New clutch in, now no pedal ????

[dwolf452]

I installed my new clutch (southbend) the other night and the whole job went easy as cake, BUT when I got in and pushed the clutch pedal in it went too the floor with barely any resistance. I have to shut the truck off to get it in gear when the truck is cold now. At first I had to shut the truck completely off just to stop (the clutch wasn't letting loose at all). The it got better the way it is today. When the truck is totally cold, I have to put it in gear before I start it because it won't let you go from N to any gear while running, once it warms up it gets better, but still not like it should and the pedal never feels right. I am thinking maybe the slave or master cyl. need bled, BUT why would that be ??



thanks, Dan

 

[rkdblacksmoke]

sounds like it need s to be bled to me.

 

[rbattelle]

I agree, it needs to be bled. Not sure if that's even possible on these cylinders. Didn't I read something about people converting to clutch hydraulic assemblies from 12v trucks when installing SBC stuff? Something about the 03-up system not being strong enough to handle the stronger pressure plate?



-Ryan

 

[LostTrucker]

when you installed your clutch the other nite, did you use the supplied bolts in the kit to bolt the psi plate to the flywheel The factory bolts have a shank on them which will not allow the outer edge of the psi plate to come in contact with the flywheel :{ :{ I also had to lengthen the push rod between the slave cylinder and clutch fork Good luck :-laf

 

[dwolf452]

Yes, I used the supplied bolts. As for needing bled, WHY ?? I never opened the system, just unbolted the slave and moved out of the way. HOW did you lengthen the rod ?

 

[Scrappy]

you cannot bleed the clutch hydraulics, it is a sealed system. Which clutch did you put in? I put an FE in mine and the clutch pedal is lighter than stock.

 

[GCroyle]

Before you remove the transmission, you might want to try this test on the S/C to see if you have any lost motion or if the system does have air in it. You remove the S/C and block it, then push on the pedal (you don't need to stomp on it, just start to apply increasing pressure) and see if it moves, you have air, or a problem in the M/C, S/C or pedal cluster it self. The picture is not from a CTD, but it shows the concept of the test.

 

[dwolf452]

how does one go about lengthening the rod. Do ya just weld onto it ??

 

[LostTrucker]

how does one go about lengthening the rod. Do ya just weld onto it ??

I cut the rod in half, then added about a quarter of an inch [round stalk same o. d. ] and welded back together. I had to do a little grinding to it, just make sure that there is still a little freeplay in the pedal If there is no freeplay, the rod is too long and it will damage your throwout bearing.





good luck :-laf

 

[BILLUA]

How about an update?

Really torques me when someone needs help on this board, people suggest things and then the person that needed the help does not have the common courtesy to update with their findings... Very rude indeed and selfish i might add.



Bill

 

[JHawk]

Ya, what did you find out??? I have the same problem. Just installed new SB FE and same problem as above.

 

[WMoroni]

Best thing to do is call Southbend before you go to lenghting cutting or redoing anything. Their customer service is top notch. I had to replace my slave cylinder after installing my DD. . The stock one held for quite a while, but the truck starting getting hard to shift in and out of gear. Swapped the cylinder, good to go.

 

[beanman]

I also just installed a south bend clutch and I have the same problem, I am going to call Peter at south bend in the morning to see what he suggests.

 

[JHawk]

Yes, they are great to deal with. I am a small dealer with them and the customer service has been great. The thing that has me confused is we just swapped pres plates and had the SB disc relined due to oil contamination. I would think the replacement should be the same pressure on the slave. It only had 20,000 miles on it.



I know another trick I have no read about. You can place a machine washer under the ball stud to space the throwout bearing closer to the pres. plate. This truck has already had this done. It worked the first time, but now it needs more after replacing the plate yesterday. Its almost like some of the LUK plates they how shorter fingers. Anyone know of this?



I just did a 4500 to 5600 conversion last week on a 97 with no problem using the same SB clutch. I think it is the FE which has fiber on one side and the metallic on the other.

 

[n7gxz]

I think it is the FE which has fiber on one side and the metallic on the other.

Wrong JHawk. The Con-FE has the feramic lining on both sides of the disk. The Con-OFE has feramic on one side and organic on the other side. And the Con-O has organic on both sides.



Kevin

 

[JHawk]

Yes, I thought about that after I posted.

 

[beanman]

Just to let you guys know I installed South Bends new master and slave upgrade and it cured the no pedal problem, Now the pedal feels great and I can turn the power up and I don't have to have the smell of burning clutch coming into the cab. Oo.

 

[RobertP]

can you bleed there new system? im gonna do the con fe from them also. just wanted to know if i should save myself the trouble and do it all at once?

thanks

Robert

 

[JHawk]

The SB system is nothing more than the newer Chrysler separate slave and master cylinder. It did help it tremendously. Now I can adjust the pedal height for engagement. The new system snaps together easily on the table and then install the complete system. I am not sure if buying it from Chrysler is cheaper or not. SB is $200. The part numbers are 05017064AA for the slave and 05017063AA for the master. Hope this helps someone out.

 

[TheWolf]

I was having a similiar problem when I installed my FE. I could drive it but had a very hard time getting into 1st and 2nd gear esp at red lights. Big annoying problem. , so they changed my slave cylinder(new one from dodge). didn't really solve my problem. SBC sent me a new clutch, had it installed and wow a totally new feeling. this was last fall. pedal feel I think was actually lighter than stock. but The clutch needs to be tested yet, hopefully the spring weather will get here soon! It seems TOO smooth I do not even get the jerking(grabby) feeling when taking off or backing up that I did with the first one. I hope they sent the right one... . !?