89 Clutch ?

Ironsam63

Registered User
I put a new clutch in the 89 about 6 months ago. Working great but about a week ago I'm noticing that 3/4 of the pedal is useless and the clutch doesn't disengage until the pedal is about 2 inches from the floor. And engaging is only 1 inch above that. So I'm only using about 2 inches of motion to engage and disengage my clutch at the bottom of the floor. It's not slipping or nothing but it used to be in the middle of the pedal with more than 1 inch of motion. Is this common or problem? Is the clutch just "breaking in" ? Thanks...Sam
 
Now the clutch will not disengage at all and the pedal is very soft. When Itry to start the car the car will actually move if its in gear with my foot pressing the clutch. Any ideas........Sam
 
How much fluid is in the clutch master cylinder resevior? My guess is close to zero. My guess is also that you either had the bleeder back out, or the slave cylinder line came loose.
 
Fluid

Yeah, check clutch master cyl resivior level probaly low. Then check for fluid in bellhousing/on ground to see if the slave is leaking.
MikeH
 
Thanks Guys, I filled it up and the clutch pedal was like new. It's been about 10 days and fluid is down only an 1/8 of an inch, so it's not a big leak. I checked everywhere (resevior,clutch pedal inside and out ,hose, fittings and line to the trans and fitting to trans.) and no fluid anywhere. I even took off the rubber boot to see my clutch and nothing. Can you tell me where the bleeder valve is? Can the slave cylinder leak inside the trans were I wouldn't see fluid leaking? Also, is there a "write up" on changing the slave cyl.? Cause I can't think of anything else it could be leaking from.
 
Bleeder is down by the location where the hydraulic line attaches to the transmission. I'd get under the car and clean off everything under there and around the bell housing. Then drive the car and see if you see any fluid there after driving. Fluid leaking in the bell housing will get onto the clutch disk and eventually cause it to slip.
 
Could be it was low in the first place. If you have air in the sytem (likely if you changed the slave cylinder) the SC clutch system is self bleeding which means that air in the slave cylinder will eventually work its way up to the reservoir in the form of a bubble which will then cause it to be low. But if you did not change the slave cylinder and it is leaking then you might as well change it now. It doesn't take much fluid to turn everything inside the bellhousing into a huge greasy mess and ruin your clutch. If there is enough dust etc. in the bellhousing it will act like oil-dry and absorb the fluid meaning that it may not even drip on the ground.
 
just had same thing happen to me about 5 months ago. i refilled the res a few times over about 2-5k miles then the slave went out completely. they dont cost much but require dropping the tranny. when dropping the tranny a lil hint here, disconnect the drive shaft from the rear end. remove the 4 blots holding the pumpkin in place and you can finagle the pumpkin out of the way enough to remove the drive shaft from the tranny. make sure to have a tail shaft plug or you'll have to put more fluid it. if you need more fluid ford calls for mercon5 but theres better stuff you can use. i cant recall the other fluids off hand but you can find them in the search engine.
1 more lil hint, when removing the clutch hyd line from the old slave use a micro flat head screw driver or any object very fine and clean and push the plastic ring in toward the tranny then pull out the line at same time. gl and make sure you have some beer on hand.

btw the bleeder is the nut about 2 inches away from the clutch hyd line. i think it was like a 13mm or 14mm nut. both located on the drivers side aft end of the bell housing. and yes most times the leak will get sucked up from all the dust in there causing massive sludge build up. once the slave goes out altogether is about the only time you'll be able to see it leaking. so also keep in mind to have some engine degunk, puddy knife and lots of paper towels on hand.
 
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Thanks guys.The slave cyl. is behind the plastic cap with the spring in it that I replaced when I changed the clutch right? Is there any tricks to getting the slave cyl. out? I know all about dropping the trans. thanks again...Sam.
 
Thanks guys.The slave cyl. is behind the plastic cap with the spring in it that I replaced when I changed the clutch right? Is there any tricks to getting the slave cyl. out? I know all about dropping the trans. thanks again...Sam.

The slave cylinder is bolted to the front cover of the transmission. What you describe may have just been the throw-out bearing assembly. There are just four bolts that hold it to the transmission. Once you have the trans out, you may just need to clean up inside the bell housing to find where the heads of the bolts are.
 
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