Master Cylinder Wont Empty Clutch Fluid

Ban306

Active Member
Hi all, I decided to go for a run in the 2000 but couldn't even get the car off the driveway
as it had hardly any clutch and when I did mange to get it into gear I nearly shot through the garage door :oops:
lucky the cat was out of the way.

On inspection the Slave Cylinder was leaking fluid out of the Rubber I tried bleeding it but it was still leaking.
I ordered a brand new one and went to fit it, the old one was full of water and fluid and rust no wonder it was not working.

But I now have a second problem with the master cylinder bowl it wont empty the fluid
I have tried putting a thin rod where the pipe connects and going in and out but nothing so I am going to have to remove it
Unless someone can suggest something maybe theirs a bit of rubbish in there.

There are two bolts that I can undo and as I pulled the master out there is a rubber on the rear do I just take off the rubber
and is there a clip holding it on I am not to sure how you remove the master.

Any help most welcome Thank you
 
You’ll need to disconnect the pushrod from the pedal trunnion under the dash. Look up at the top of the pedal while lying on the drivers side floor. You’ll see a locknut. Undo and remove that completely. Next use a flat head screwdriver to wide the pushrod all the way into the trunnion until it disengages. You should be able to to remove the master cylinder now.
 
Not such good news I got the nut off and had a look at the threaded part with the cut in it for a screw driver looks like someone has been in here before, its seized solid and the gap where the screwdriver enters looks like someone has tried before, also as soon as I tried to undo it one side of it snapped open, I cant see away to get it off apart from cutting the clutch peddle?

Some good news though the bowl suddenly emptied its self so I fitted the new slave cylinder and bled the system theres no air in the system
but for some reason I am still not getting a clutch its soft, I have stopped for tea now going to get back on it later on
I was thinking I did not push the piston right in when beading maybe that's the reason I completely forgot
 
Ok so had another go with bleeding the clutch I have a bit of clutch now but not enough to get into gear and get to the pub on a Friday night :)
I cant see any air bubbles in the pipe
But I am not sure if I have the lock arm fully in, I have a screw driver to pull it in but do you guys know of a better way to lock the arm right into the slave ?
 
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OK, just to be sure check the push rod for evidence of a brake fluid leak. If the seals are bad there too you'll have trouble bleeding it. Fingers crossed you're fine and you don't have to battle the push rod to remove it.

The slave is a bit of a bugger to bleed on these cars. In the past I have removed one bolt and rotated the slave cylinder so the bleed nipple is pointing up. Assuming you haven't changed the length of the pushrod for the slave cylinder you should be ok.
 
Hi Sdippers Thank you yes I checked the push rod and all ok
I have checked all the pipe joints and there all tight no air leaks I dont think
If I have to remove the push rod that is going to be a nightmare or a job

I haven't changed the push rod length and looking at the rust on it I think I will have a hard job to wind it in or out
I have tried again to bleed the system but I was very disappointed I have used so far over a pint of fluid and it looks like
all the air bubbles have gone but still there is not enough clutch to get into gear,
I am at a loss now the only thing I can think of doing is trying your way or a reverse bleed do you know if I do a reverse bleed do I still need to push in the slave piston ? when doing the reverse bleed
 
Hi, Master cylinder pushrod seized? Try putting two nuts on and locking them together, then spray releasing fluid and ease them backwards and forwards until they're free turning enough that it can be coaxed out.

Colin
 
That is a Excellent idea :) Thank you Colin I will give that a go
I was hoping that I could just get away with changing the Slave cylinder but even though I have bleed the system
I still am not getting much of a Clutch
 
Ok so I had a good bash at getting the master slave cylinder push rod to turn at the clutch peddle
I tried using two nuts and locking them together but there is just not enough thread to attach two nuts.
On close inspection it looks like maybe some fluid or water has run down the rod and seized it to the what looks like a small bell housing on the clutch peddle there is a small line of rust around the the thread , even if I unbolt the peddles I cant see a way of freeing it up.
not much room down there at all and as for using a welder / blow torch on it there is just to much rubber sealant and carpet about.
What would happen if I turned the Master Cylinder up in the engine bay would that in turn put pressure on the rod to turn down by the foot peddle?
Or is there a magic way to release the bell part that the push rod runs through at the clutch so I can leave the clutch peddle in place not to sure what way to proceed with it :oops:
 
Spray the trunnion that the pushrod goes through with penetrating oil, then get a pair of molegrips with good teeth and clamp those as tight as you can onto the pushrod between the pedal and the cylinder. (There should be space to get on there with the pedal at rest, although I've never had to do it). Then gradually try to work the pushrod backwards and forwards.
 
Hervey, Thank you so much and to Colin for all your help, I have just removed it :)
It was slow progress as less then a quarter of a turn at a time with the room available for mole grips I must invest in smaller ones
Excellent its easy when you know how ;)
 
So I have the Master Cylinder now off and when I emptied the bowl it was full of black stuff looks like oil I cant understand how that has got in there.
The last seal right next to the spring is also split so I guess that was not helping me, also when looking at the bore at the top is a slight ring of muck and rust not much, but the rest of the bore is fine, am I best to just get a new one or service this one if I do keep it I wonder what to clean it out with some gunk maybe ? is it normal to have that small lip of rust at the top maybe its so far up its not effecting it I am not sure.
 
The black is the seals disintegrating into the fluid. I would be inclined to get the bore sleeved in stainless and rebuild with a new seal kit.
 
ahh I did not know you could do that Perfect it would be nice to keep the original the new one they make, the look of it is not quite the same
Thank you I will look for a company and get a price :)
 
Thank you so much I will give them a call Clutch master cylinder-S3 - Paddock Spares
I know this might seem a stupid question but its been bugging me if you bought a land rover master clutch cylinder and it only had
a slightly bigger bore size and if it fitted would it not give you a better clutch as there would be more fluid ?
 
It would travel further at the slave for any given pedal movement, but the pedal effort required would be greater.
 
Could it cause the Slave to leak due to more fluid, So If the clutch master cylinder was only slightly bigger you would notice a construable difference
I wonder if anyone else has tried having ago fitting one of these £12.64 dodge lol :p
 
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