Hello,
First let me say that starting this thread is a last resort. I did lots of searching on how to bleed the cluch, chose the method I was comfortable with, but now I have problems!

I replaced my clutch so I had to pull the slave cylinder. Now the new clutch is in and my clutch pedal goes right to the floor- no pressure. SO after doing some research heres what I did:
1. Removed the slave cylinder and disconnected the hydraulic line
2. Filled the slave with DOT3, tapping it repeatedly to expel air
3. reinstalled slave, compressing push rod and expelling some DOT3 in the process- the line is still hanging free
4. I removed the cap and diaphragm from the master, expecing fluid to come out the hydraulic line under the truck.

This is where I have the problem: there is fluid in the master cylinder and it will not flow freely down the hydraulic line at all. My goal was to get a flow of fluid down the line and then reinsert it into the slave, then top off the master and call it good. Thats what the instructions i'm following say to do.

Before I did the clutch job I had good pedal pressure and no reason to believe my master or slave cylinders were shot. I dont know how to troubleshoot a master cylinder.

I dont see cracks in the firewall, as other threads suggest to look for, although what I do have is a leak right at the top of the firewall that lets water in the cab when it rains, theres rust under there and the repeated dripping has caused the nuts of the master cylinder to become rusty, as well as the area where my drive line goes thru the firewall. I'm concerned about the rust, but I need to solve this problem first...

 

First off you don't have to unhook the line to remove the slave cylinder when you remove it. It will extend but let it out easily or hook the the plastic shipping strap back up....Anyway, I have always just worked the pedal and have always gotten my pedal back. Never actually "bled" the system. They just worked their selves out.

 

I should clarify- I didn't unhook the line to remove the slave cylinder, I unhooked it as part of the clutch bleeding procedure i'm following. I tried pumping it, but not 70-100 times as some posts suggest. I'll get there probably if this doesnt work, but right now I'm trying to figure out why the fluid doesnt flow out of the master cylinder reservoir through the line so I can visually see that there is no air in that link of the system.

Or should I just forget it and call it good and start pumping the pedal. I know I already got all the air out of the slave. I've had the thing pulled off twice now, and am getting quite familiar with it. Its got a allen wrench bleed valve.

 

I just put a ZF in my truck, the first time I pushed the pedal - it just went to the floor and did not come back. So I pumped it with my hand 50 times and it started coming back then I pumped it with my feet and held it to the floor for 10 seconds each time. After a while, it just felt the same so I had my sis come out and pump the pedal while I looked underneath to see if it was releasing and it was.

 

To see if the clutch was releasing?

If so, good to know....I'm curious about how I'm gonna know if this is done right. Last thing I want to do is wear the clutch out cause it wasnt installed properly or its not disengaging properly.

 

Releasing or disengaging, yes. The clutch is engaged when the pedal is up.

 

Let me get this straight...
Everything was working fine, then you replaced the clutch. While replacing the clutch, you pulled the slave off to the side, but left it attached to the line. New clutch put in, slave put back in place (still connected). Suddenly no pedal pressure??

My first thought is you (or whoever installed it) messed something up on the clutch install. Reason being, if you didn't disconnect the line, it should still be working as good as it was before. (if not better if you lightly lubricated the quill/throwout bearing and clutch fork)

Is there a throwout bearing? Is the clutch fork properly attached to the throwout bearing and the transmission? It should ride in the middle of the throwout bearing, while pivoting on a ball stud on the transmission case.

 

It seems like he opened the system.

I would have just left it closed up.

 

Yes I know he DID open the system, but not when changing the clutch.
I just want to clarify that the problem was there BEFORE he opened the system. And give some thoughts as to what the real problem might be if I understand correctly.

bigfish6025 if I'm mistaken, ignore my previous post.
Also, if someone presses the pedal, you can look through the hole where the clutch fork sits and see if, and how far, the throwout bearing moves. I'm pretty sure if you have the inspection cover off the bottom of the flywheel, and its turned to the right place, you will be able to see how far the pressure plate moves back to see if the clutch disc is free to move.

 

tecgod13, youre right about this: "Everything was working fine (Well, except my clutch was fried!) then you replaced the clutch. While replacing the clutch, you pulled the slave off to the side, but left it attached to the line. New clutch put in, slave put back in place (still connected). Suddenly no pedal pressure??

Yes! No pedal pressure after the new clutch wsas installed. I did some of the work: pulled the rear driveshaft, removed the slave and put it to the side- but thats it, I did not open the system up until after the clutch got installed and I had no pedal pressure. I was under the assumption that a bleed was necessary after a new clutch install. I guess not, huh- as long as you dont open the system?

So now I'm curious what could be wrong with the install job. The guy who did it asked for $400 to finish what I started. I'm super busy at work and this seemed like a little more than I could handle. My truck was up on jackstands for 2 months before this guy came along so I said go for it! But he only got so far as to put the clutch kit in- I got a new throwout bearing, clutch and pressure plate. The kit also came with an alignment tool (standard Luk kit from NAPA- not the Borg I wanted, but it was not in stock when the kid was ready to do the job). The guy who installed it simply scooted the trans back 6" or so and slipped the new clutch in. It was way less involved than I tohught it would be (I tohught we'd have to drop the whole tranny, etc...).
However, now I have concern over the quickness in which he installed it, because he did not connect a black wire back on to the starter solenoid (read: too hasty, not paying attention to the details) and then didnt know why the engine wouldnt crank. Also he doesnt know why theres no pedal (and thats before I opened the slave up) . It sucks because I was out of town over the 2 days he worked on the truck and now I've shown up twice to finish the job with him and he was a no show. Then he texts me saying he doesnt know why the engine wont crank (I told him about the loose wire...oh well I already fixed that part...) and doesnt know about hydraulic clutches, bleeding, etc....

Now before you start thinking I'm a total sucker know this-- I havent paid the guy one dime yet! Nor do I intend to until I get this worked out. Basically the dude installed the clutch, didnt put my 4wd shifter back on in the cab, didnt put the driveline back on and doesnt know how to troubleshoot why theres no pedal. I told him it sounds to me like he's done working on my truck but that we'll need to settle up when I'm back on the road.



"Is there a throwout bearing? Is the clutch fork properly attached to the throwout bearing and the transmission? It should ride in the middle of the throwout bearing, while pivoting on a ball stud on the transmission case."

This I dont know. Now I'm trying to figure out if I should troubleshoot a bad clutch install or move forward with getting my system bled?

Thank you for your advice, I greatly appreciate it!

 

Didn't surface the flywheel? As far as time goes, I can clutch one of these trucks in a couple of hours...But I have done several....You can take out the clutch fork. Make sure the ball is greased before you finish. I have seen those pivot ***** cause binding issues and that leads to clutch issues.. More so in the Chevies with 6.5's. Work the pedal and see if it comes to it's milk. You should be good to go. You will know if it is releasing or not.

 

No, but I wanted to get it surfaced. It turned into a rush job because I let it sit for 2 months. busy with work & summer being so short up here, this guy got referred to do the job & I went with it. He said the flywheel looked good, but in retrospect it seems like it was a rush job. Who knows, maybe its good- the truck is in good shape overall.
Anyway, I wish I could watch you change a clutch in 2 hours, cause I'd learn alot. The devils in the details and I dont like to cut corners. thats why this $h takes me so long to do when I've never done it!

 

The way I usually bleed these sysytems is to remove the slave cylinder with the line still attached, let the slave extend all the way out, push the plunger back in all the way. Do this a few times and all of the air should be pushed back to the master cylinder.
Also, when you say the pedal goes to the floor and has no pressure, are you sure the clutch is not releasing? I have used several Centerforce clutches that had almost no pedal pressure but still worked as they should.

 

It helps when you do this stuff everyday and have a good transmission jack. When I had my shop I fell into a good thing. A company I did work for had a fleet of 1 ton Fords with early Powerstrokes. They had a few clutch troubles and wanted them all switch over to solid flywheels and dampened clutch disks. They sent me a pallet load of kits. I would do 4 a day at $250 a lick. I had heck of a month.

 

Ok, its been a while but I made some progress 2 days ago with a buddy, and then failed yesterday on my own.
Me and my buddy re attached the hydraulic line to the slave cylinder and then bled the system through the bleeder screw on the slave cylinder. He would open the bleeder and tell me to slowly depress the clutch, then close the bleeder, and i would return the cluth and we did that about 50 times. Every 10 or so times I'd pump on it and see how much pedal I was getting and once it started to come back I pumped it a bunch and it seemed to get better. I can now drive the truck which is great, but my clutch pedal is really wimpy feeling and it does not return all the way when I release the clutch. I have to pull it back with my toe. Also its hard to shift into first and second from a dead stop and shifting into reverse grinds a bit. Needless to say, I wont be putting many miles on this thing until I get it working.

Another friend of mine suggested I might not have my return spring back on my clutch fork. I never saw one down there to begin with. Do these '87s have return springs? Only spring I know about is the one up under the dash above the clutch pedal and that one seems to be doing its job.