[DeTomaso] McLeod--standing behind their product!

[MikeLDrew at aol.com]

Hi guys,

Back in the late 1980s and early 1990s, Dennis Quella was a huge proponent 
of changing out the stock clutch slave cylinder and replacing the whole 
monkey-motion setup with a McLeod hydraulic internal hydraulic throwout bearing. 
  Both Jack DeRyke and I bought off on this notion, and have been running 
them with success for many years (18 years in my case, with a lot of years of 
sitting from time to time, which is normally doom for any sort of hydraulic 
anything).

When I installed a new engine in my car this spring, I changed to an 
aluminum flywheel, and never thought to check to see if it was the same thickness 
as the old cast iron flywheel.   The setup on the hydraulic throwout bearing 
is critical; if it over-travels, the seals can suffer and fail.

I got the engine installed just a few days before the POCA Fun Rally.   In 
Reno, I was disconcerted to discover a puddle of brake fluid under my 
gearbox; I had to continually top the reservoir off in order to get home.   The 
unit was functioning just fine, but it was leaking when it wasn't under (foot) 
pressure.   After I got home, the car sat for a week and BLEAH, the fluid 
all poured out.

French POCA member Stephane Bergeron came to visit for a day in July; we 
pulled my gearbox and discovered the 90-degree fittings going into the unit 
were both loose.   A-ha!   That HAD to be the source of the leak, right?   So 
we fixed that, put it all back together (again without bothering to check 
the setup clearances), filled and bled it, and it worked perfectly.

Came home a week later, and BLEAH, fluid all over the carpet again.

So the car sat untouched, until just last week when Lori and I pulled the 
gearbox out.   I had spoken to the McLeod reps at the SEMA show, asking their 
advice, and they told me to just send the unit down to them for a look-see. 
  They showed me the current-generation version, which is profoundly 
improved over the 1980s-spec version in my car.   I was tempted, but decided to 
let them look at mine first.

I shipped it down there last week, care of "Bernie" who is their specialist 
in these things.   Bernie determined that at least one of the O-rings had 
gone bad (not unexpected after 18 years), so he totally dismantled it, 
replaced all five O-rings and seals, AND installed a brand new bearing assembly.   
He then packed it up and UPSed it back to me, in time for me to install it 
today (by coincidence, Stephane Bergeron was here again and was able to help 
in the same manner he did last time).

But here's the amazing thing.   I bought this unit from Dennis Quella in 
about 1992 or 1993.   It's about a million years out of warranty.   Yet the 
McLeod guys totally rebuilt it, installed a brand new bearing AND shipped it 
back to me quick-style, and charged me a big, fat ZERO for all their work!!!!

We were very meticulous this time, took all our measurements and set the 
thing up just so, then installed it, filled and bled the system, and it's 
working like a champ once again.

My hat is definitely off to the McLeod guys.   It's totally unreasonable 
for them to provide all this service for absolutely no charge--even if they 
are feeling charitable and decide to rebuild the unit for free, at the very 
least I should expect to pay the UPS charges.   But no--they felt compelled to 
stand behind their product to the Nth degree.   That sort of service and 
dedication to their customers is a rare thing indeed!

I have every confidence that this thing will last me at least another 18 
trouble-free years--longer most likely, since I plan to drive the car 
regularly and not let it sit for years at a time!

Mike