Master Cylinder Noise and Friction

[Dave18]

Has anyone else had trouble with the OEM clutch master cylinders? I've replaced mine a couple times now. The last one I had seemed to have a valve issue, since I'd get clutch drag even after having the system bled and with no apparent leaks/fluid loss. The new one I put in doesn't do that, but makes a loud squeak and has a lot of "stiction" when you operate the pedal. Not a big deal, but they were both Ford parts and I'd like it to work right!

Is this a problem they fixed eventually? Maybe I could use a later model master cylinder to get around the luck-of-the-draw?

Thanks everyone!
2002 Mazda B3000

 

[Bird76Mojo]

In my experience, the Ranger clutch systems have always been one of the hardest to get bled properly. Most people that have issues with them think they have them bled completely when they actually don't. They can be extremely difficult to get all the air out of.. 99% of the time they need to be bench bled overnight before install.

 

[sgtsandman]

Does the coupler match with the mater cylinder? Different makes don't use the same quick disconnect parts and have caused a lot of people problems as a result. Because of that, I changed both at the same time on my '98 using the bleed procedure in the video above. Horrible design. Anything else I've worked on, the slave cylinder was outside the transmission housing and actuated the clutch via an arm or fork.

 

[Dave18]

Yeah, I totally agree about the bleed difficulty. I don't think that was the issue in this case though because right after the bleed it felt fine, then gradually returned to dragging over about a week. I suspected a leak, but never found any fluid drops and the reservoir level didn't change. In any case the new master doesn't seem to have the same issue, it's just noisy and sticky...

I have no idea if the coupling changed over the years. For example, could I mate a 2011 master cylinder to my 2002 slave? Would it even be any different/better if I could?