Hydraulic clutch questions

Alright got it all handled! I ended up pulling the slave cylinder out and testing to make sure it was moving back and forth and it was. Put it back in and clutch pedal felt a hell of a lot firmer started the car and I could get it into all gears and she’s done!!

Good to hear it is up and running!

Good to hear it is up and running!

Ok, so this morning I backed the car up, riding the clutch because I was going uphill, and the clutch lost pressure, right to the floor, the car stalled.  I pumped the clutch a few times and the pressure came back to the pedal.  I thought it was odd, but drove the car anyway.  It felt fine, just like normal.  Not sure what to do.  Thanks.

I would say either your slave or your master is shot.

I would say either your slave or your master is shot.

Ok, I ordered both, $58 with shipping, thanks.

I would say either your slave or your master is shot.

Ok, I ordered both, $58 with shipping, thanks.

When replacing the clutch master cylinder, please remember—like I said before:

THE INFORMATION IN FORD’S 1987 SHOP MANUAL IS INCORRECT. (So is the information in the Hayne’s manual.) You do **NOT** rotate the master cylinder CLOCKWISE to remove it. You’ll be trying to do that all day.

This was corrected in the 1988 Supplement to Ford’s Shop Manual. To remove it, you rotate it COUNTERCLOCKWISE 45 degrees, then pull it from the firewall.

Depending on the slave cylinder you receive, the instructions could be misleading. Some advise you to turn the small Allen screw on the slave cylinder to bleed it. This sounds like a good idea until you realize that the slave cylinder is made of PLASTIC, so it is prone to strip its threads. (Please don’t ask me how I know about this.)

The CORRECT way is to carefully unhook the plastic strap (be careful with that! It will break free the first time you apply the clutch pedal, and you’ll need the “hub” part of that strap to properly engage the clutch). Now, work the piston back and forth, in and out—have an assistant watch the master cylinder reservoir to keep it full, and to watch for bubbles.

When the bubbles are all gone the job of bleeding the clutch hydraulic system is done. Please remember to replace the strap.

Clutch Master Cylinder parts from the manufacturer LuK detail this procedure, which is how I learned it.

I would say either your slave or your master is shot.

Ok, I ordered both, $58 with shipping, thanks.

When replacing the clutch master cylinder, please remember—like I said before:

THE INFORMATION IN FORD’S 1987 SHOP MANUAL IS INCORRECT. (So is the information in the Hayne’s manual.) You do **NOT** rotate the master cylinder CLOCKWISE to remove it. You’ll be trying to do that all day.

This was corrected in the 1988 Supplement to Ford’s Shop Manual. To remove it, you rotate it COUNTERCLOCKWISE 45 degrees, then pull it from the firewall.

Depending on the slave cylinder you receive, the instructions could be misleading. Some advise you to turn the small Allen screw on the slave cylinder to bleed it. This sounds like a good idea until you realize that the slave cylinder is made of PLASTIC, so it is prone to strip its threads. (Please don’t ask me how I know about this.)

The CORRECT way is to carefully unhook the plastic strap (be careful with that! It will break free the first time you apply the clutch pedal, and you’ll need the “hub” part of that strap to properly engage the clutch). Now, work the piston back and forth, in and out—have an assistant watch the master cylinder reservoir to keep it full, and to watch for bubbles.

When the bubbles are all gone the job of bleeding the clutch hydraulic system is done. Please remember to replace the strap.

Clutch Master Cylinder parts from the manufacturer LuK detail this procedure, which is how I learned it.

Many thanks anasazi4st, nothing worse that following the wrong directions.

I would say either your slave or your master is shot.

Ok, I ordered both, $58 with shipping, thanks.

When replacing the clutch master cylinder, please remember—like I said before:

THE INFORMATION IN FORD’S 1987 SHOP MANUAL IS INCORRECT. (So is the information in the Hayne’s manual.) You do **NOT** rotate the master cylinder CLOCKWISE to remove it. You’ll be trying to do that all day.

This was corrected in the 1988 Supplement to Ford’s Shop Manual. To remove it, you rotate it COUNTERCLOCKWISE 45 degrees, then pull it from the firewall.

Depending on the slave cylinder you receive, the instructions could be misleading. Some advise you to turn the small Allen screw on the slave cylinder to bleed it. This sounds like a good idea until you realize that the slave cylinder is made of PLASTIC, so it is prone to strip its threads. (Please don’t ask me how I know about this.)

The CORRECT way is to carefully unhook the plastic strap (be careful with that! It will break free the first time you apply the clutch pedal, and you’ll need the “hub” part of that strap to properly engage the clutch). Now, work the piston back and forth, in and out—have an assistant watch the master cylinder reservoir to keep it full, and to watch for bubbles.

When the bubbles are all gone the job of bleeding the clutch hydraulic system is done. Please remember to replace the strap.

Clutch Master Cylinder parts from the manufacturer LuK detail this procedure, which is how I learned it.

Many thanks anasazi4st, nothing worse that following the wrong directions.

These things seem to be remarkably fragile in some ways. I have removed the clutch slave cylinder, treating it very gently and wiring it up to the crossmember so it doesn’t just hang there, whilst doing things like clutch replacement, etc. There have been times when even those simple movements have caused it to fail, and I end up with a clutch that won’t release properly and a car I can’t get into or out of gear. (There are few things more frustrating than having your foot pressed as far as you can get it against the floor and you still can’t change gears.) I’ve made it almost standard procedure to replace the slave cylinder any time I’ve removed it, as the part is relatively inexpensive; it doesn’t seem to matter who the manufacturer is, I’ve had several do the same thing.

Oddly the thing seems to rarely fail once it’s installed, only when it’s removed from the bellhousing and put back on do problems arise.

RockAuto has a couple of different clutch master cylinders and slave cylinders. Which ones do you all recommend?

RockAuto has a couple of different clutch master cylinders and slave cylinders. Which ones do you all recommend?

I have had several Luk clutch slave cylinders and have had no issues, so I would give that one a slight edge.

I have also found Wagner to be a good name, overall. And, some of these offer a 2 year 24,000 mile warranty, as opposed to the standard 12,000/12, for whatever that is worth.