6 - Clutch ( Chris Burdo,  June 7, 2005 )

6.1 - Clutch Bleeding ( Gerard Peters,  July 31, 1998 )

From Gerard Peters, July 31,1998:

A tip for you on bleeding the clutch line. Disconnect the
cylinder plunger from the clutch lever attaching point on
the side of the bell housing.

CAREFULLY push the clutch in a few times to build pressure at
the slave cylinder. If you push too hard you will pop out the
retaining C ring holding all the parts together.

This is a two man bleeding operation that will push ALL of the
air out of the system. Don't let your master reservoir get too low.
Bleed as you would bleed brakes but use your hand on the pedal
to eliminate excess line pressure. You will be bottoming out the
slave on each bleed and excess pressure will pop that ring. Take your
time and enjoy an air free clutch. Pump, pump, pump, hold....
open the nipple, push pedal smoothly down with your hand,
close nipple before releasing pedal, repeat 4 or 5 times. 

6.1.1 - Clutch Bleeding Problem & Solution ( rwacek,  April 12, 2005 )

Short story to tell. I noticed both my clutch and brake master cylinders were leaking drops onto the carpet. I had them both sleeved in brass in '94 so I knew that they just needed new rubber. I did the clutch first. Quite simple really. Honed out the cylinder slightly to get rid of the scum on it. Put it back together, bled it profusely. Pedal went to the floor with no resistance. Bled it some more. Still no luck. So I jacked up the right front so I could check the movement of the slave. Moved a little but not as much as it should. I figured I would remove the slave because maybe just coincidently the added pressure from the master blew past the rubber seals in the slave. But before I did that I thought I would try bleeding the clutch master one more time. Sure enough a big glob of air was expelled. So, jacking up the right front positioned that air bubble so it could then be expelled. The truth is stranger than fiction.

6.2 - Hard Clutch Pedal Issue ( Various Members,  May 18, 2005 )

Henk Hendriks asked on May 18, 2005

Recently, the clutch pedal of my '67 S-type is becoming increasingly
difficult to depress. It now is really hard work to depress it. Once I
have succeeded in that, I can change gears without any problem. So the
clutch seems to work OK but perhaps the hydraulics are not.
After depressing the pedal a few times when the car is stationary, it
becomes impossible to get it down. After a few seconds I can get it to
go down again.

Can anyone point me in the direction of a solution?

Replies:

From Alan L on May 19, 2005:

Try checking for an internally collapsed hose. Happened to me.

From pajtas on May 19,2005

And take off the slave cyl, it might be rusty inside.

From Peter Smith on May 18,2005

You could narrow your search for the problem by unbolting the slave
cylinder from the transmission housing and pressing on the pedal.
If it is still stiff you know the problem in the hydraulics and not
in the clutch arm, throw out bearing, etc.
If it is easy to push the pedal then you know the opposite.
In either case you are going to expel the push rod from the slave
cylinder and loose a bunch of clutch fluid, but you were going to
end up changing the fluid in any case and you should be able to
find the push rod somewhere on your garage floor.

From JohnH on May 19, 2005

I would take a close look at the flexable hose. I should be at the back
of the engine valley. They have a record of perishing internally and
blocking or slowing down the flow of fluid. Keep at it, you will get it.