[DeTomaso] Clutch problem solved?

mikeldrew at aol.com mikeldrew at aol.com
Wed Jun 30 22:51:35 EDT 2010


Tom wrote:

Since I replaced the MC and slave, my clutch feels much lighter than it 
had
before.   My clutch was always real heavy with the old MC and slave 
(remember 15
year old seals enduring humid midwest summers and long winter storage 
periods).
I haven't tried any aggressive attempts to bleed my clutch (again) but 
wondered
if the soft pedal could be the result of air in the line?  Right now, 
I'm kind
of enjoying the lighter clutch with a car that drives well, so I'm not 
inclined
to mess with it.

>>>I'd mess with it.  I think your analysis (air in the line) may be 
correct, and your clutch throw is probably less than adequate.  You 
might think it's shifting great, but that could just be the synchros 
working overtime.

Clutch fluid is cheap.  Keep on bleeding the system until you're sure 
there's no air in there.  Heck, you could even run the same fresh, new 
fluid through the system several times rather than just throwing it 
away as it comes out of the bleeder.

Make sure the slave cylinder is oriented with the bleeder nipple at the 
highest possible position.  I knew of a guy years ago who couldn't get 
a good clutch pedal; he had his slave cylinder mounted with the nipple 
at the 9 o'clock position, and therefore had a big air bubble trapped 
in there without realizing it.

Good luck, and continue to keep us posted! :>)

Mike (cursing his leaking internal hydraulic throwout bearing...)



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