abide70

I've recently installed a 4 speed muncie with a lakewood bell hays flywheel,and 11" diaphragm street clutch.When i hooked the hydraulic clutch up and bled the system the slave cylinder rod only moves a 1/2".Which is no where near releasing the clutch.I tried adjusting the ball stud but still after many efforts only get a 1/2" of movement.How much should this push rod travel? the clutch master is a used piece but the slave is new.whith the clutch pedal to the floor the slave does not bleed of any,which i would think rules out the master cyl??? Has anyone else had this problem,what should i try?? Thanks, Joe

sofakingdom

iTrader: (1)

½" is about right. Actually it's usually closer to 5/8", but that's not all that much different.

That should be plenty of motion in the push rod. Something else is wrong.

Why it is that people instantly blame the hydraulics in these cars for every problem they have with these clutches, is something I don't fully understand. They're just as reliable and predictable as your brakes. IMO it's a helluvalot better system than the old stupid Stone Age bell-crank mecahnism that it replaced, where the act of pushing the clutch tries to move the body around on the frame (in frame cars) and tries to move the engine on its mounts. After a decade or more of driving 4-speed cars and HATING that linkage in every one of them, I changed out the linkage to hydraulics in my car back in about 85 or 86 after the first time I drove a 84 car that had them, and realized how much better it was.

I'd suggest leaving the whole hydraulic thing behind for the moment, since it sounds like it's doing exactly as it should; and instead, troubleshoot the clutch.

Sounds to me like maybe you have the throwout installed on the fork wrong; with the 2 little spring ears "clipped" onto the throwout such that they're outside the big groove in the throwout, instead of totally inside the groove like they belong.

Pat Hall

iTrader: (31)

Sofakingdom's suggestion makes sense. Another thing to check is that your throwout bearing is the correct height. They make several different heights depending on the application. I accidentally put a three speed thowout bearing in my four speed muncie/hays diaphragm setup quite a few years ago, and it was way too tall to allow the clutch to operate properly, which was actually the opposite of your problem. If you're running a lakewood bellhousing with the block plate, your throwout might be a little too short. Maybe you should check and see if lakewood recommends a specific one for use with that bellhousing?