Air in slave cylinder? 01/05/05 | Ford Explorer Forums - Serious Explorations

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Air in slave cylinder? 01/05/05

Evicerate

Member
Joined
November 16, 2003
Messages
45
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City, State
KY
Year, Model & Trim Level
1994 XLT
I hope that this belongs in the 911 thread, as I'm running out of options.

I need ammo when I take my Ex back into the shop tomorrow. It's a 1994 XLT 4wd with 118,000 miles on it. I got the slave cylinder and master cylinder done on Mon. (I kept having to add fluid and finally couldnt get it to go into gear).
However, now the clutch pedal has no pressure in it, until about 1" from the floor. I had to have it towed back to the tranny shop because it would not go into gear at all. Hell, I had more pressure inmy pedal when the slave cylinder was leaking.

So, the shop was nice, they "bled it out" and said it was fine. Well, it wasn't. :fire: I drove it and it's hit or miss as to whether or not it goes into gear, and it sucks to be stuck out of gear in traffic, or when you downshift for a corner.

So, the shop's explanation is that the clutch is worn, and this is making the slave cylinder "overextend" and making it impossible to bleed out. Does this sound right? Also, he keeps saying that explorers and rangers are a PITA to bleed out and it takes days to do so? I read in a thread here that if you have air in the slave you have to bench bleed it?

I'm just worried as the shop seems reluctanct to open it back up, even when I told them I'd be willing to have the clutch replaced.

I need help so I don't take a shellacking when I go back there tomorrow to have them fix it again :p
 



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Believe me I would love to, but classes start Mon and I have to get from Ky back to Columbus, OH.

Plus, is they screwed up something in the slave cylinder when they installed it I'll have a little leverage. I want it fixed right, but I want to know if what I'm being told is right. This will be the third new slave cylinder in the Ex and I never had this problem before with the pedal after it was fixed.
 






I believe I can help you out here, i have done this a million times, it takes about half an hour and 2 people. 1st- jack the front end up about 3-6" then open the bleeder valve on your slave cylnder, run about 3/4 a qaurt of brake fluid threw your system , do not let your reservoir run dry, then close the bleeder valve. I know you may be saying that's such a waste of brake fluid, trust me this system works very very well. Ok! Now! you are ready for the bleeding, now just bleed like you would normally do it, have some one pump it 15-20 times then open the bleeder valve w/the clutch pedal depressed, then close it and have them pump it again, do this untill your pedal is good and firm, ussually abouit 8-10 times. always remember to keep your resevoir good and full, cause we are trying to get the air out of the system. This way has always worked very well for me, I hope ti works for you. Also, keep your manual tranny fluid clean, if it has'nt been changed in awhile, change and dump some kind of synthetic fluid in it, you can dump a qaurt of lucus oil stabilizer in it and they do make synthetic tranny fluid. and another tip of advice, the overdrive gear (the 5th gear) does'nt get lubricated very well, that's one reason the tranny goes out, but if you run it in 4th down the highway for 30 mins to an hour every now and then, it slings some pretty good oil up to the 5th gear to keep it lubricated, in which makes the tranny last so much longer. Well, hope this really helps you out on your hot rod! le me know! have a good one! :thumbsup:
 






Air In Slave Cylinder

I Had The Same Problem. The Way To Fix It Go To Parts Store And Purchase A Hand Vacuum Pump For Brakes A Cylinder Leak Checks. Attach The The Hose To The Slave Cyl. And Pump With The Vale Closed So You Get A Good Vac. Like 20 In.then Open The Screw And Close It Do This Several Times To Remove The Air. Do Not Let Resivior Go Dry. The Reason You Cannot Get The Air Out Is Because The Bleeder Line On The Slave Cylinder Is In The Middle Not On Top As It Should Be. So If Your Fluid Runs Low You Can Not Get It Filled To The Top. The Vacuum Pump Will Help By Pulling The Air Out.
 






I had alot of troubles with mine when i switched from auto to manny. I ended up getting three clutch cylenders before i got one that actually worked. Also if clutch is excessivly warn you an bleed all you want and it wont help. You have to replace the clutch. Warning*** Do Not Overtighten The Bleeder.
 






They're blowing smoke up your ass. Explorer clutches are a ***** to bleed and can take some time they do like to trap air. As far as the clutch imho you should have had it replaced when the motor was out as it is cheap insurance but it shouldnt affect the slave cylinder in anyway. You need to go learn a few things about clutches in explorers and go back to them with some ammo and give them a hard time. It's hard for them to fight you when you know as much about the problem as they do.
 






I am having a similar problem. My clutch pedal has no resisitance whatsoever. I just got a call from the garage and they want to replace both the Master and the Slave cyls. Is that unreasonable? He said the fluid was leaking and that both needed to be replaced. I just want to make sure im not getting screwed.
 






I appreciate all of the feedback. Just to let everyone know, I had them replace the clutch on my request, because it was really worn, and in a little while I'll probably be selling the X. I guess I had crappy luck with the previous clutch.
The shop was really nice when I talked to the owner. In total I had to have it in there three trimes to solve the problem, but they towed it for free each time, and only charged me 1/3 labor when I had the clutch redone. They also bench bled the slave again, which they said they do it before every installation. I was pissed when it wans't right on the first try, but they did their best to make it right. Works like a charm now, and to be honest it's better than the last clutch that was in there, a lot smoother.

Do I believe the problem was that my truck's a ford? No.
DO I think that they screwed up bleeding it in the first place? Yes.
Should I have gotten the clutch done with everything else in the first place? Yes, but in my defense I'm a poor college kid.

I didn't expect to get a free clutch or anything, but their determination to fix the problem at no cost to me makes me wish there was a place like that where I'm at school now.
 






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