99SilverZ

iTrader: (13)

I am in the middle of doing this mod and having trouble inserting the Wilwood plunger/spring assy. I've cleaned the housing and lubed the plunger and still gets stuck half way in. Any suggestions? Please.

The Alchemist

iTrader: (19)

I have the same issue. The diameter of the mcleod master cylinder isn't 13/16 uniformly, which may be part of the problem. I actually took a micrometer and measured the difference between the mcleod plunger and the wilwood plunger and found there to be a 0.003" difference between them, with the mcleod being on the smaller size.

2KnbmTA

iTrader: (3)

this should be made a sticky if it works for ev1

blackmur

iTrader: (1)

I got my 13/16" Wilwood in the other day. Mine seems to fit fine. The old Mcleod parts looked fin (rubber cup wasn't torn) but the Wilwood is definitely a different design. I also found a bunch of rubber or grease looking crap around my old spring which makes me worry that my problem lies in the throw out cylinder (thoughts anyone?).

I took some pictures and will post them for everyone to see. I plan to bench bleed the setup tonight and get it back in the car. If this doesn't work I may just buy a new LS7 clutch, new flywheel, new slave cylinder and start fresh... I may even have someone install it for me as my patience is getting thin over this problem I've been dealing with for way to long.

Any good shops in central NY recommended?

Thanks

The Alchemist

iTrader: (19)

Blackmur, did you look at the picture of my spring that I posted in reply #40? The crap that was in the bottom of my master cylinder fluid was pretty nasty. I'm in the middle of removing the roll pin to check and see if the drill mod that I paid to have done was actually done. I have a sneeky suspicion that it wasn't done, but we'll know tonight.

I'm wondering what the age of people's Mcleod master cylinder are. Mine is from 2002 if I remember correctly, so I'm wondering if when it was made has an impact on if the wilwood plunger will fit.

Viper

iTrader: (6)

Mine's from 2002 also and both times I rebuilt it (using McLeod's kit) I have no goop. But after this last rebuild I have the soft pedal (3" freeplay) till it warms up. Not fun, tempted to throw my original master back in to see what happens....

blackmur

iTrader: (1)

Alchemist, my contamination didn't look like yours... yours looks like metal filings; mine looked more like black grease or disolving rubber. Attached are the pics of the Wilwood vs. Mcleod (I Photoshoped them to a smaller file size). I thought my Mcleod looked fine but I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the Wilwood is a better design... I'll let you guys know in a day or two.

blackmur

iTrader: (1)

I got the unit installed last night, bench bled it then threw it in the car and bled the slave cylinder a couple of times followed by the Mighty Vac at the master reservoir. Took it for a spin and the pedal seemed to be back to full stroke with a good feel. I still think I need to rebuild my tranny down the road as I have a couple gears (1st to 2nd and 4th to 3rd) that feel notchy at times (probably synchronizers). On my trip into work this morning the clutch felt good again. So far it looks like this modification seems to help. I will need to get a weeks use on it before I'm convinced. I'll report back in a week or two to see how the long range durability/performance holds up.

The Alchemist

iTrader: (19)

Blackmur, did you notice a softer peddle pressure after switching the springs? I'm debating on trying to use the wilwood spring with the Mcleod plugner.

blackmur

iTrader: (1)

If I rated the Mcleod at a peddle pressure of 10 I would put the Wilwood at 7.

blackmur

iTrader: (1)

After reading through this post again I noticed Peppershaker mentioned the following, "Remember you don't want a mirror polished surface inside. The small scratches the hone leaves on the cylinder walls holds a film of brake fluid that helps lubricate the piston and seals."

This is not true for a cylinder that is completly filled with fluid, it is the case for cylinder walls of a combustion chamber that relies on oil splashing for lubrication. Any roughing of the master cylinder wall will cause the rubber seals to break down faster. Take any hydraulic cylinder apart and you will see a very smooth bore.

BTW my Wilwood fix still seems to be working fine...

Thanks

The Alchemist

iTrader: (19)

Well, I tried the wilwood piston again last night and no luck. So I am going to use the wilwood spring with the mcledo piston and see how I like that feel.

If anything, this gave me the opportunity to clean out the master cylinder which was a mess. I'm hoping that alone will help with the lack of dead peddle.

blackmur

iTrader: (1)

A friend of mine that goes to Corvette forums told me that he has read a lot of guys change their fluid every couple of months and there dead pedals have gone away... of course that assumes you start with a good pedal.

blue98Z

iTrader: (29)

I didn't have any fitment problems with the Wilwood on mine. Gonna try to get it on this week and see how it goes. I switched to the stocker for now and after 8 track passes, I don't think the stocker will make it. From what I've been reading on here, I'm gonna like the wilwood kit.

The Alchemist

iTrader: (19)

I really wish the wilwood would have worked. But short of having the mcleod master re-bored, I don't see it working.

kkslds

iTrader: (59)

Pulled my mcleoud apart and cleaned it. Wilwood kit will be here monday. I ordered through jegs and was on back order. Wouldnt have got it for another couple of weeks. Called them and they had it drop shipped straight from wilwood. It'll be here monday now. If anyone is waiting might try that.

blackmur

iTrader: (1)

An update as promised: after a couple of weeks I still have a good feeling clutch... looks like this mod works! Thanks!

Next project is an LS7 Z06 clutch...

kkslds

iTrader: (59)

Installed my wilwood kit today. Just to make sure the only thing I used out of the kit was the plunger and the spring. The Orings and other pieces arent used. Correct? The plunger went in fine. Now just bench bleed and it should be ready to go. Tranny will be done next wed. Another thing the bolt on top that transfers fluid through the line to the slave. When I tightend it the hole wasnt %100 lined up with the line. About half to 3/4 of the hole was lined up. Good enough or does something need to be changed to make it line up perfect?

Hardtop00SS

iTrader: (17)

Bringing this back up


I called J*gs today to try to order it, they said they don't have it in stock and they may not be able to even get it anymore. So I called Wilwood and it's on 2-3 week backorder. I even asked the guy if I should put an order in or call back and he said to call back in 3 weeks. Sucks

Viper

iTrader: (6)

The Alchemist

What did you end up doing?