Posted by Bill Smutz on September 10, 1998 at 12:47:51:
In Reply to: Trying to make my clutch functional-someone mentioned slave cylinder seal to me posted by Matt on September 09, 1998 at 17:21:52:
Matt,
Look at the firewall where the clutch pedal is. Behind
the clutch pedal there should be a rod that goes into a
reservoir. Take the top off of the reservoir and push the
clutch pedal. Fluid should squirt out very forcefully and
coat the truck. Wipe this fluid off quickly as it will eat
the paint. If no fluid squirted, the seal behind the rod
that the clutch pedal pushes on is gone. There is a hose
coming out of the bottom of the reservoir. Follow that hose
down to the slave cylinder. If I were you, and you have the
money to do it, just replace the slave and master cylinders
as the seals are probably shot on both. Another possibly cheaper
alternative is to remove the seals on both units and check the
bore that the seals are in. If there are no major pits, you can
hone the cylinders and just install new seals. You can buy a hone
from the auto parts store that will fit in your drill. The pain in the
ass part is getting the fluid back down the hose from the master to
the slave. Before starting any of this, I would loosen the adjustment
on the rod that pushes on the clutch fork until it is free. Then I would
push in on the rod while someone steps on the clutch pedal to see if
the fluid system is working. If it pushes the rod out, you might be ok.
If not, you know you have a bad seal in either the master or slave. You
should actually be able to tell if the rod is actually putting any
pressure on the fork when the pedal is being held down by trying to rotate
it. If the rod is putting pressure on the fork but the pressure plate
isn't moving, then you know the pressure plate, friction disk, and flywheel
are all stuck together. It sounds like to me that the whole system is probably
bad and you should rebuild or replace both cylinders, then see if the rest of it
will work. Walmart sells a handy little tool for creating a vacuum and sucking
the fluid down from the master cylinder to the slave for about $25. I would recommend
getting one unless you like waiting forever for gravity or have really well
sealing lips. If you have any more questions, feel free to e-mail me off line and I
will try to help.
Bill