clutch hits hard? Is this normal?

[joemohio]

I Have a 93 ranger 4x4 5 spd. I have had this thing for over a year and still seems to be something wrong with it. I have driven several sticks in the past and never have I had to baby the clutch pedal to get going from a stop sign. The thing is that it hits so hard that its difficult to find that spot that it likes with out having to push the clutch in to keep the engine from dieing.
I guess what my question is, is Is this a normal thing for the clutch setup and engine tourque?
The truck has 128,000 mls on it, pings a little on the high way at lower rpms. Could the engine be getting tired causing this clutch thing?
Oh it has that lopie idle that I have been reading about.

 

[kunar]

what engine? may shed a little more light....

 

[joemohio]

sorry, its a 3.0

 

[cocoasranger]

The 93-94 clutch master cylinder has a smaller bore than earlier years, which results in better modulation ( ie., more control as you let it out.) If sometime in the past the master was replaced with an earlier larger bore unit, then you would have the sudden release you describe. The masters look and mount the same; only the bore ( and maybe the push rod) is different on them.

I know this from being schooled by AllanD while converting my auto trans to a Mazda 5 speed. I have an 89 4x4 Ranger 5 speed with 93-94 master and 93 slave. The clutch action provides a consistent and gradual release just as AllanD
described. Oh yea. THANKS ALLAN!!!!!

 

[joemohio]

The clutch master cylinder sounds like a good place to start and seems to make sense. Since we are on the topic of clutch master cylinders, what is the best way to bleed them. the last on I did took me hours. Im going to be pulling the engine and trans soon for a rebuild so Ill just change both the master and slave, but man I dont want to think about bleeding the clutch.

 

[AllanD]

The two master cylinders are fairly easy to distinguish from one another.

the early "big bore" master cylinder (used from 1983-1992) is made entirely of glass reinforced Nylon (with a stainless steel inner sleeve to line the bore)
And the mounting ears are an integral part of the master cylinder body.

the '93-94 style master cylinder is twist lock mounted into a metal "cup"
that is bolted to the firewall.

The mismatch between the two types is a result of complemantary changes in the slave cylinder.

the Early master is designed to work with the '88-92 Aluminum slave cylinder
which uses either a Black or a Red quick connect.

the Later slave cylinder, used from 1993-current production is constructed of the same glass fiber reinforced nylon as the master cylinder and has a smaller displacement.

There is also another possible mismatch, the even later pressure plates have different
release leverage ratios, so there is a possible mismatch there that could make things REAL twitchy...

In my '87 Ranger converted to 4.0 and I'm using the early "big bore" slave
with the late '93-up slave, and the clutch action is very quick
ALL the release happens in the first inch of pedal travel with fairly high pedal effort.

I actually kinda like it, but my tastes in mechanical setup are probably different...

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