Another clutch issue

[Harley]

I replaced the master and slave twice while trying to bleed it out. finally got it bled and have pressure in the pedal but now it will not release the clutch to go into gear. The pedal feels like something is jammed up like there's too much pressure in the system. Oh, and yes the push rod IS where it needs to be on the arm. Everything was fine before I started all this. Had the typical master leak and was just going to replace it but everything has put up a fight since the beginning.......Any ideas???

[Harley]

Anybody???

[flint54]

Boy, I'm really scratching my head on this one. You are confident

that there's no mechanical issue, and since this is an internal slave (right?)

there's no possibility of a misalignment inside the BH, so, grasping

for anything, and given your comment about the pedal feeling jammed,

I'm wondering if there's a fluid blockage in the slave somehow? If it

can be bled down below, that confirms there's no blockage or hangup

in the master. Slave problem is the only thing left. Hope you figure it

out.

[partsmj]

I had clutch trouble a while ago. Bottom line was the pin that held the slave to the trans came loose and it was flopping around. I put a new pin in and it was good to go. Hope this helps. Good luck.

[Harley]

Its an external slave, fluid flows just fine when I open the bleeder, when i remove the slave but leave the line connected I can push the rod in by hand and it comes back out on its own. everything was working just fine before I decided to do this so there shouldn't be any reason the internal components are messed up just from sitting.

UPDATE: Anybody wanna buy a comanche? Rust free, $20/obo.....Thats how pissed off i'm getting at it. :mad:

[flint54]

Hmmm, this is not sounding good from where I sit. Let's recap:

1) you have confirmed there's no problem between pedal and master

2) you have confirmed there's no problem with master (slave operates by pedal if unbolted from BH?)

3) there's no fluid blockage between master and slave (bleeds just fine)

4) there's no hangup inside the slave (see #2)

 

You have pretty well covered everything, except for a problem inside

the BH. For example, if the clutch release bearing is somehow locked

up on the shaft it slides on - but this seems very unlikely since you

say it all worked fine recently. Or perhaps the clutch release arm has

gotten bent or dislodged or damaged? Again, seems unlikely, but what

else is left? Is it possible for the arm to have come off the pivot ball?

(broken retaining spring)I hate this possibility because you know what it

means, and I can't think of a way to inspect. Here's the innards:

[Harley]

Yeah flint, that all pretty much sums it up. The only thing I haven't ruled out is internal but I find that really hard to believe since it worked just fine. I drove the truck almost 30 miles round trip to get the first master. I don't know if this tells anything or not but I can reach the arm from where the slave mounts and there's about an inch of play back and forth.

It seems I've stumped everybody with this so I guess the next step is to drop the trans and get a clutch kit.

I'm REALLY confused by all this and am about ready to drag it out to the desert and blow it up!

[aquiring93]

My friend had a similar problem to what you are describing yesterday. He described it feeling like there was a blockage in the clutch as well. He couldn't get it into gear at all. Turns out his throw out bearing broke and in result basically he is doing a whole transmission swap. Based on your description this probably isn't the reason, but its worth checking... :dunno:

[partsmj]

Here is something to try. Unbolt the slave from the bellhousing. Compress the rod using a c clamp. Bleed the cylinder, being careful not to let the master run dry. It is a small reservoir. Bolt it back on. Hope this helps. Good luck.

[Harley]

I bled it that way when I first installed each slave.

[carnuck]

I had the hose go bad on mine and make like a cork in the system.

[Harley]

Got it workin.....all it took was 3 masters, 2 slaves and an assload of wasted brake fluid trying to bleed the system.

[carnuck]

So what was it? A POS fall in and clog the master? BTW, you should ONLY use Castrol GTLMA fluid for longevity with these due to real rubber seals being used.

[Harley]

to be honest not really sure what the exact cause was because I swapped parts out so much before I got results but I'm thinkin it was just faulty masters that I kept getting. The one that's in it still might be bad because I don't think its releasing the clutch fully as its somewhat harder to shift through the gears but it does seem to be holding pressure now and no leaks that I've noticed. Gonna try bleeding it some more to see if I can get it to shift smoother like it use to.

[Geonovast]

What shape was the line in? The rubber section in the middle can wear out and collapse...

[Harley]

That line was fine.

[carnuck]

I had similar trouble with an '85 XJ and my '86 MJ. Turned out the clutch pedal arm was bent and pushing the master on enough angle that it caused the piston inside to go on an angle and draw air in. I finally figured it out (several masters and slaves later) when the clutch pedal in the '85 broke and I put in a spare from a parts rig and the clutch became perfect (without bleeding it yet again)