It was last year I think... I was driving "spiritedly" home when on one stretch I stomped on the clutch and grabbed another gear. when I got to my driveway I found that my clutch wouldn't release. I was slow enough to make the turn and killed the ignition once in my drive. So then I proceeded to order a new master cylinder http://rodneydickman.com/ca...33c348349a2fd9b4a3f5 (late style, matches what was already on the car) a new slave cylinder http://rodneydickman.com/ca...33c348349a2fd9b4a3f5 (the car is an '86, built with a 5 speed but swapped to a 4 when the 3800sc was swapped in) I bled it. And I bled it. And bled it some more. So, thinking it might be the pedal, I bought a new one. http://www.fierostore.com/P...px?s=66423&d=103&p=1
Today I have spent all morning working on it and reading threads. I vacuum bled, and on occasion ran the master out of fluid. Twice actually, last time I just turned the bottle upside down on the master while I bled bubbles. I need a helper so I can measure how much movement I am getting. Last time I measured it was right at one inch.
After reading threads I have checked that the cruise control switch isn't limiting the pedal, which is at least an inch higher than the brake. The adjustable banjo is not putting preload on the mc, and neither is too loose. I went as far as to take the clutch release lever off and see if the rod had "pushed through" the plastic bushing. Nope not yet. The lever is indexed to only go on one way and hasn't slipped on the shaft.
There is pressure at the pedal, it feels good. It does not pump up and release. It does go into gear when the motor is off, just not when the motor is running.
So my two questions are, could it be that I have either the wrong master or slave compared to the other one (Larger slave bore = less stroke) And, does anyone have any ideas that I haven't already tried?
You may be getting the same thing I had...too much slave movement. Check to see if you can change gears with the engine on at any point in the clutch throw. Mine was coming out at 1/2 way down, then back 'in' (something touching) past 3/4 of the way down. I adjusted the banjo to get it into the sweet spot (IE: Shorter).
I'm guessing its something internal such as the throwout bearing as mentioned or the clutch springs themselves. You can take inspection plate off on the bottom of the transmission (held by 3 or so small screws) and see if anything looks weird or if there are any pieces in there. Not sure how much you will be able to see though, you may end up having to split the transmission and/or removing the engine and cradle to get at it. Check the travel first though with the slave against the clutch fork arm like it would normally be.
[This message has been edited by DaytonTD (edited 09-18-2013).]
I read about too much slave movement and tried shifting into first at all clutch positions, none worked. I've got about 7/8 movement at the slave, just measured today. While my friend was here pushing on the clutch I watched the master and tapped on it. There were some bubbles. So I am going to raise the back of the car and try to get more air out. And I'll see if I can get that inspection plate off.
The equalizer port in the picture... Mine appears to either have a bubble right there that won't come out, OR (more likely I think) the piston hasn't retracted all the way.
I unbolted the mc and lengthened the pushrod so I could push the master and it would in turn push the piston in some. It looks like whatever is in there (the piston I believe) moves back and forth. According to the above picture the port should be unblocked. The pushrod has a small amount of in and out play. Is that normal? I'm about to take the MC out and apart to see if something is wrong. That means bleeding again though...
I don't know what year your Fiero is, but I had a similar problem with my 85 V-6 4 speed. The pedal kept going to the floor, and I was grinding gears. It came on fairly suddenly. I had both clutch cylinders replaced to no avail. Turned out that the flimsy OEM clutch lever folded. I replaced it with an aftermarket one that was much sturdier, and it's been fine every since. Make sure to check that, to eliminate it as a source of the problem.
Well I didn't want to have to do that, but I guess I have to.
Pulled the mc and bench bled it, got some air out. put it back on, filled it, and went back to vacuum bleeding. Ran the mc out. Bled the mc in the car, then back to bleeding the slave. Decided to try some aquarium tubing and an aquarium check valve. I figured that way I could "pump" it by pulling in the sc rod, which does work, got some air out, and gives me extra time to keep the mc full.
I'm going to pack it in for the night and tomorrow see about dropping the stupid cradle.
I don't know what year your Fiero is, but I had a similar problem with my 85 V-6 4 speed. The pedal kept going to the floor, and I was grinding gears. It came on fairly suddenly. I had both clutch cylinders replaced to no avail. Turned out that the flimsy OEM clutch lever folded. I replaced it with an aftermarket one that was much sturdier, and it's been fine every since. Make sure to check that, to eliminate it as a source of the problem.
Here's what I found after a weekend of bleeding and rebleeding, new slave and clutch master cylinders. This was my first thought though, some where in the clutch ass'y. Just tried to do the less labor route.
If it is a Fiero 4 speed, the clutch choices will be the same I think. If there is no adapter plate or other strange hardware, it must be a normal trans. The HD Ram from the Fiero Store seems to work well.
