[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




More information about the DeTomaso mailing list