Okay, first time actually posting something productive (hopefully anyway)

So my dad (Gold-86SE) and I have been working on fixing up his old, my new, 85 GT. Long story short, the automatic tranny went out due to the Torque Converter or something like that; never cared enough to actually find out what the problem was, because I wanted a standard transmission. So I found an 86 SE parts car with a 4 speed and we swapped that in. Did the usual, put Rodney's Master/Slave Cylinders in and put his shifter rebuild kit in. But I didn't care enough about the original aluminum Slave Bracket to replace it right away; And no, it didn't break on me (thankfully). But as I want to get the car to the point of being more reliable, the bracket was a bit of a concern for me.

So as we were fixing it up, we took it for a few short drives, and with the original aluminum Slave Bracket the clutch grabbed about halfway up; which allowed for some pretty nice smooth engagements of the clutch. But when I put in Rodney's steel Slave Bracket, wow did the clutch pedal feel really change! Because the original aluminum bracket is weaker, it was actually bending slightly whenever you would press on the pedal; so that is why the clutch was grabbing about halfway through the pedal throw. But with Rodney's steel Bracket it doesn't bend when you push the clutch, so the clutch engagement point gets shifted higher to the last 1/3 to 1/4 of the pedal travel; which seems to make for a sportier feel.

All in all, I'm rather pleased with the quality of Rodney's products. And I'm really pleased with how the clutch engagement has improved on my car. It feels rather close to my dad's 2003 Miata

Now... If only I can make the pedal as light as his..... Nah, just kidding. My left leg just needs to quit being a wimp and get stronger

So if you have a 4 speed and are wanting to have a higher engagement point on the clutch, don't forget Rodney's bracket:

Rodney's 4 Speed Slave Bracket

I am surprised that the original bracket would flex much... why would they have designed it that way? Was yours cracked? Did you have a friend observe the slave bracket bending while you cycled the clutch pedal?

Do you have a standard pressure plate, or something more "high performance"?

Did you also bleed the clutch when you replaced the bracket, or did you really just change only the bracket?

I actually have a Rodney Dickman slave bracket laying around, but I was just keeping it as a spare with no real plan of installing it unless the aluminium piece breaks.

Agree. Unless they have a crack in them, they don't move. Is it possible one of the bolts wasn't fully tightened? Usually when themount develops a crack, they break pretty quickly. I've had 1 bracket break and it only had a very small spot in the crack that appeared old. The car had been sitting for years and the first time it got on the road, it made less than 100 miles in the mountains before it broke. But if the stock bracket does fail, Rodney's steel slave bracket is the only way to go.

how much different is it from the 3rd gen f body mount..?

quote Oirginally posted by pmbrunelle: I am surprised that the original bracket would flex much... why would they have designed it that way? Was yours cracked? Did you have a friend observe the slave bracket bending while you cycled the clutch pedal? Do you have a standard pressure plate, or something more "high performance"? Did you also bleed the clutch when you replaced the bracket, or did you really just change only the bracket? I actually have a Rodney Dickman slave bracket laying around, but I was just keeping it as a spare with no real plan of installing it unless the aluminium piece breaks.

It really didn't flex too much, maybe an 8th to 3/16ths of an inch (eyeballed from the bleeder side of the slave cylinder). Enough to see it actually move, but not enough to where it would make the bracket fail? I'm not sure, I didn't leave it on there long enough to find out

It may be due to the fact that it's made out of cast (I think?) aluminum. And as far as I could see and saw, mine was not cracked or damaged

My dad was the one who pushed the clutch, so I was the one who saw it move

I should've thought to put in that I do have the HD Ram clutch from the FieroStore installed, so I'm sure that does affect it. Good question, thanks for having me clarify

I had bled the clutch a few months before I replaced the bracket, but when I bled it I replaced both the Master and Slave with Rodney's cylinders; so I didn't have to worry about old seals wearing out by extending too far, when I replaced the bracket

If yours is fine, I'm not sure I would worry about it; but if you don't have to worry about your slave cylinder's seal(s) running over dirt from overextension and destroying them, maybe on a rainy day throw it on and see what happens

quote Originally posted by fierofool: Agree. Unless they have a crack in them, they don't move. Is it possible one of the bolts wasn't fully tightened? Usually when the mount develops a crack, they break pretty quickly. I've had 1 bracket break and it only had a very small spot in the crack that appeared old. The car had been sitting for years and the first time it got on the road, it made less than 100 miles in the mountains before it broke. But if the stock bracket does fail, Rodney's steel slave bracket is the only way to go.

Like I said in response to pmbrunelle; I couldn't see a crack, but that doesn't mean that there wasn't one there

When I put Rodney's slave cylinder on I made sure they were tightened down; and it wasn't the slave that was moving a little bit, you could actually see the metal of the bracket bend slightly

If the bracket usually breaks pretty quickly when they get a crack and if mine did have a crack, it wasn't out on the road long enough to be a problem; the total miles the car has been driven since it's been back in working order have been 2 or maybe 3? at most

quote Originally posted by E.Furgal: how much different is it from the 3rd gen f body mount..?

Um... I'm sure this is a joke... But I'm not exactly sure how... Cause the 3rd get f bodies were FMR layout and they had 4 speed muncie manual gearboxes?...


Sorry for the delayed reply, I had work yesterday and I had to go work on the fiero today (it's about an hour drive from where I live); and I've been trying to sort out a driver side rear brake situation....

Yeah, I was referring to the two bracket bolts being tightened to the engine. If the lower horizontal bolt is loose, it can pivot a little on the top vertical bolt.

quote Originally posted by fierofool: Yeah, I was referring to the two bracket bolts being tightened to the engine. If the lower horizontal bolt is loose, it can pivot a little on the top vertical bolt.

Ah, ok, I mistook you for saying the slave to the bracket bolts not the bracket to engine bolts (although if memory serves me right, it's actually mounting to the tranny). As far as I can remember, I made sure it was tightened down. Yeah, I did tighten it down; because the horizontal bolt has more usable threads than the diagonal bolt

quote Originally posted by SPARTAN: Um... I'm sure this is a joke... But I'm not exactly sure how... Cause the 3rd get f bodies were FMR layout and they had 4 speed muncie manual gearboxes?... Sorry for the delayed reply, I had work yesterday and I had to go work on the fiero today (it's about an hour drive from where I live); and I've been trying to sort out a driver side rear brake situation....

last time I drove my 85 t/a it was a t5 5 speed.. and hyd clutch..
with external slave

quote Originally posted by E.Furgal: last time I drove my 85 t/a it was a t5 5 speed.. and hyd clutch.. with external slave

*shrugs...* I just did a quick google search to the wiki page for the 3rd gen firebird and used that as the basis for what I said... Never had any experience with firebirds myself...