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"How To" - Clutch Master Cylinder Replacement

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#21 ·
kettle-one said:
Anyone know what size Gear Wrenches to buy to help make this go easier, I'll be doing my clutch master this weekend and would like to have everything I need ready.

Thanks,
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I answered my own question, its a 10mm, but you can do it without a Gearwrench. Some things I did different is after you pull the hydraulic lines and bolt on the fire wall, I removed the 3 colored sensors on the brake and clutch pedal, they rotate and then pull out, they are keyed, and the other black clutch sensor, it had a tab on the back of it you lift and it comes off. I removed the white plastic plug on the brake pedal to the brake master cylinder rod, it has a barb you push up with a screwdriver and it slides out, I found that my plug would rotate so you could see the barb. There after I removed the 4 nuts (13mm deep socket and wobble head 12" extension and got them all out easily) that hold the pedal box assembly to the fire wall and pulled it out as one unit and replaced the clutch master cylinder outside of the car. The two bolts that hold the clutch master to the pedal box self tap into the plastic on the clutch master. Also, there are two tabs that lock the master cylinder to the pedal box prior to bolting it up. Then I reinstalled the pedal box and rest in reverse order. It took me 2 hours not knowing what to do with out bleeding. This was the easiest way for me to do it and it took about 15 min to put all back together. One note, make sure as you install the bottom line, it lined up with the grommet for the bracket and the inlet fitting, otherwise its a pain to disassemble and redo, don't ask me how I know[rolleyes]. Also, to keep the top line from spilling fluid all over, I lifted the line above the reservoir and let the end rest on the cowl, be careful not to bend the line too much or it will break.
 
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#24 ·
Clutch Master cylinder line O rings

Thank you all for this thread on the leakey master cylinder! Mine just started leaking about two months ago. I live in Northern VA, and it's been really cold here, so I'm just getting around to it. I bought the new Master cylinder from the Ford dealer. The shop manual says to replace the o rings on the line connections if necessary. Did anyone have to replace theirs? If so, where did you buy them? Ford doesn't have a part number for the rings themselves, and they only come on the two lines you disconnect from the master cylinder.

Thanks, John, Alexandria, VA
 
#25 ·
I didn't replace the o-rings. I would check to make sure there were no leaks on the firewall side as that, I think, is where they would show a problem. If you have any questions on the removal and replace feel free to PM me.
 
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#28 ·
Thank you so much for your advice. I sucessfully replaced my clutch master cylinder last week. No more leaks! Now, does anyone have advice as to which product to use for cleaning brake fluid off of carpet? :)
[8)]

John, Alexandria, VA
 
#29 ·
You could try the Orange Hand cleaner or some Dishwashing soap that is good at cutting grease and you might try a detail shop, sometimes thay have some "magic stuff" that will remove it.
 
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#30 ·
my master cylender failed twice destroying my cluth leading to $1400 worth of repairs in teh first two years of ownership...
 
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#32 ·
I have a question, can you replace the push rod without replacing the whole MC? The bolt thats welded to the back of the clutch pedal fell out and then i pused down the clutch and snapped the plastic push rod (or plunger). It looks like i can unscrew the housing on the master cylinger, so im hoping I can just replace that without having to remove the whole assembly. Also if I could, how would i do it?
 
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#34 ·
tua03332 said:
I have a question, can you replace the push rod without replacing the whole MC? The bolt thats welded to the back of the clutch pedal fell out and then i pused down the clutch and snapped the plastic push rod (or plunger). It looks like i can unscrew the housing on the master cylinger, so im hoping I can just replace that without having to remove the whole assembly. Also if I could, how would i do it?
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As I recall you can not. I think it was all a one peice assembly, in typical Ford fasion, if they did come apart, I doubt they'd sell them seperate. If your car has over 50K then it would be a good idea to just replace the hole thing anyway.
 
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#35 ·
broken pushrod

I suffered a broken pushrod on my clutch master cylinder on Saturday. The cause of this is the spot weld holding the clutch pushrod pin to the clutch pedal arm broke allowing the pin to wobble and the misaligned plastic rod snapped off. This happened thirty miles and three towns from my house, but I managed to drive it all the way home without a clutch! I pulled the unit Saturday, and will reweld the pin today. As it's such a pain to pull the unit, and the master cylinder seal is known to fail, I will replace the whole unit now as insurance. Not like I really have a choice, The plastic stub will not pull out of the master cylinder, and the arm would not be available as a separate piece anyway. I could make something work I'm sure, but not worth the trouble. From looking at it, I am convinced the plastic rod is not a piece of crap, and not the weak link per se. I did not find a lot of similar problems to mine on the web until I saw this one.

Anyone that has the pedal box removed for a master cylinder job may want to take an extra few minutes and beef up the pin to arm weld joint, It's not a high tech weld to make once the pedals are out of the car.
 
#36 ·
nomad327 said:
Anyone that has the pedal box removed for a master cylinder job may want to take an extra few minutes and beef up the pin to arm weld joint, It's not a high tech weld to make once the pedals are out of the car.
Click to expand...
Good to note, as I have a SVTF as well, and will likely be doing mine in the next 10K or so. Having the 6 speed just works the system that much more.
 
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#37 ·
well thats exactly what happened to mine, the pedal to push rod bolt weld failed and therefore became misaligned.....i resurfaced the pedal and fully welded the bolt back to the pedal, but now i cant find a replacement MC let alone get the old one out. I am having trouble removing the retainer clips that hold both hydraulic lines to the back of the MC, on the engine side of the firewall, any tips for getting them out?
 
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#38 ·
The master cylinder is a Ford part, and is all plastic, but seems fine in spite of that. $56 list for my 02, $38 with discount. The two plastic lines are held in by steel U-shaped pins. If you look at the green plastic pipes with a small bright light, and possibly an inspection mirror, you will see a small groove on the outer left (driver side) edge. The idea is to slide a thin screwdriver or a ground down nail to the rear in the slot, which will force the metal clips toward the left. Do the top one first, as it's easier to see and reach, and catch the metal clip before it can fall away. Then get a little cup and catch the drain liquid as you pull the hose end out of the green pipe. The master cylinder will empty most of the way, which is OK, you want to have new fluid every couple years anyway. Gently move the top hose up out of the way, and you will have a bit more room to see and reach the lower hose connection. It goes the same as the top one, but the bottom pipe is rigid steel, and will not bend much. The small bolt head you see at the firewall between the two green master cylinder pipes does not have to be removed. The shiny clip on the inside of the car between the two pipes slides out instead.
 
#39 ·
thanks nomad, turns out the whole time im trying to push the clips downward when all i need to do was slide them towards the drivers side, came out very easily, now its just a matter of putting the new one in and bleeding the system, any tips for finding tubing or maybe a way to do it without tubing?

EDIT: Added Some Pics

Image


Image
 
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#40 ·
I'm not sure what you mean about the tubing, the two ends you pulled out of the old master cylinder just get plugged into the new master cylinder. The bottom one is rigid steel, and the upper one is semi-flexible plastic. A very useful tip for putting the hoses into the new master cylinder, is to have the two metal retaining pins fully seated into the green plastic grooves to start out. This is the way they will be right out of the box. When you shove the tubes into the pipes, the pins will allow the tubes to slide in and automatically lock when they are fully inserted.
The trick for assembly seems to be to mount the new master cylinder completely to the pedal box on the workbench, then just start the green pipes through the firewall holes, and get one or two of the pedal box mounting nuts started to sort of hold everything else in place. You want to get the brake pedal pin installed before the pedal box is tightly bolted, and the bottom metal tube under the hood should be started into the end of the lower green pipe before it is slid into the hole very far. Once the metal tube (check o-ring) is started into the bottom green tube, you can lift the pedal box and run the nuts up that hold the pedal box to the firewall. At this point, gently press forward on the green pipes under the dash, and slide the metal clip in to hold the piping snug to the firewall. Now under the hood, shove the lower, then the upper tubes into the green pipes and they will automatically lock in place. Tighten the remaining nuts and hook up the wiring. I did not disturb my switches, but you should at least give them a slight twist to ensure they are locked into the latches for them. I did a bleed job before I put all the interference pieces back, just in case there were any problems.
 
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