Technical HOW TO RUIN A NICE SATURDAY

Step one: On Friday, fill the reservoir on the firewall that feeds the clutch master cylinder.

Step two: (and this is an important one) pump the clutch pedal lightly to pressurize the $430 McLeod T/O bearing to bleed the air out of the upper line.

Step three: Notice the growing puddle of fluid growing under the car and source it to the bell housing cover.

Step four: (the only fun part) drink until you stop thinking about all of the work you are about to have to.

Step five: Wake up Saturday with a slight hang over and tear the car apart that you just spent months re-assembling after paint. Be grateful that you engineered the car to be serviced for just such an occasion.

Step six: Take pictures to share with your friends. (or it didn't happen)


This is a painful process. Down periscope!

Empty engine room, but I didn't have to remove to the front sheet metal due to my bolt in motor and tranny mounts.

This really, really sucks ass

Houston, we have separation.

Pretty aint it? If it just didn't leak! I called McLeod and they think it sat around too long before I bled it. Basically, I take too long to build a car which may be the case.

I read a post on line that said the unit was "aircraft quality", anyone have a 5 speed Cessna that needs a TO bearing?

Now, anyone know how to pressurize this thing outside the car so I tell where the hell it is leaking? From the liquid trail (not the one that ran down my leg last night when I found the leak) I would guess that the upper hose swivel is the culprit? The line on that side wasn't super tight, it could have wept under pressure? The puddle (what looks like lake Erie on the floor isn't that much in reality) was 6 inches and some splatter. It wasn't a gusher. I would like to test the unit with fluid in it. Any ideas?

 

Bandit, could you remove the input bearing retainer and throwout bearing. Then hookup the line to the clutch master let someone work the pedal while you watch what it does. Make sure you have something on the retainer to keep it from moving too far just in case it can come apart.

 

clamp it in the vise.

 

When was the last time you've seen Lake Erie?

Take the bearing off, put a clamp on it, hook it up to the clutch master and do your thing.

 

Yeah, those internal expanding hydraulic throwout bearings are really convenient. Not sure why I never got around to putting one on my car.

 

I personally would not ever want to use an internal expanding hydraulic throwout bearing because you have to remove the transmission to service them. I have an OT Ford 4X4 that has something like that. It will mysteriously leak intermittently and has locked up on me a few times. I've had the transmission out once before and it is a monster because the transfer case is part of it. If it ever goes out completely, I'll scrap the POS truck.

 

Bummer. I don't buy the 'sitting around too long' theory. Can you put a big bolt and washers through it, clamp it up and hook it back up to the car? Maybe even with a valve spring if you want it to move.

 

Yep
These posts usually start with.... anybody have experience with hydraulic clutch t.o.'s.
Usually it's because of those cheap ebay pos setups (that they already bought).
Billy, what's the difference between these and yours?
Yours wasn't cheap
Cheers

 

Another vote for the vise.

 

Aircraft quality usually means regular maintenance and servicing.
Okay in a race car scenario,pulled down and checked/adjusted between meets,
not something you would expect to do in a street car.
Other side is plenty of guys probably run them with no problems.
“Sat to long without being used”,what,is it 1930s vintage?Bullshit.

 

Going backwards sucks. Hopefully, you can fix it without waiting on parts. That's a pain in the ass, too. The pictures show us what a sano build you have. Top notch.

 

...that would be enough to pressurize the blood vessels...NOS rebuild...hopefully no damage to your paint and things and no warranty just excuses...grrrrrrrr...good luck on resolving this unfortunate setback.

 

Did it travel too far/ where did you set your pedal stop?
i know that my tilton set up has no internal stop to keep the piston from going too far. Don't know about the Mcloyd.

 

Repeat Step Four as needed.

 

I understand your pain. I have had the motor out once, the trans out 3 times and the rear end out twice since I "finished" my coupe. It is quite nice once it is all behind you however.

 

Thanks guys, at this point I am faced with the option of a rebuild kit or a new bearing. I also, do not buy the seals set in only a few years of sitting. I am thinking it is defective right out of the gate. I will wait till Monday and talk to a tech at McLeod and see what the rebuild kit entails and the expense thereof.

On the positive side my wife brought me a home a bottle of Crown Black so I will test that next.

Once I either repair or replace the bearing i will try testing it on the car like suggested above with a clamp to keep it from expanding and utilizing the MC on the car. I know many people that have had great success with these bearings, I hate being the guy that didn't.

 

Sorry to hear of the problems man. You have been working hard on the thing. Keep at it you'll get it fixed.

 

Aircraft Quality? Must be Allegiance Airlines

 

been there and done that on other folks cars
those thing are space savers and pains in the arse
I have replaced stock ones with no issues, get a fancy aftermarket one and it leaks
I hope never have to use one

 

Right on, the bad news is that will "leak" out too!

 

I sympathize with the OP..The oem one in my OT ford truck lasted 117k + miles and was mostly plastic, replacement oem was ebay $120.00...At 430$ I would think it would be better [last longer, install itself, bleed itself, and adjust itself] than sitting too long!!

 

On a slightly different tack for a moment. I'm not familiar with the McLeod but general principles surely apply??? Why is the bleeder outlet on the side and not on the top? Seems to be 90 degrees out to me. The Ram bearing has it on the top, it also has a stop (that I 'found', ha) to prevent over extension.

Despite the current setback your meticulous planning is paying off big time, and the car looks fabulous!

Chris

 

I hope it was just the line. Some of those aftermarket ones need to be shimmed for proper clearance so they don't extend too far. Of course as the clutch disk wears that space decreases. Who wants to remove the transmission to adjust the clutch?

 

In the big scheme of things on an entire build of this scope and caliber this sort of thing is relatively minor. Expect bugs and future glitches. You can't exactly plan for them but you have to. Be thankful the leaking fluid didn't take the paint off, that happens too.

 

To build on your maintenance friendly engineering, adapt an external slave to oe fork system.
btw beautiful ride.

 

Folks have to change pistons in those to set them up ( many different lengths ). I'll bet on a line or the swivel, either way it sucks! One step forward and two steps back, isn't that normal for building a hot rod?

Sent from my SM-G900V using The H.A.M.B. mobile app

 

Billy: Your hot rod is truly beautiful.
Let us know how you solve the problem.

 

imagine how bad it is when it happens with a customer's car? one of the biggest problems with call back and failures is "new" parts and the little mark up you can get doesn't cover the expense of repairing it.

 

That's what kicks your ass and takes your lunch money.

You can't charge enough to cover doing it twice if you need to and you can't afford to do it over for free.

I've been slowly implementing changes here to spread the liability of the conundrum. But it's hard. The world changed and the rules need to change too. Sometimes on a commercial account you can file a labor claim but that's a pita too.

 

Put it in a vice and use compressed air to see where it leaks. Simple and done.