfaced, I had the same problem. Helps to set the rod length, then unbolt the baster from the engine side and insert the rod with the switch on it through the firewall.
65sixbanger
Full Access Member
I dont understand why some of yall dont have the adjustable rod.... My truck came with one originally and I have replaced the master twice and each time it has one...
There is no need for an adjustable rod, since the system is hydraulic it is totally self adjusting. The rod will only control the relationship between the pedal and the master. It will not increase the movement of the slave cylinder. The pedal doesn't come up, because the spring under the dash doesn't make it do that. It takes presure from the clutch fork to make it come up. If it isn't coming up, then there is still air in the lines. I know how difficult this can be because I am wrestling with this very problem myself. The clutch worked fine until I pulled the fork to service the TOB. The slave did not have a retention strap, and the subsuquent fight to get it all back together allowed plenty of air to get in. Now the behavior is that if I pump the pedal up fully and back down about couple dozen times, it will get to the point where it will come up on it's own. But after some hours, it will fail to do that and it has to be pumped up again. I've never run into that problem. I can see air in the fluid, and it is foaming somewhat. It could be that I need to replace the slave at this point. Pushing the rod in all the way and trying to bleed it like that only seems to make it worse. It IS very frustrating, but these clutches can be real buggers to get bled properly.
65sixbanger
Full Access Member
How did you get air in the line?
If you pop the slave off with the line still attached, then remove the line to service the TOB, then put the slave back on by compressing the rod without letting it contract to suck in air, you should be good to go.
The first master i put on this i couldnt get a good pedal to save my life. I tried everything and was confident everything was bled, however the pedal was only about 50%. I finally saw the threads and lengthened the rod about 1/2" and it worked flawlessly.
It's a mystery to me too, but it seems to happen on every truck I have. If you let the rod extend it gets air in it. I don't know how. Theoretically, the rod should not extend all the way if there is a vacuum behind it, so somehow it must get air past the piston or seals.
True, it will not increase the movement of the slave, but the slave has more usable travel than the normal stroke that the master gives it, the adjustable rod just moves the point of contact for the slave further down to allow for differences in manufacturing tolerance in various pressure plate throwout bearing combinations, not to mention distance differences gained /lost in flywheel machining and use of rebuilt pressure plates, and worn clutch fork balls.
There are a ton of variables and putting an adjustable rod in there simply moves the point at which the slave stops.
It only takes about 1/2-3/4" at the rod for the thing to be so loose that the throwout bearing is feeling is feeling no feedback resistance from the pressure plate spring and the overcenter spring on the clutch pedal locks the pedal to the floor . It's not a return spring , but an overcenter spring, During the top half of travel it returns the pedal to the top, and during the bottom half of travel it assists in bringing the pedal to the floor, and with no pressure plate spring pressure against the throwout bearing, the pedal just sucks to the floor
That's not to say that this case couldn't be air, but there are many cases that require the adjustable rods.
Easiest way to tell for sure if you have all the air out is to change the fluid out completely and change fluid colours Most fluid is amber , you can get ATE blue that will work and you can tell when you have thoroughly changed out the system ( All hydraulics should be changed out every 2 years anyway, they absorb water, if you do this, you will never have a caliper or master or slave or wheel cylinder rust out ) You'll waste a bit of fluid this way, but once it flows through, it should be air free. If you really want to make bleeding easy, get one of these critters
It is a return spring, you said it. But like you also said, it only returns on the upper part of the stroke.
The need for an adjustable master actuator rod is very easy to determine. Pop the rod off the pin, and let the return spring push the pedal up to the rubber bumper. If the rod slips right back on, no adjustable rod is needed. If you have to take your hand and move the pedal down a little bit to get the rod to engage back where it was, then a adjustable rod would be a benefit, not necessarily needed, but a improvement in the clutch releasing earlier in the pedal stroke.
