Well, I tackled changing that clutch master cylinder in the Missing Linc today. I actually tackled it three times. I’ve been dealing with some life issues, and the first two times I went out there, I just wasn’t in the frame of mind to dive in because I was paranoid about pulling it apart, and not being able to bleed it, and having a truck stuck in my driveway. But the third time was the charm (except I haven’t test driven it yet).
But let me start by saying if I was a disgruntled Ford engineer/designer, and I hated people who drove Ford trucks, especially the Rangers, and I was one of those weirdos that seem to be all over the place right now that just want to cause misery to other people, the way that thing is put together and located is exactly the way I would design it. What a pain in the ass.
It took over two hours to just get the thing out. I didn’t have the plastic clip at the end of the rod, it had a bolt and a double nut (tightened and glued), obviously something somebody creative did before I got in there. But ant lease it was totally inaccessible. And a lot of my wiring for my crazy accessory wiring is right in the way under the hood. I tried pulling the bolts with an 1/4 inch drive, moved up to a 3/8 inch drive, and then finally used a 1/2 inch breaker bar. I was working them back-and-forth very gently, I was scared to death of snapping one off, but it finally came loose. Then it took forever to sneak it around and get it in a place where I could drive that stupid pin out that holds the line to the transmission.
But with the right tool, you can do anything
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This is only half of the set. I took a piece of old broom handle, drilled about a quarter inch hole down the end about a half inch deep, and I inserted a six penny box nail. I had the right size punch, but there was no way to get it down in there. After this failed miserably, I taped the nail in place, and then on my 8 inch belt sander, I just tapered the nail down so it would fit better in the hole. Then I banged it around all over that part of the engine compartment with no luck whatsoever. I finally snaked the whole gizmo underneath the steering column, so I could raise it up above the steering column. I cut another short piece of broom handle to make a perch on top of the exhaust manifold to rest the piece solidly, and then with only four of my arms, I held the pedestal in place, held the cylinder on top of it, held by custom tool, and tapped it twice with a hammer, and the pin fell out. That was the end of probably an hour long process of trying to dislodge the pin.
Taking out the double nut bolt that held the end of the rod that attached to the pedal was equally annoying.
But then I moved on to the new cylinder. Like I said, I was completely paranoid about bleeding it. I used the vacuum pump method that I saw in a video. Whenever I use that vacuum pump, I always need three or four hands.
I drilled four holes in my work table, and I zip tied the catch reservoir under the table top. I’ve already ruined one of those pumps by sucking brake fluid into it, so I wanted that steady and where I could see it.
I checked the cylinder by just sucking on it, and fluid would flow from the transmission end up to the reservoir without depressing the plunger at all. I rigged up a fitting on the end of the cylinder that goes to the transmission so I could suck fluid right out of a jug of brake fluid. I had the vacuum hand pump on the end of the line that attaches to the reservoir. Then I just pumped away, moving the cylinder in every conceivable position and elevation until I stopped getting air bubbles out of the top. It worked very well. I put the shipping plug back in the transmission end, and I folded over the line that feeds the reservoir and put a binder clamp on it to keep the fluid in.
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Without the push rod connected, I worked the cylinder in to within a few inches of its end position, but in a place where I could still tilt it back-and-forth. That’s when I got creative.
I had already partially inserted the pin that holds the transmission line in place I took a syringe with an 18 gauge needle, flattened out the tip of the needle with the belt sander (so I didn’t inject myself by accident), and I filled it up with brake fluid. I positioned the line to the transmission so that I could fill it with that syringe to the point where it would overflow. I had no reason to believe there was any air in there other than right at the end from disconnecting it.
Then I positioned everything (with great difficulty) so I could push that line into the cylinder, hopefully without losing a drop of fluid. Yeah, I did that four or five times, but I finally got it.
I zip tied the vacuum pump reservoir to one of the lines under the hood, so it would stay level, and ran the suction line to the clutch reservoir line, and just pumped up vacuum several times. Then I attached the reservoir and filled it, and tapered down the taper end of the vacuum pump nozzle, so it would sit snuggly in the drain hole from the clutch reservoir, and I would pump it up, then pull my pin out, so it would suck fluid in and then repeat, repeat, repeat. After several times, it seemed I had good resistance when I checked it with a screwdriver
Sidenote, when I was working with the clutch reservoir, I had it zip tied to the side of the brake master cylinder. It was very difficult to work the suction tube and pump with it jammed in the corner.
I went under the dash and reconnected everything. Just sitting in the driveway I seems to have a really good clutch pedal, I put it in forward and I put it in reverse, it released easily and it wanted to move. I can do the test drive tomorrow.
Did I mention that the guy who designed this piece of junk should be taken to a far away ugly and uncomfortable place and…..
lol.
