[DeTomaso] Clutch master swap out
MikeLDrew at aol.com
MikeLDrew at aol.com
Mon Mar 11 15:35:12 EDT 2013
In a message dated 3/11/13 9 21 14, fisher95020 at gmail.com writes:
> It looks like I am due for a clutch master and scanning the Ford repair
> Manual makes it sound like you just unbolt the old one from the trunk area
> and bolt the new one in (after draining fluid).
>
>>>It's a non-trivial task, made very difficult by the location. You will
need long extensions, and a universal joint, and a good back, and a helper
on the outside to hold the wrench while you toil away under the dash.
>
> >This seems over simplified from my viewpoint as there must be a clevis
> pin
> in there having a snap ring holding it to the clutch pedal shaft and
> looking from inside the footwell I dont see any easy way to get at it from
> inside the car. What is the known best method for this swap out? Do I
> have to pull the
> whole pedal box out?
>
>>>The conventiona wisdom has you removing that snap ring, driving the c
levis pin out, and removing the whole assembly. It's located up above the gas
pedal, and it's not a very happy place to be working. The alternative is
to loosen the locknut and then unthread the rod from the clevis, leaving it
installed on the pedal, but that's a lot of painful work too.
Steve Wilkinson taught me a brilliant shortcut. Assuming you're replacing
your master with an identical kind (and as an aside, there have been
repeated failures of the so-called "De Tomaso" clutch master cylinders, and if you
are contemplating installing one of those, STOP, and insist on a proper
Italian replacement, available from Pantera East, and nowhere else as far as I
know?), what you can do is unbolt the two bolts holding it in position
(after you have drained it and disconnected the line of course), then depress the
pedal which will force the unit forward slightly. You can then get in
there with a pair of 90-degree snap ring pliers, remove the snap ring, and
withdraw the unit forward off the pin. Remove the snap ring from your new
unit, remove the pin and set it aside, then position the new master against the
old pin, compress it and reinstall the snap ring, then install the master.
This preserves all your adjustments and minimizes time spent under the
dash. I've done it both ways, and each has its advantages and disadvantages.
It's highly unfortunate that most of the vendors seem to be carrying this
'factory' replacement, whose origin is highly dubious, and certainly not
Italy.
If you buy a new one and it looks like this:
http://www.poca.com/index.php/gallery/?g2_itemId=36135
Don't even bother taking it out of the box. The seals fail internally
(Ron DeMaderios had FIVE of them fail in the span of a few short months), and
the bottles leak where the metal fitting is swaged to the plastic bottle.
They are simply horrible. I've got one sitting in my junk pile that we had
to take out of Lori's car, which failed in under 2000 miles.
Pantera East sells original clutch masters, sourced from Italy. You can
buy *just* the master cylinder, without the bottle, and simply transfer your
bottle over from your old one, which saves money. You need to specify if
you have the clutch effort reduction kit monkey-motion under the dash,
although if you are going to use the Wilkinson swapout technique as described
above, it doesn't matter. We put one in Lori's car a couple of years ago and
it's still going strong.
Call Marino at (727) 381-1151 to order.
This whole discussion presumes you still have an original clutch master in
your car, and not an aftermarket replacement, which looks totally different.
Can you confirm that?
Mike
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