Newb post - remove clutch line from slave
 

Hey all. New Ranger owner here. Well ok, not new. We just sold our 1986 Ranger with about 300K miles on it that we've been driving for about 20 years. Just bought a 2001 Ranger v6 3L 2wd Edge.

There are a couple problems with the truck (which is why I got it cheap) including the clutch pedal being kinda soft and having to force it into gear.

I'm trying to figure out, is there a way to get the clutch line off the tranny without that special tool from Ford? I hate shelling out $15 bucks for a tool I'll probably use 1 time in my entire life when I have a whole shop full of other doohickies sitting there already.


Anyway.. Great looking forum here. I'm sure I'll have hours of reading ahead of me to see just what this little truck can do :)

http://img62.imageshack.us/img62/7892/img3079d.jpg

First of all, welcome to the forum. :smileford:

As for the spongy clutch, I'd try bleeding it first before trying to remove the line from the slave but if you insist on separating it anyway, use the money you saved getting the great deal on the purchase price of the truck and just get a quality version of the right little lever tool.

For your time and for the risk of ruining the coupler with a cheap, flimsy tool it's just better to suck it up and do it right. That is, unless of course you love wasting your time cussing, cursing, and skinning your knuckles and having crap fall in your eyes :ouch: Good luck.

Darn, I was hoping there was some "trick" to it that I didn't know about. Guess I'll pony up and get the tool.

My thought was to remove the line just to see if the spongy feeling was in the master area or in the slave. Perhaps a stop at napa on the way home for some brake fluid and the tool would be the best plan.

you can use needle nose pliers if your carful. but i suggest you get the tool, it was like $8 and some change at napa. you push the white collar in, then the whole thing comes out.

Just beware of buying the really flimsy cheap "fork" tools as they are useless and a waste of money (most new slave kits and full clutch kits come with the flimsy tool included free). If your hose coupling hasn't been molested before you can probably get the flimsy tool to work but a stiff forged little tool is the slick ticket.

Hey, also make sure you're getting full clutch pedal travel (when the pedal is "up" all the way the little push rod needs some free play into the master cylinder piston plunger) so that the master cylinder can purge also and capture all the fluid it needs for a full stroke.

Hopefully all you have is some air in the system and purging will restore your clutch performance. Best of luck.

That's what I'm hoping for! I'm not really a mechanic, so if it's something more serious I'm gonna either have to bribe my friend with a steak dinner or take it to a mechanic. I'm not sure which one is more expensive >:)

OK, snuck out of work and bought the napa tool ($9) and some DOT3 brake fluid. Let the fun and games begin.

OK, bought the tool and some DOT3 brake fluid.

I did the best I could bleeding within my time constraints this evening and all the while a 2.5 year old was messing around in the cab and in the garage. Not an easy task.

Anyway. There seems to be a notable improvement. Not such a fight to get it in gear. Not what I'd call silky smooth either, but better none-the-less. Perhaps I got "some" of the bubbles out.


2 concerns:

1: When I disconnected the line from the slave cylinder, the disconnect leaked fluid. Like 1 or 2 drips per second. If I pushed on the clutch pedal, it squirted fluid. (No notable resistance when pushing in the clutch pedal.) I was under the assumption that this was supposed to be sealed when disconnected. Is this broken?

2: The bleeder valve sticking out of the tranny was very wiggly. I didn't expect this, and don't know if that is normal or not. Opinions?

1. There is no check valve or such on that line that I'm aware of. It should flow fluid both ways. If is is disconnected it had better leak or something's plugged. If you don't cap it it should eventually drain out all the fluid from the reservoir and master cylinder.

2. Bleeder screw should not be "wiggly" when it's closed tight. When you loosen it while bleeding it can be "wiggly" depending upon how much it's unscrewed. The entire assembly has some movement to it due to clearances on the trans input snout. Usually only 1/2 turn loose on the bleeder screw is needed while under pressure to vent the air from the slave.

Yeah I meant the assembly felt a little wiggly, not just the bleeder screw. Like I could grab the bleeder screw and whatever it's attached to would move a little. I dunno, probably me just being cautious.

when i disconected mine i could not push my clutch in because when its not conected, fluid should not flow. someone can correct me if im wrong but i believe when you disconect it it should not let fluid flow.

^^ That's correct , there is a check valve in the end of the line to prevent fluid loss when it's disconnected.

there is a check valve but they sometimes don't hold i had to hit mine against the frame to get it to close, and don't press the pedal while the line is disconnected my friend did it on my truck and it broke the plastic clip that attaches it to the clutch pedal.

Slaves can leak slowly and collect in the rubber that covers the unit. The two OEM ones that I have done did that exact same thing....bleeding helped, but prepare for a doing a clutch job soon. I kept adding fluid not realizing it was just collecting in that boot, then one day no more clutch. Better to plan on doing it when it is conveinent for you.


Don't worry, you get real good at them with the crappy slaves.....Mine go about every 60-75k, but on the bright side I can do the clutch job in about 4-5hrs now!

Well that sucked. I bled the lines last night and I took it out for a drive. Seemed to be working better.

This morning it didn't seem as good as last night, and by the drive home after work tonight it was back to it's old games of being difficult to get into gear.

Slave you think still?

You got it!

SHould I worry about getting the replacement bearing with it, or is that probably OK? Just trying to save a few 10's of bucks if I can :)

All the slaves that I have bought came with the bearing already on it. I *Think* the Raybestos one has a pretty good track record, and it does come with the bearing.

Well, the transmission is on the garage floor. Tomorrow: Putting it all back together.


Those 2 freaking bolts on the very top of the transmission were a PAIN PAIN PAIN.

Well, I'm holding judgement for a couple of days. But first impressions are good. Got everything back together and took it around the block a few times.

People must have thought I was drunk or stupid the way I was driving.. 1st, 2nd, 1st, stop. Reverse, 1st, 2nd... hehe

Good for you! So, did you see any leaking around the boot area of your old slave/throwout bearing set-up or any other obvious problems?

Actually no. I was expecting something of an "AHA!" moment, but there was nothing obvious (to a totally untrained eye like mine.)

I did notice tonight on the way back from my meeting that I think I didn't get the exhaust sealed up properly. I hear a little too much "puttering" when I step on the gas.

Did the slave have a rubber boot on it? I've had ones that did, and after cutting open the boot and having brake fluid dump out, I had the "Ah-ha" moment!

The one I replaced had a boot. I didn't cut it open, but I fiddled with it, and it seemed dry inside <shrug>