Clutch slave cylinder/throw-out bearing question (see pic)

[Maui-sprint]

Having an issue with my clutch! Just need some opinions before I tear into this and replace the clutch disc and pressure plate. Im getting approx ¼” of travel in the Throw-Out bearing. Attached pic shows travel of T/O bearing (from the black line).

Question: Does the T/O bearing travel look normal, or should it be more? Needing a new clutch disc after 15K miles doesn’t seem right but maybe that’s what happens with cheap parts?!?!?

Clutch Master Cylinder and Clutch Line are brand new. Slave cylinder, pressure plate, and clutch disc are 12 months old (approx 15k mi) of heavy use due to my daily commute in bumper to bumper traffic.

Clutch was working fine before the install but now I have the following symptoms:

• Hard shifting/not able to shift
• Top half of pedal is spongy
• Clutch not forgiving. Grabs easily when pedal comes up slightly from floor

BLEEDING: MC/clutch line assembly was bench bled by vertically stretching out line and pumping M/C until push rod was solid. Slave cylinder was bled by gravity bleeding almost TWO QUARTS of fluid through it with a custom set up until no air bubbles where present. System was gravity bled again after assembling. I don’t think air in system is the problem, unless I’m missing something with this OEM clutch line…

PARTS:

Clutch, pressure plate, and slave cylinder – All from a kit I purchased on eBay. Vendor is Clutch America. Brand is “Clutch Max”

Clutch line is OEM part # F1TZ-&A512-A. It’s the one with a section of larger diameter rubber hose (not sure what the purpose of that is). But it’s a Ford OEM part.

Master cylinder – Perfection Clutch p/n 39896. (yes, pushrod installed correctly and does not pop out)

 

[alwaysFlOoReD]

So there are other possibilities that can cause your issues.
All personally experienced...
-Firewall flex. The fire wall was actually cracked and the flex caused the problems.
-Master cylinder flange broken or cracked allowing flex. Cracked beside the bolt holding it to the firewall.

 

[Maui-sprint]

I just had MC out to bleed and didnt notice any cracks. Will inspect it closer tonight. How much travel should I expect from the throwout bearing?

 

[alwaysFlOoReD]

Travel I don't know.
Going back to the firewall, get someone to operate the clutch while you're under hood looking. Make sure there isn't any flex.

 

[Maui-sprint]

This morning before work, I had a friend push clutch pedal to floor while I checked the MC. The firewall bulges out approx 1/16-1/8" when pressed. Didn't have time to inspect further for any cracks. If this is not normal then will inspect closer with a mirror.

Truck originally an automatic which I converted to MT 12 months ago. So the firewall has only seen the MC stress for a year.

 

[Maui-sprint]

Finally had some free time this past weekend to troubleshoot my issue. What I found was that there is a crack starting at the lower Clutch MC mounting bolt. This results in the MC flexing about 1/8". From pic you can see where the pedal hits the firewall when fully depressed. The worn spot on the mounting bolt explains why at some point during the last year my pedal was getting "hung up" when fully depressed. It must have been hitting the side of the welded nut which was causing a dead pedal feel when released. Anyway, I ended up grinding about a 1/4" off the bottom of the pedal lever (where it was making contact with firewall) in order to make up for the flex. Didn't do any good. I believe my clutch will need replacement regardless. However, I still need to address the crack! Did you end up welding yours back or did you come up with a different fix? I will probably start up a new thread on this if I don't get any solutions from this one.

Lower Clutch MC mounting bolt looking from the inside of vehicle.

 

[bobbywalter]

weld and plate.....or just plate....