Hi, I'm inquiring again for my dad. He has a 1964 E-Type Series One 3.8.


Here is his issue:


"After replacing the leaking seal in the clutch slave cylinder and while bleeding the system, the clutch pedal would only travel half way to the floor and came to a hard stop each time I expelled air from the system. A couple of times during the bleeding process, the clutch pedal did travel smoothly to the floor. Not after I had bled the system however. Has anyone experiences this? I plan to replace the cylinder but don't think this is the entire problem."

 

I'm not an E-type authority....I've just dabbled in E-type repairs.... but my guess is that the clutch master cylinder has developed a fault.

Has anything else been replaced? Some of the replacement clutch parts have changed over the years and compatability problems can arise when mixing old with new. For example, I recently was working on an E-type where the PM neglected to install the clutch cylinder mounting spacer....required with the later design part.

Hopefully someone with more experience will chime in

Cheers
DD

 

Did all work well, except for the leak in the slave cylinder before you replaced the seal?

If so, check that the hoses to the slave cylinder are not collapsed or otherwise kinked somewhere. If all worked well prior to you replacing the seal, I would suspect the hoses, or binding in the slave cylinder itself.

 

Doug - nothing else has been replaced.


gatekeeper - yes, all worked well. Checked hoses and slave cylinder. No problems.


Thank you both for your ideas.

 

It sounds like something is mechanically binding....The m/c is likely to be binding internally (as previously mentioned)...
The other thing to take a look at , is the pedal arm itself...It is possible that something in the pedal box is preventing the pedal from going to its full extent.
Edward

 

I haven't had a chance to ask my dad about the pedal box question from Mr. Barry, but my dad has an additional comment.


"While replacing the clutch slave seal, is it likely that I might have jarred something loose in the bell housing that is preventing full clutch/pedal travel after bleeding? The master cylinder was replaced in 2010."

 

The only things that could come loose, would be a retainer for the throw-out bearing, or the nut for the pivot bolt....I doubt if that is what is going on in there....You have an "inspection" (advance mark), port on the bottom of the bell housing....Might be enough room to slide a small telescoping magnet in there , and see if it catches anything loose...
Personally , I don't think that's your problem ...
If you can get under the car , with someone pressing the clutch pedal, see if you can measure the travel of the slave push rod...Mark the start point, at the boot, (with a black sharpie), and measure how far it comes out ....There isn't a lot of extension...
You can look up the correct amount.
Edward

 

If the car hasn't been driven in a while, perhaps the clutch disk has frozen to both the flywheel and the clutch cover. You may not be able to exert enough hydraulic pressure to break this tensile force.

Richard Gray
Fernandina Beach, FL 32034

 

Thank you to all. My dad will install a new slave cylinder and see what happens. From there he will refer to all your input. Your replies are very much appreciated.

 

This is likely to be the problem. Air lock in MC, push pedal down and piston sticks and doesn't come back.
Solution is to pressure bleed the system. Once the master cylinder is full of fluid again it will work.

 

Per my dad, in response to abowie/Mr.Barry, "This sage advise may be the answer to the problem."


Thank you all.