HELP! Need advice please :)

[brendank]

just an update.. got the truck back together in one piece... however i pulled the master and cable out of my other truck.. other truck has a 2.9 and is 1990, mine is 2.3 and 1992... everythign looks identical as far as the master cyl goes.. but i cant get it to stay hooked up to the clutch pedal..
one push down and the plunger pops off.. sooo frustrating

i dont know what i could have done wrong here, that tiny little plastic bushing that fits into the hole on the clutch plunger side pops right on, far as i can tell its not broken. ford quoted me $20 just for a new one, and now they're closed so i cant really do any more tonight unless i missed something obvious.

You're missing the clip that holds the plunger on. If you look on the little "knob" that the plunger hooks onto, it's grooved towards the end. That's where the clip goes.

After I lost the clip for mine and didn't have one in the shop that was the same size, I used a small piece of stiff wire and twisted it around where the clip was supposed to be. It was tight enough to work safely after I twisted it with a pair of pliers.

 

[ri06667]

Im not missing the clip.. ive got the only thing i ever had.. Its a small black piece of plastic with 4 little teeth on it that hold the pedal in place. It is however, broken.
That isnt nessecarly my biggest problem though. Using just the plunger and my hand, i cannot push the clutch in. Using the old plunger (not connected to anything mind you) i can push it in with some force..

Speaking with my dad, he suggested that the plunger might be slightly longer on the master i pulled from the 2.9, that would change the angle, and thus pop the pedal off.. as far as i can tell, they are the same, i have not pulled them both out of vehicle and placed them side by side for comparison though.. I just dont have the motivation left to do that this weekend.. not to mention i cant manage to disconnect the cable from the slave (again)

I had a thought that the cable might not be properly fitted onto the slave, and thus pushing the clutch would be hard / impossible because there would be nowhere for the dot3 to go, however, i got under there and theres no pulling the cable off, so i must assume that it is infact linked to the slave fitting properly.

im regretting this whole ordeal, it might have been avoided had i taken the time to properly disconnect the slave in the first place, i probably would have been done two nights ago

so far my plan is as follows.. wait till next monday, the only time i WONT be at work and the ford parts center will be open.. get replacement fitting to hold clutch plunger to pedal.

maybe by then i'll have the motivation to give it another shot.. in the meantime, im wide open to suggestions as to what to try when i get a chance...

 

[Taragon]

The clutch masters are the same between the 2.9 and the 2.3

 

[ri06667]

The clutch masters are the same between the 2.9 and the 2.3

thats a bit of a relief.. that pretty much means my problem almost has to be that stupid little plastic thing that holds the pedal to the plunger..

 

[ri06667]

According to http://www.lmctruck.com/icatalog/fr/full.asp?page=105 (and my local ford dealership) the 92 2.3 master cyl is the same as the 2.9 master.. However, I took my master from a 1990 2.9, which is a different part..

 

[Taragon]

Doesnt matter. They are the same.

 

[cocoasranger]

For what it's worth, when I pushed in the white plastic release collar at the slave to disconnect the plastic hydraulic line, the line would not seperate either; until I slightly rotated the metal crimped end back and forth about 10 degrees as I pulled outward; then it came right out.

 

[InTheStix]

I took a piece of 1/8" steel about 1 1/4"x 4" and cut a groove in it with my 4 1/2" angle grinder.I cut the groove wide enough to fit on the collar of the fitting,but not wide enough to go over the white plastic release ring.I slipped this tool on and pried against the white plastic while pulling on the hydraulic line and it popped right out.Worked a hell of a lot better than the the crummy plastic tool you get at a parts store!!

 

[ri06667]

any word on how that little sensor on the clutch plunger is supposed to hook up? friend of mine removed mine and now hes not around, i popped it back on and wired it up but i cant get the engine to turn anymore...

 

[ri06667]

Doesnt matter. They are the same.

hope you're right on this, based on this post i had ford deliver the little plastic retainer thing.. hopefully will find out tonight, long as i figure out that stupid clutch ignition sensor thing

 

[InTheStix]

If you look at the plunger rod,you will see it has a step on it.The end that goes in the MC is smaller and the end that hooks to the pedal is a little bit bigger.About half way down the rod,you will see the step where this transition from smaller to bigger is.Make sure that the step on the rod pushes down on the switch that is inside the electrical unit that snaps around the rod.This is what closes the contact and allows your engine to turn over.The unit that snaps around the rod should have a metal clip that snaps around the top of the MC and a hole on the upper end that fits on a little tit on the piece that snaps around the rod.This clip keeps the switch from moving up and down on the rod.There should also be a flat piece of white plastic(kind of arrow-shaped)that clips on the side of the switch(it covers the slot on the side of the switch) and keeps it from accidentally coming off of the rod.

 

[ri06667]

Im basically replacing my entire system tonight, does anybody know if it will be nesseary to bench bleed the system or could i do it all attached to vehicle?

 

[Taragon]

If you are replacing the slave, you MAY need to bleed it, but sometimes yous dont.

Try it unbled 1st and go from there.

 

[InTheStix]

My new slave cyl. was factory bench bled,but I did bench bleed the MC.When you bleed the MC,be sure to get ALL the air bubbles out.Good luck man,let us know how it works out.

 

[RedneKRangeR]

i usually just open the valve on the slave and let the fluid gravity drain for a while... the pump the crap out of the pedal and its good from there.

thats also what the chilton manual says to do.