[DeTomaso] Clutch Master Cylinder

[SEL]

"Uh-uh, Peter. Once you get that far (assuming your 9000-series Pantera is similar to earlier ones under the dash), you'll find the accelerator pedal stop interferes with accessing the bolt-heads (or nuts- can't quite remember which). Taking the bolts out for the sheet metal pedal stop off allows you to access the MS retainer heads. But you may still be in deep woods as far as removing the MS: its actuating rod is held into the MS with a snap-ring and to the pedal with a 1/4" dia pin held by two of the tiniest c-clips you ever saw. Expect to drop a clip on the rug during removal. Be sure you find it- they are not easily replaceable."

Oh boy Jack - truer words never spoken (by you and everyone else) - WHAT A PITA!! - have spent 2 different 1 hr sessions trying to put a vice grip on those bolt heads with absolutely no success - i guess i will now try your suggestion of taking off the gas pedal stop - but i am fearful that the only way to access those bolt heads is to tackle those mini c clips - oh well...they don't call it a "hobby" for nothing! - thanks, stephen


----- Original Message ----
From: "JDeRyke at aol.com" <JDeRyke at aol.com>
To: edlebby at yahoo.com; detomaso at realbig.com; SCPOCA at yahoogroups.com
Sent: Monday, December 3, 2007 4:26:43 PM
Subject: Re: [DeTomaso] Clutch Master Cylinder

In a message dated 12/3/07 11:39:05 AM, edlebby at yahoo.com writes:


QUESTION: are these really fixed studs...or is there something on the otherside of the firewall under the dash (like a bolt head) that one has to hold down)?? - if not, it would be those 2 retaining nuts, unfasten the hydraulic line and it is off...right? -


Uh-uh, Peter. Once you get that far (assuming your 9000-series Pantera is similar to earlier ones under the dash), you'll find the accelerator pedal stop interferes with accessing the bolt-heads (or nuts- can't quite remember which). Taking the bolts out for the sheet metal pedal stop off allows you to access the MS retainer heads. But you may still be in deep woods as far as removing the MS: its actuating rod is held into the MS with a snap-ring and to the pedal with a 1/4" dia pin held by two of the tiniest c-clips you ever saw. Expect to drop a clip on the rug during removal. Be sure you find it- they are not easily replaceable. Sometimes the c-clips are rusted so they break in half but can be replaced by a drilled hole in the pin and a wire snap-retainer or roll pin. 

Once the inboard c-clip is out, the pin can be (sometimes) pushed toward the outside of the car enough to release the actuating rod & its clevis. Some pins are worn or rusted enough so a simple push does nothing. I've had to unbolt the whole pedal plate and pull it back enough so I could get a long pin-punch in there to drive the MS pin sideways. This can be done without disconnecting hydraulic lines. There is absolutely not enough room to hit the pin from under a dash hard enough to move it, if its stuck. And if you try moving it the other way, you'll find it won't move far enough toward the inboard side of the car before running into the welded toe box structure.

Finally after overcoming all this, you may find the MS leaked a little over the years and the fluid swelled and BONDED the rubber boot to both the stub end of the MS AND to the aluminum pedal plate, requiring some real brutality to break it free, so the MS can finally be pulled out The fit here is tight even under the best of circumstances. Of all the fussy jobs on a Pantera, this one is my least favorite! Good luck and be patient- the job CAN be done, and not all cars have all these things go wrong at once. Our '72 did, but..... Cheers-J DeRyke


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