This is bizzare

[thewhitepowerranger]

okay here the DL on my situation. everyone i have talked to has a different opinion and i figured this was the place to come. i got a 94 ranger with the mazda 5 speed. i just had to put a new tranny in it about 2 months ago. i also put in a clutch and had the flywheel resurfaced. so its ran pretty good untill now. there is always a little freeplay in the clutch pedal about half an inch, im told this is normal and it stayed that way untill now. if i start the truck and put it in nuetral or any gear and move the pedal back and forth in the freeplay zone per-say the free play gets bigger and bigger untill there is only about an inch of actualy disengagement. if i am driving it does this after i have shifted a few times so i have to put it in nuetral and pump the clutch and then ill get a positive pedal again. but like i said it will do it again after i have to shift some more. anyone else have this issue? my dad thinks its the clutch master cylinder but im not sure if its that or the slave or what? i would really appreciate any advice.

 

[Earl43P]

I'd hope you put a new slave in with the clutch.

You can try a Master, but it sounds like a slave.
Might luck out with a bleeding, but dismount and invert the Master if you try.

 

[kennykenny]

Sounds like a leaky slave to me, any fluid leaking from the bell housing?

 

[4x4junkie]

If there isn't a leak (sounds like there isn't otherwise it would've completely stopped working at all by now), it's the master cyl.

Be sure to flush the clutch line and slave cyl out thoroughly, as any failed parts like that can introduce solid contaminants into the system that will cause it to fail again. If the slave was not replaced 2 months ago, then I strongly suggest replacing that as well.

 

[thewhitepowerranger]

i didnt replace the slave cylinder two months ago because the one on the transmission i took out was just replaced. i had heard that if you swap out a tranny in these trucks its kind of hit or miss as to if the slave can be re-used. my dad was a ford tech and said sometimes they just wont bleed out and are you can get a pedal back. he said if you have a pedal then its fine. if i buy a master cyl. and dont get a new slave yet can that be a bad thing or no?

 

[4x4junkie]

If the slave is relatively new and shows no signs of leaking, you should be able to reuse it. Just make sure it's flushed out and clean on the inside so it doesn't cause the new master (or itself) to fail.

Bleeding problems come up because of the inverted design of the master cyl, this has nothing to do with the slave.
There are a few ways to deal with this, although most common is to undo the master from the firewall so you can angle it to get all the air bubbles out of it which tend to get lodged in it. So far I've always been able to expel the bubbles just with vigorous pumping of the pedal however.

 

[thewhitepowerranger]

how would i go about cleaning the inside of the slave? and you say pumping the pedal is that with the master cyl. still on the firewall?

 

[Earl43P]

When you crack open the slave bleeder, old fluid will come out as new fluid goes in.

If the pedal travel/engagement has been like that since BEFORE the different slave was installed, I would replace that master.

 

[4x4junkie]

Flushing the system out by running a strong stream of fluid through will likely get the majority of the crap out of there, although if you can take the slave out and point the bleeder fitting down, you should then be able to flush anything that's settled in the bottom out of it as well.

Yes, vigorous pedal pumping with the MC fully installed, bleeder screw just barely cracked open.

 

[thewhitepowerranger]

so get a new master cyl., flush the slave ,then be sure to bleed it really good?

and to earl, the slave is the one off of my old transmission, i bought a junkyard tranny but the slave from the original was replaced and not leaking so i switched it to the new tranny and am using it. but this problem just came up it ran beautifly for about 3200 miles then this started happening.

 

[94STXRanger]

It sounds like fluid is just bypassing the seals in the master cyl. Basically what everyone else said. I actually had the same problem on my brakes. Push the pedal and it slowly fell to the floor. I could pump it up until it got stiff, the slowly fell again. New Master, and havent had a problem since.

 

[thewhitepowerranger]

i bought the new master today.....put it in and bled the sheot out of it new fluid was coming out of the bleeder and i cant get a pedal......i tried to take the master off the firewall and invert it but that didnt help either......if i press the pedal to the floor a good solid stream will come out the bleeder......can i fix this or do i need a new slave? immediate answers are greatly appreciated..... oh btw i can pump the pedal like 300 times and still no resistance what so ever

 

[Taragon]

Get
A
New
Slave!!!!

Its not the master...never was.....its the slave. Even if you see no fluid leaks. IDK where the fluid goes, but its the slave.

I have seen this problem about 15 times so far, and 13 of those guys were warned before but "by gawd I replaced the clutch in my chevy/ dodge/ toyota/ whatchmacallit and didnt replaced the slave, and its done fine for 20 years!!" Well, its not a Ford Ranger Trans slave now was it?

Of the 15, I was one...learned the hard way, 1 did it and then asked me to help him figure out what was happening, and the other 13 I told before they did it.

I got paid the 2nd as time as well to re-do it for them. And it was the SAME price I charged the 1st time.

Only one girl got both jobs cash free......but I dont work for her form of payment anymore either...it doesnt keep my water hot, stomach full, or lights on.

 

[thewhitepowerranger]

idk im pretty sure its just air trapped in the bottom of the master and pulling the tranny is not a whole lot of fun....ill wait as long as i can for that

 

[4x4junkie]

Did you try bench-bleeding the master before you put it in?

Maybe you just aren't pumping it hard & fast enough... When it worked for me, I was reaally wailing on it with the bleeder open before I finally got a good enough pedal to work the clutch (probably about 15-20 hard slams in a 5-second timeframe).

Get
A
New
Slave!!!!

Its not the master...never was.....its the slave. Even if you see no fluid leaks. IDK where the fluid goes, but its the slave.

I have seen this problem about 15 times so far, and 13 of those guys were warned before but "by gawd I replaced the clutch in my chevy/ dodge/ toyota/ whatchmacallit and didnt replaced the slave, and its done fine for 20 years!!" Well, its not a Ford Ranger Trans slave now was it?

Of the 15, I was one...learned the hard way, 1 did it and then asked me to help him figure out what was happening, and the other 13 I told before they did it.

I got paid the 2nd as time as well to re-do it for them. And it was the SAME price I charged the 1st time.

Only one girl got both jobs cash free......but I dont work for her form of payment anymore either...it doesnt keep my water hot, stomach full, or lights on.

Ummm... there's no possible way it's the slave if it isn't leaking from underneath (a slave has no "reservoir" for fluid to go into, yet it still has to go SOMEWHERE). It's either a bad master, or air trapped in the master. I believe the latter to be the case at this point.