Changing clutch master cylinder - peace of cake?

[TRnorwegian]

I have detected hydraulic fluid leakage (not sure exactly where however). Since the car was sold with a new spare clutch master cylinder in the trunk, my guess is the previous owner detected a problem but never got around to changing it.

I'll therefore try to change it this week, bleed the system and test how it all works.

I'm not the most experienced mechanic, so even though this seems straight forward on paper, I fear running into probs in reality. For instance, how difficult is it to reach the nuts and washers above the pedal area? Do these parts come off without too much effort?

 

[TR4A_IRS]

On which TR is this being replaced? Access is pretty easy on the TR4-6, but I think access is a little more difficult on the earlier cars. The mechanical replacement is easy, but you should understand how to bench bleed the MC before you get started. Do you know how to do that?

 

[TRnorwegian]

On which TR is this being replaced? Access is pretty easy on the TR4-6, but I think access is a little more difficult on the earlier cars. The mechanical replacement is easy, but you should understand how to bench bleed the MC before you get started. Do you know how to do that?

I'm sorry I forgot to say this is a TR6 from 1973.
I haven't got the faintest idea how to bench bleed th MC (meaning master cylinder?). I thought it would be sufficient to bleed the slave cylinder.

 

[mrv8q]

TRN, I had a little thread on this subject, "TR6 clutch line Q", starting back on 1.31.09. I did not bench bleed the M/C, and had no problems.....

 

[RonMacPherson]

Anders(?),

No need to bench bleed the clutch master. It is a straight one way cup and boot.

Now, make sure you acquire a hydraulic line wrench when removing the hard line. Keeps from stripping the nut.

On the underside, the pedals, you crawl under and you will probably find the leak, if there is fluid dripping down the pedal shaft.

The pedal linkage is held on with a cotterpin, so you can undo it there. Might be a good time to examine the hole in the pedal and if necessary drill and rebush.

For me, I have found that I can pull the boot on the cylinder back, and using pliers squeeze the retaining ring and it releases the cup holding the shaft in and I just install the new one in situ. However, if you are doing this the first time.

Mop all the fluid up out of the cylinder, remove the line, remove the mounting bolts, remove the retaining clip on the pedal linkage, extract the cylinder. Reinstall the new cylinder, hook up, bleeed.

Might want to reassure yourself that the slave cylinder has the bleed screw facing up and is mounted on the brace closer to the trans rather than the engine. May want to consider replacing the plastic cylinder connecting hose now or in the near future.

 

[TR4A_IRS]

No need to bench bleed the clutch master. It is a straight one way cup and boot.

While I suppose technically bench bleeding is not necessary, I believe it is a good practice. It isn't hard.

There are lots of instructions out there, and I found this one with a quick search.

Bench Bleeding

 

[GreenOne]

Make sure you thoroughly protect the area under the master cylinder before you remove the master and while you refill the new unit. The fluid is a wonderful paint remover !!!

 

[TRnorwegian]

Thanks for your threads and advice. Hopefully back in business by the end of the week. I'll post you the report.

 

[TRnorwegian]

Hi there,

Pleased to say the operation went A OK, and the patient is on the way to full recovery. Thanks for all good advices. As far as I can tell, bleeding the system was a success, everything is working fine, even though the clutch pedal operates with it's previous macho pedal pressure. I suppose I'll find a softer kit in the future when it's time to change clutch.

Furthermore, the noise from the drive train has not disappeared, so I'll have to dig deeper to find the source. Seems to be coming from the gear box, when accellerating. Can best be described as a grinding/ scraping sound.
The meter is displaying only 7000 miles, and I ask myself what the actual mileage really is. This 73-model had driven only 10 years when put away in a barn in 1983, where it sat for 22 years before reappearing with some rust issues in 2005, displaying 6000 miles on the meter. Is it realistic that it drove 6000 or 106000 between 73 and 83?

 

[martx-5]

Hey, nice pants!

Glad everything went OK. Nice job.

As far as the mileage goes, 106,000 in ten years is not out of the question...that's only 10k/year. I've owned TRs as daily drivers and put on more miles then that per year.

 

[TRnorwegian]

Hey, nice pants!

As far as the mileage goes, 106,000 in ten years is not out of the question...that's only 10k/year. I've owned TRs as daily drivers and put on more miles then that per year.

What clues regarding mileage should I look for? Cylinder compression? Pedal rubber wearage? Since the car has been "rebuilt" /restored, some clues will have vanished.

The car used to run near Niagara Falls, and considering that climate 10k/ year is perhaps more than normal during the seventies.