DIY Clutch Install Issues... - SRT Forums

lphooper03 · 07-01-2008, 01:48 AM

Well...just got the install done but I now have a few problems to attend to.

First....somehow I broke the clip that goes on the clutch pedal that attached to the master cylinder. (the same part that you adjust the pedal with) I'm guessing one of my friends hopped in there and pushed down the pedal while everything was disconnected. Well I'm not sure whether to buy an entire new master cylinder or just try to fab something up. A new master cylinder costs 47 bucks, but fabbing something up is essentially free, so I dunno if I want to risk it or not. Anyone have any ideas on what I can do?

Next, I seem to have a leak of oil/power steering fluid. When the car sits there more than a couple hours it just starts dripping down ever so often...It's right below the PS lines on the crossmember that you mount the lines to.(on the drivers side, below the housing of all the PS pressure lines). Any reason this would be leaking? I don't think I put any pressure on these lines when i reconnected the tranny. hmmm....

Last, When installing the TOB (yikes...I am embarassed of this) but there are the two little clips that stick out the side of the TOB, on the back. I broke off one of these upon installation of it. It still seemed to mount in there ok and worked fine....is there any inkling that there will be noise or disfunctionality caused by this? That is the only part that I am really worried about because there seemed to be a little bit of play while sitting on the input shaft....but it did slide forward and back no problem.

Any help on this would be great....I'm looking to go to Autozone tomorrow to purchase a new Master, but not if I don't have to.

turbo666 · 07-01-2008, 04:44 AM

Sounds like you may have broke you clutch pedal pivot. Go ahead and upgrade, here's link:
RAGE-TEK :: Drivetrain/Shifter :: Rage-tek Clutch pedal pivot upgrade

What color is the fluid? Your power steering low? Check around all the connections to the power steering and make sure you didn't accidentally tug on the p/s lines when dropping the tranny.

Yes your TOB will give your problems. You need to take it all back out and put a new one back in. You will eventually get locked out of gear quite often because of that.

thewrx · 07-01-2008, 06:00 AM

You probably messed up the axle seal when re-installing the axles. Same thing happened to me when I replaced my clutch.

rasp · 07-01-2008, 07:06 AM

Quote: Originally Posted by lphooper03

First....somehow I broke the clip that goes on the clutch pedal that attached to the master cylinder. (the same part that you adjust the pedal with) I'm guessing one of my friends hopped in there and pushed down the pedal while everything was disconnected. Well I'm not sure whether to buy an entire new master cylinder or just try to fab something up. A new master cylinder costs 47 bucks, but fabbing something up is essentially free, so I dunno if I want to risk it or not. Anyone have any ideas on what I can do?

Rage-Tek has an upgraded unit for this, if you're talking about the clutch pedal pivot. If you had the slave cylinder taken out of the bellhousing and you or your friend pressed in the clutch, the slave cylinder is toast. Even though the FSM says to disconnect the slave cylinder, I just remove it from the bellhousing and tie it off somewhere safe and keep the piston from coming all the way out (by not pressing the clutch in). That way I don't have to bleed the system once everything is put back in. If you broke the little pivot behind the clutch pedal, Rage-Tek, as said above, has an upgraded replacement.

Quote: Originally Posted by lphooper03

Next, I seem to have a leak of oil/power steering fluid. When the car sits there more than a couple hours it just starts dripping down ever so often...It's right below the PS lines on the crossmember that you mount the lines to.(on the drivers side, below the housing of all the PS pressure lines). Any reason this would be leaking? I don't think I put any pressure on these lines when i reconnected the tranny. hmmm....

Are you sure this is PS fluid and/or engine oil? Are you sure it's not trans fluid?

Quote: Originally Posted by lphooper03

Last, When installing the TOB (yikes...I am embarassed of this) but there are the two little clips that stick out the side of the TOB, on the back. I broke off one of these upon installation of it. It still seemed to mount in there ok and worked fine....is there any inkling that there will be noise or disfunctionality caused by this? That is the only part that I am really worried about because there seemed to be a little bit of play while sitting on the input shaft....but it did slide forward and back no problem.

IMO you should not have installed it like this. Granted, with the pressure that's applied to the fingers of the clutch, there's little movement for it to sway with, it will ride the clutch release fork unevenly. When I pulled my clutch, my TOB also had a clip broken off, and you could see considerable uneven ware on the TOB itself. This *may* reduce the life of the TOB down the road, and you may need to replace it. Chances are you'll be fine for a while, though.

lphooper03 · 07-01-2008, 11:34 AM

If I can get 10,000 miles out of the TOB I will be happy. I would like to replace it with a Rage TOB, but I have no idea how much it costs or if I can ever order one.

Well...the drip that is coming down seems to be coming from right below the power steering (housing?)/lines...where they all connect to. It isn't a flow, but it will drip about 6-7 times an hour. (I'm just hoping that it doesn't start spraying once I start the car up. lol.) It also looks like it would be PS fluid because it is a really dark black/brown. I just had my oil changed about 500 miles ago...so I have no reason to think that my oil is that nasty. I'm positive it's NOT tranny fluid. It is dripping NEAR the tranny (above it a lil) but it isn't red...I also had the tranny fluid drained and it was still dripping.

Thanks for a heads up on the pivot ball. 70 bucks tho....yikes....I can buy a new master for 47.

Also....the slave cylinder was disconnected from the lines when the pedal must have been pushed to break the pedal pivot....I don't have any reason to think it's damaged...just the pivot.

lphooper03 · 07-01-2008, 11:35 AM

Quote: Originally Posted by thewrx

You probably messed up the axle seal when re-installing the axles. Same thing happened to me when I replaced my clutch.

How could I have damaged the axle seal? Tranny fluid isn't leaking...this isn't an issue right now.

turbojack · 07-01-2008, 04:09 PM

The tranny needs to be pulled to replace the TOB, if the fork was not done originally you need to do this as well.

If the slave was disconnected and the clutch pedal was pushed down the clutch master should be replaced. If the slave was connected to the master but not the bell housing then the slave and the master may need to be replaced. A new master comes with a new pivot.

You need to find out whats leaking, PS fluid looks visually different from engine oil = engine oil is clear or tan looking and PS is darker purple. Tanny fluid color depends on what was used. IMO you most likely have a tranny leak based on what happened with mine and what I have seen other post, tranny lines less likely. Engine oil should not be from this area unless leak from oil pressure sensor or VC OR turbo which means there should be oil stains ur drip marks higher up to clue in on this.

Axle seals are about $20 - 30 each and are a no brainer to replace when the tranny is removed to replace the TOB, just be careful not to damage the oil slinger right behind the seal when removing to replace.

lphooper03 · 07-02-2008, 07:31 PM

it was an oil leak and has been corrected...(aftermarket oil pressure sensor) the male connector into the block was leaking...I just couldn't see it.

I don't know how to bleed the clutch of this thing...can anyone tell me?

turbojack · 07-03-2008, 09:20 AM

Do you have the factory service manual? You want to get this either in hard copy or downloaded from the net in PDF format. In PDF format searching is quicker and you can just print out what you need if while working on the car. I have seen posts on the forum here where the manual can be downloaded.

In the manual the description is roughly, unmount the slave from the transmission bell housing (still connected to the clutch master) slowly push in the rod and release by hand 50 times, do it a 100 times to be sure of no air.

Its worth it to get the manual as if you do any other work on the car most of the questions and answers are covered in there............lots of info from not found on here the forum.

turbojack · 07-03-2008, 09:46 AM

Just wanted to add a link to something that may help with tranny installs.

Basically you can use this with a good quality floor jack to better support the tranny. Typically can be found on ebay for less then $100 shipped

lphooper03 · 07-03-2008, 02:17 PM

I have a Motorcycle/ATV jack that works wonders. Before I had it, it was a pain in the ass.

I figured out how to bleed the clutch before looking in here.. Thanks anyway though. Now I think my clutch release fork is hitting the pressure plate....:yikes: But I am buying a new one of those and have to redo the entire install....i'm not thrilled about it, but it has to be done.

mattlwil · 07-04-2008, 12:30 AM

[quote=turbojack;6264160]Do you have the factory service manual? You want to get this either in hard copy or downloaded from the net in PDF format.

Do you have a link where I can download this?

turbojack · 07-04-2008, 06:50 AM

This was in the How TO forum as a sticky
**** SRT-4 / Neon Service Manuals ****

If the links in above do not work search around in the forums as I have seen different posts with different links over the years. If all else fails PM me your email address and I'll send via compressed attachment a copy of what I have