Ram adjustable master cylinder install
11-28-2005, 12:35 AM
#1
Ram adjustable master cylinder install This install was pretty much a pain in the ***. It seemed like every step along the way I had to make some kind of adjustment. I have never bled brakes, a clutch or anything for that matterr. My lack of experience was obviously a drawback. The location of the master cylinder doesn’t make things any easier.
There were a few quirks that I thought I’d share for people that might be doing an install of this particular master cylinder. The first thing that struck me was that it is exactly the same master cylinder as the stock one, except that there was a different connection to the clutch pedal. The difference is that the Ram master is adjustable. The metal end with a hole in it that connects to the clutch pedal inside the car just has a nut that allows different lengths of the rod. It was quite disappointing to see the only difference is that it’s adjustable!
It looks pretty well put together other than the fact that the swivel joint that connects to the clutch is too wide. From my experience, it’s impossible to install this master without grinding the swivel joint to make it thinner. The problem is that the retaining clip won’t fit on the end because joint’s thickness. I had to dremel that thing like crazy to get it to fit. I was able to get the retaining clip on after I ground the swivel joint down a bit. This seemed like a horrible design!
There seems to be a few parts of this install that could use an extra pair of hands. There is one part in particular that I couldn’t do without someone helping. Maybe someone else will have better luck but for me it seemed impossible to line up the u bolt to the holes in the firewall. What I did was have someone from inside the car near the clutch pedal, line up the metal plate (that the two bolts have to go through) with the two holes inside the car and also line up the master cylinder while I was pushing on the u bolt from inside the engine bay. I could line them up myself, but it would never stay in place.
It also would be helpful to know that it’s much easier to have the u bolt installed in the master and THEN attempt to install the master as a whole piece. I couldn’t get the u bolt in after I got the master cylinder connected to the clutch pedal.
I also wasn’t impressed with the rubber tube that connects the master to the reservoir. It’s the same one as the stocker. Apparently one of the drawbacks of our hydraulic based clutches is that they don’t like the heat. Whenever my lines got really hot, my clutch seemed to have more problems than usual. The first time I had my clutch stick to the floor was on a really hot day at the track. What I did to beef up the line was to cut some stainless steel braided line that I had lying around, wrap the new rubber hose with it and then put electrical tape and plastic ties around it to make it stay on. I used several layers of the electrical tape. I hope it holds.
I briefly read through the Buschmans method (http://mywebpages.comcast.net/buschm...utchbleed.html) of clutch bleeding and probably did exactly what he did to pre-bleed the clutch. This is absolutely the most important part of the install. You want your lines to be completely free of air.
I also did the drill mod while I was in there. After reading install university's writeup of the drill mod, I thought the end that connected to the master needed to be drilled out to 1/8". It's not the very end that needs to be drilled out, it's about an inch or so from the end. The restriction is inside the hose about an inch from the master cyl. connection. It's not on the very end like I thought.
Overall this I wouldn’t rank this install as high up on the difficulty meter like a cam install, but it was still a pain. The major drawbacks were having to grind the swivel joint on the end of the master cylinders rod, having to beef up the rubber tube that connects the master and the reservoir and realizing all I bought was an adjustable stocker.
I’m not 100% done the install, I just have to bleed the system as a whole and I’ll be done. I’ve pre-bled so I’m pretty close to being done. Hope this helps anyone that wants to install a Ram adjustable master cylinder.
There were a few quirks that I thought I’d share for people that might be doing an install of this particular master cylinder. The first thing that struck me was that it is exactly the same master cylinder as the stock one, except that there was a different connection to the clutch pedal. The difference is that the Ram master is adjustable. The metal end with a hole in it that connects to the clutch pedal inside the car just has a nut that allows different lengths of the rod. It was quite disappointing to see the only difference is that it’s adjustable!
It looks pretty well put together other than the fact that the swivel joint that connects to the clutch is too wide. From my experience, it’s impossible to install this master without grinding the swivel joint to make it thinner. The problem is that the retaining clip won’t fit on the end because joint’s thickness. I had to dremel that thing like crazy to get it to fit. I was able to get the retaining clip on after I ground the swivel joint down a bit. This seemed like a horrible design!
There seems to be a few parts of this install that could use an extra pair of hands. There is one part in particular that I couldn’t do without someone helping. Maybe someone else will have better luck but for me it seemed impossible to line up the u bolt to the holes in the firewall. What I did was have someone from inside the car near the clutch pedal, line up the metal plate (that the two bolts have to go through) with the two holes inside the car and also line up the master cylinder while I was pushing on the u bolt from inside the engine bay. I could line them up myself, but it would never stay in place.
It also would be helpful to know that it’s much easier to have the u bolt installed in the master and THEN attempt to install the master as a whole piece. I couldn’t get the u bolt in after I got the master cylinder connected to the clutch pedal.
I also wasn’t impressed with the rubber tube that connects the master to the reservoir. It’s the same one as the stocker. Apparently one of the drawbacks of our hydraulic based clutches is that they don’t like the heat. Whenever my lines got really hot, my clutch seemed to have more problems than usual. The first time I had my clutch stick to the floor was on a really hot day at the track. What I did to beef up the line was to cut some stainless steel braided line that I had lying around, wrap the new rubber hose with it and then put electrical tape and plastic ties around it to make it stay on. I used several layers of the electrical tape. I hope it holds.
I briefly read through the Buschmans method (http://mywebpages.comcast.net/buschm...utchbleed.html) of clutch bleeding and probably did exactly what he did to pre-bleed the clutch. This is absolutely the most important part of the install. You want your lines to be completely free of air.
I also did the drill mod while I was in there. After reading install university's writeup of the drill mod, I thought the end that connected to the master needed to be drilled out to 1/8". It's not the very end that needs to be drilled out, it's about an inch or so from the end. The restriction is inside the hose about an inch from the master cyl. connection. It's not on the very end like I thought.
Overall this I wouldn’t rank this install as high up on the difficulty meter like a cam install, but it was still a pain. The major drawbacks were having to grind the swivel joint on the end of the master cylinders rod, having to beef up the rubber tube that connects the master and the reservoir and realizing all I bought was an adjustable stocker.
I’m not 100% done the install, I just have to bleed the system as a whole and I’ll be done. I’ve pre-bled so I’m pretty close to being done. Hope this helps anyone that wants to install a Ram adjustable master cylinder.
