Clutch issue AGAIN (Page 1/2)
katie80 MAR 07, 06:16 PM
I have an 84 with the Muncie m19 4 speed. I had some clutch issues a couple months ago and fixed them (the master was leaking).

I was driving the other day and I tried to turn around in the street and it was hard to put in first and crunched when I put it in reverse. the clutch wasn't fully disengaging. I later went to drive again and the clutch pedal wouldn't go down but then popped and started going down again. I thought it was the master cylinder again since I didn't trust the part I got and there was old fluid on the carpet still, but the replacement has the same issue. there's about 3/4" of rod travel. nothing seems like it's flexing or cracked.

what could my issue be? it was working great before this. the pedal feels solid all the way through and I bled the system properly.
Gall757 MAR 07, 06:29 PM
rod travel at the slave cylinder should be 1" or more....so there is still air in the system.
katie80 MAR 07, 06:36 PM

quote
Originally posted by Gall757:

rod travel at the slave cylinder should be 1" or more....so there is still air in the system.



I guess I'll try bleeding it again. I'm just worried something like the pressure plate or the TO bearing arm is broken and stuck. the issue wasn't getting worse as I drove it. it stayed the same through my last drive.
katie80 MAR 07, 07:33 PM

quote
Originally posted by Gall757:

rod travel at the slave cylinder should be 1" or more....so there is still air in the system.



I bled the system again there is no air. the pedal feels like it's working all the way through the stroke. the slave still only travels about 3/4". any idea what the pop I described was? the pedal was stiff and then made a clunk and came unstuck. what could this be?
katie80 MAR 07, 08:00 PM
whatever it was that stuck bent the pedal. it's not terribly bent and it's too cold for me to want to take the pedal out. It's not terrible and it's probably time to start getting upgrade parts instead of replacement parts to make up for 80s GM cost-cutting. gonna buy an adjustable banjo.
Patrick MAR 07, 08:14 PM

quote
Originally posted by katie80:

whatever it was that stuck bent the pedal... gonna buy an adjustable banjo.



Rodney's clutch masters come with one... just for future reference.


quote
Originally posted by katie80 Here:

I sorted it all out. the master was leaking and also full of metal? I had to swap the pushrod because the master I bought had the wrong size hole and when I took the boot off there was a metallic fluid under it. not sure how that happened.



Skybax MAR 07, 08:41 PM
Suggestions...

1. Due to age of vehicle, when you have a bad/leaking clutch master its wise to replace BOTH master and slave at the same time.

2. Its also wise to use proven high quality parts (i.e. Rodney Dickman) as opposed to low quality parts from the parts store.

3. Triple check to make sure you get the correct clutch master cylinder and banjo from Rodney (same as your original).
Special Note: If you bought a new master from parts store it might be wrong in several ways and reducing your throw.

4. Make sure the clutch arm that the slave cylinder pushes onto moves freely throughout the entire range of travel.

5. Physics fact, a Muncie 4-speed slave has 1" travel while the Getrag 5-speed slave has 0.75" travel (when they are both properly working as designed).
Special Note: This is why Getrag hydraulics are even more critical, less room for error, and why you often see Getrag's needing clutches with lower miles.

6. Inspect your clutch pedal to make sure it isn't bent.

[This message has been edited by Skybax (edited 03-07-2022).]

katie80 MAR 07, 09:21 PM

quote
Originally posted by Skybax:

Suggestions...

1. Due to age of vehicle, when you have a bad/leaking clutch master its wise to replace BOTH master and slave at the same time.

2. Its also wise to use proven high quality parts (i.e. Rodney Dickman) as opposed to low quality parts from the parts store.

3. Triple check to make sure you get the correct clutch master cylinder and banjo from Rodney (same as your original).
Special Note: If you bought a new master from parts store it might be wrong in several ways and reducing your throw.

4. Make sure the clutch arm that the slave cylinder pushes onto moves freely throughout the entire range of travel.

5. Physics fact, a Muncie 4-speed slave has 1" travel while the Getrag 5-speed slave has 0.75" travel (when they are both properly working as designed).
Special Note: This is why Getrag hydraulics are even more critical, less room for error, and why you often see Getrag's needing clutches with lower miles.

6. Inspect your clutch pedal to make sure it isn't bent.




I'm beginning to realize store bought parts don't work. everything moves fine, when I was looking at the pedal I noticed the pedal doesn't sit all the way in its resting spot and the pedal is the same height as the brake. I already replaced the slave cylinder but it wasn't the issue before so I have a spare. fingers crossed with the adjustable banjo.
fierofool MAR 08, 07:32 AM
Katie, check that the banjo rod is oriented as in Patrick's photos. If it's turned with the curl downward, the pedal will sit low and you won't get enough travel.
katie80 MAR 08, 12:52 PM

quote
Originally posted by fierofool:

Katie, check that the banjo rod is oriented as in Patrick's photos. If it's turned with the curl downward, the pedal will sit low and you won't get enough travel.



I already dealt with that. when I replaced my clutch, I found that the previous owner had installed the banjo upside down. the clutch must've been so worn to the point where that wasn't an issue. the pedal is actually bent in such a way that turning the banjo the wrong way actually makes it disengage more than the right way.