Clutch Problems

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brtele
Posts: 181
Joined: Wed Aug 12, 2015 2:30 pm
Location: Kansas City, MO

Clutch Problems

Post by brtele »

On the way home today the clutch mysteriously started engaging way lower than normal (almost all the way to the floor). The clutch still felt strong, but the pedal/clutch was engaging very low.

The pedal will come all the up way up and rest in normal position without help from me. The bracket is not cracked.

The brake fluid was low so I filled it to the MAX position, started the car and pumped both brakes and clutch, but it did not help the clutch pedal issue.

The car will now not go into gear.

The pedal feels like it isn't doing anything for the 1st half of the travel and then engages at the very bottom of the floorboard.

I'm going to bleed the slave and see if this helps anything. I don't seem to be leaking anything, but I could be wrong.

Any point in any direction is greatly appreciated. I'm searching the forums for past issues, but wanted to get a post up as I start to work through the issue.

Thanks again,

Brandon
'83 633, 5 speed manual, daily driver
'66 Ford Mustang, 302, Auto
'89 Ford Bronco, 5.0EFI, Auto
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hornhospital
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Re: Clutch Problems

Post by hornhospital »

That really sounds like a slave cylinder problem to me.
Ken Kanne
'84 633CSi "Sylvia"; '85 635CSi "Katja";'85 325e "Hazel Ann"; '95 M3 "Ashlyn"
brtele
Posts: 181
Joined: Wed Aug 12, 2015 2:30 pm
Location: Kansas City, MO

Re: Clutch Problems

Post by brtele »

So I got a chance under the car and had a look around. A little bit of fluid was coming from the drivers side of the tranny (not a lot as it was road gunked up). I went ahead and bled the slave cylinder and cleaned up the area really good. I then went back and pushed the clutch and to my surprise it was still "falling" halfway to the floor and then engaging approximately 2" from floor.

I pushed the clutch about 10-15 times just to get a feel for it and listen - a little bit of sound would "woosh" right at engagement.

I went back under the car and there was fresh brake fluid coming from the slave area and dripping on the ground.

I've never changed the slave, but I'm assuming this is the culprit. Was going to purchase the FTE brand slave cylinder unless someone points me away from this brand.

Thanks for any assistance,

Brandon
'83 633, 5 speed manual, daily driver
'66 Ford Mustang, 302, Auto
'89 Ford Bronco, 5.0EFI, Auto
brtele
Posts: 181
Joined: Wed Aug 12, 2015 2:30 pm
Location: Kansas City, MO

Re: Clutch Problems

Post by brtele »

Slave Cylinder - definitely the slave cylinder.

I ended up buying 1 from Napa for $40 and it was in a Febi box, but was a much lighter unit than the Febi that was on the car. Also, the new Febi unit also had URO stamped on the cylinder along with FEBI.

Anyways, I hooked it up, bled it and ripped around my neighborhood as fast as I could for good measure.

The world is good again - for the time being.

Thanks again to the forum for years of documentation to search through for solutions.

Brandon
'83 633, 5 speed manual, daily driver
'66 Ford Mustang, 302, Auto
'89 Ford Bronco, 5.0EFI, Auto
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