I replaced all of my previous clutch hydraulics because I couldnt get them bled and ordered a prebled system from GMPartsDirect with new slave, master, and fluid tank. I have installed them and have the same problem, not enough slave cylinder travel to even break the "off white strap" holding the "slave rod" inside the slave cylinder...refer to picture. The pedal is also mushy feeling. The clutch is a brand new Valeo unit from autozone and a new Ram alum flywheel. Could there be something wrong with the clutch that wont allow the slave to move? Thanks for any help, I have spent 3 grand on this car recently replacing all that needed replacing and am dying to drive it again, i really miss it. Brad

 

Here is a slave with the "white plastic piece on it"

 

I'm pretty sure you have to remove the plastic strap from the slave before install, as this is what I did. Just don't pump the clutch pedal until you have the slave bolted down to the bellhousing or you'll blow it.

 

I installed one before and it just streched it and broke it. Oh BTW, you have one of the best looking LT1 T/As out there! Your car is the reason I chose to slam mine, so sexy!

 

if you got a complete slave/mc unit sealed and installed and the plastic strap did not break might check that your clutch fork is engageing the TO bearing correctly, is not bent and the bolt holding it on is tight.

the strap should EASILY break on first pedal push. No harm in cutting it before hand though. you absolutely need the plastic cup on the slave end, strap part can just stay on if they break which they should or you can remove them.

the slave in the pic you posted is not a "complete sealed" unit....so if that was the case you need to bleed the system. most have best luck using a Mighty Vac to do so.

 

Not true, as you don't need the plastic portion. As to the bleeding you are correct and it is probably not bled properly, however a mighty vac ain't gonna do it. Seach as there was a post about this exact same issue 2-3 weeks ago and a guy could not get the mighty vac to do the job. The best method for our cars is to invest in some leather gloves and a buddy. The leather gloves are to keep your hand from getting a hole in it from pumping the **** out of the slave and the buddy is to check the reservior for fluid and bubbles coming out. I'm not gonna lie, it's a biotch but really the only tried and true method without bench bleeding it first. Good luck.

 

No, I bought a prebled unit with slave, master, and resivior. The fork looked fine to me when I had it out. Wanted to replace it cause I changed everything else, but couldnt find one less than 90 bucks. Fork is also on correctly.

 

How would u bench bleed it first?

 

All true^^^^^^^

 

Ok, I think I have found the problem. I have removed the slave cylinder "spacer" but tightened the nuts to the correct spot. The first pic is with the clutch pedal all the way up and the second is with it all the way to the floor. It appears that the fork is to close to the slave causing it to run out of travel too soon. What can cause this? In the past it seems like the fork was flush with the flat part of the trans where the slave mouting studs are.

 

it looks like the clucth fork is not on the throwout bearing. I Have made this mistake before as well!

 

No, it is. I have removed it and reinstalled like 10 times already

 

Here is a pic to show that it is in the correct spot. Here is another without the slave on to show how far out the fork is.

 

This is deffinitley the best and easiest method. I found it relativley easy, leather gloves are a good idea but any kind of glove will do the trick.

 

if we are talking about the plastic cup on end of slave (part the plastic straps are attached to, you do need it. will it work without one...possibly but you would then have metal on metal (slave piston and clutch fork)= bad

it looks like it is on wrong in both pics. try unbolting the trans and slide it back 1/4"-1/2" THEN slide fork on and push tranny forward and bolt in

 

Thanks guys, dont need to bleed anything though. I just need to know how far the fork is supposed to stick out of the trans.

 

Everyone's clutchfork sits in a slightly different position on each car. It depends on what flywheel, friction disk, and pressure plate you've got. For example an old stock flywheel thats been resurfaced a bunch of times is going to be thinner, so itll naturally position the slave end of the fork outwards or closer to the slave. Same thing with an old friction disk, if its got a lot of miles and its worn down, itll be thinner thus also pushing the slave end of the fork closer to the slave. Granted the difference in thickness between a new and a totally worn out friction disk is only about .035", it'll still naturally cause the fork to sit at an ever so slightly different angle.

Since your setups new, the flywheel and friction disk will have a lot of meat on them, so the slave end of your clutch fork will be sitting slightly deeper into the bellhousing than it was before the swap-- and when you push the pedal down it should push even deeper into the bellhousing. This information isn't important though, atleast not for the problem you're having.

Sounds like you've got the clutch fork all the way engaged on the throwout bearing for 3 reasons. One, your slave cylinder didn't explode when you pushed the pedal to the floor. Two, you were able to push the pedal to the floor. Three, the little cup on the fork is centered exactly between the two studs for the slave cylinder.

The only real problem you've mentioned is that the pedal feels mushy. Does the car drive alright (meaning does the clutch engage and disengage normally)? If it does than there might not be anything wrong, that new pressure plate might be a little different from your old one and feel softer. If the cars not driving right than I think you've got issues with the clutch itself, not the hydraulics.

 

idk mine sat flush with the bellhousing. im positive it did not look like that. when I installed it, I was POSITIVE it was on the bearing, but it was not. I would take a look into that

 

Dude, trust me, there is no way you can put the fork on different. The is only one section it can slide onto. How you tell if a fork is on is if its centered between the 2 slave mouting studs...notice how I have included a pic from strait ahead to show this.

The car does not drive at all. I cant get the clutch to disengage enough to put it into anygear except by jamming it into first and then the clutch drags the whole time. I cant get it into reverse at all.

 

**** your clutch definitely isn't disengaging all the way. Not sure exactly where you should go from here but if I were you I'd look into getting your hands on another pre-bled hydraulic assembly-- there is a very small possibility yours has an internal leak or something. Maybe they'll let you exchange it for another one, who knows.

If that doesn't work out then I guess I'd resort to pulling the tranny out again. Take a look at everything, including the throwout bearing and the diaphram on the pressure plate.

LT1 clutches are pretty much idiot proof compared to LS1 clutches, but its also very frustrating to have to remove the tranny to be able to closely inspect everything.