Can't get 08 into gear after replacing clutch master cylinder

[08bullitt4288]

Ive been searching for the answer to this specific issue for days to no avail.

Backstory
Replaced my clutch master cylinder as i noticed over the course of a week it became harder and harder to get the car into gear when the car was running. All gears felt pretty similar and the issue only happened when the car was stationary. Only way i could get it into gear was pumping the clutch pedal about 3 times quickly which seemed to build enough to move the shifter. No other issues shifting felt smooth no grinding ever heard. While driving on the highway after not using my clutch pedal for maybe 30 minutes it sank to the floor without any resistance and had to get pumped up again to work again. I believed the master was bypassing internally. Slave appeared to be okay and no leaks observed.

Went ahead and replaced the master with a new ford oe. Did not bench bleed it and hooked it up to the system. Spend the entire night trying to slowly pump the pedal. Pedal feels firm atleast to me but the car now absolutely will not go into gear when it is running. At this point ive tried every method. Drivers side is raised significantly, ive applied vacuum and ive let it sit now for almost 4+ days. I tried applying vacuum to the brake master cylinder, and i also disconnected the input line into the clutch cylinder and hooked vacuum up to the clutch line directly and sat there bleeding air until i couldn't see anymore bubbles (or they might be too aereted??). Still the same end result. Car wont go into gear when running and the car moves when started in gear. Not sure what else I can do. My thinking is that if it was another part that had failed like the slave id think id be able to atleast get the car to go into gear after pumping it a few times like it did before i replaced anything.

Couple other observations
- applying vacuum to the clutch system kills any pressure i had in the pedal. Anytime i do i have to pump it 5-10 times till its firm again not sure if thats normal

- i had to do the infamous master cylinder eyelet repair a few months ago for the plastic piece. It had play in it and also made it difficult to get into gear. After i replaced that part i could easily get it into gear, although my clutch engagement point was much higher. I wonder if the higher engagement point might have been "bandaid" fixing the rest of the system if that makes sense

 

[86GT351]

Needs to be bled more. You have an air pocket causing this.

 

[08bullitt4288]

Needs to be bled more. You have an air pocket causing this.

That's what its seeming like haha but it feels like pulling teeth hearing it. Is there any way i can confirm that its all the way bled without lowering and starting it? I'm worried if it does infact have air that it could be stuck in the slave or aerated and it makes it worse that i keep messing with it more potentially bringing more air in. I went for about 6 hours of vacuum and pumping to no avail so far.

 

[stkjock]

when you applied vacuum to the car, as it level and flat on the ground? Some have found that by raising the drivers front of the car when bleeding air has made a difference

 

[08bullitt4288]

when you applied vacuum to the car, as it level and flat on the ground? Some have found that by raising the drivers front of the car when bleeding air has made a difference

Yep have the drivers side jacked about 8". All signs point to air trapped still but I'm at a wits end on where from. I can hold a consistent 20 in of vacuum so i don't believe theres a leak anywhere. I did take the new master off and try bench bleeding it by attaching a hose to the output that led up into a funnel and pumped by hand for about 45 minutes still getting very small air bubbles from it.

 

[Juice]

Whenever clutch parts fail, its usually because the clutch is toast. So, how old is the clutch?

 

[08bullitt4288]

Whenever clutch parts fail, its usually because the clutch is toast. So, how old is the clutch?

That's the part that i don't know. I've put almost 25k since owning it, but its atleast had a job done by the last owner at some point. Clutch looks red like the mcleods. Visually it looks alright and havent had any other symptoms or issues with it. No slippage or noises that i can hear other than a rattle sometimes at idle that i think is from the flexplate. Only issue its had is the lockout out of gear when stationary i mentioned above.

 

[Juice]

Color and brand mean nothing. 25K is easily enough time to wear out a clutch.
Just post pics of the smoked clutch when you decide to fix it.

 

[whitmanink]

i just want to make sure everything was done correctly .
i use a vacuum gun from harbor freight , and a rubber stop i put a hole in from lowes,to go into the brake fluid res.,
but you are pumping the clutch peddle when using the vac ?
because when i replaced my whole clutch, i didnt prefill nothing
, hooked up my vac ,, pumped the peddle than pumped vac, then released the air,
i did this like 3 or 4 times and it was perfect.
i just want to make sure everything was done because it should be good to go after a few vac ,pump , and release

and i never had to raise my driver side .. the ford book says to do this if you are trying to bleed by just pumping the clutch without a vac or anything , hence lifting the driver side to "move" air bubbles around and free them

 

[08bullitt4288]

i just want to make sure everything was done correctly .
i use a vacuum gun from harbor freight , and a rubber stop i put a hole in from lowes,to go into the brake fluid res.,
but you are pumping the clutch peddle when using the vac ?
because when i replaced my whole clutch, i didnt prefill nothing
, hooked up my vac ,, pumped the peddle than pumped vac, then released the air,
i did this like 3 or 4 times and it was perfect.
i just want to make sure everything was done because it should be good to go after a few vac ,pump , and release

and i never had to raise my driver side .. the ford book says to do this if you are trying to bleed by just pumping the clutch without a vac or anything , hence lifting the driver side to "move" air bubbles around and free them

Seems pretty similar to what I've been doing except i had the drivers side raised maybe trying it flat is the solution.

Using hf vacuum pump and rubber stopper. Plug vac to the master and pump it to 20 in/hg. Pump pedal while its doing this. I do this for about 5 minutes. Release vac and pump 15 times. Rinse and repeat. Its just really annoying because all signs point to it being air but it's being impossible to bleed

 

[Juice]

I did no vacuum, no 'raise one side', or fill the new slave cylinder when I installed my clutch. Simply pumped the clutch pedal. Only took a few minutes, maybe 50 pumps.

 

[stkjock]

the only other thing that pops to mind from experience on the site.... ABS module could have the trapped air.

 

[86GT351]

the only other thing that pops to mind from experience on the site.... ABS module could have the trapped air.

Correct. o properly bleed that a proper scanner that can operate the valving is needed to bleed

 

[Juice]

Thread needs to be moved to "wtf is that".
Air in ABS messing up clutch,

 

[cavero]

i just want to make sure everything was done correctly .
i use a vacuum gun from harbor freight , and a rubber stop i put a hole in from lowes,to go into the brake fluid res.,
but you are pumping the clutch peddle when using the vac ?
because when i replaced my whole clutch, i didnt prefill nothing
, hooked up my vac ,, pumped the peddle than pumped vac, then released the air,
i did this like 3 or 4 times and it was perfect.
i just want to make sure everything was done because it should be good to go after a few vac ,pump , and release

and i never had to raise my driver side .. the ford book says to do this if you are trying to bleed by just pumping the clutch without a vac or anything , hence lifting the driver side to "move" air bubbles around and free them

Same experience here, pumping the pedal under vacuum did wonders when I changed my cluch line

 

[08bullitt4288]

For anyone interested in an update decided to drop the trans. Slave cylinder fell apart like a toy. Somehow i think that could be related to the issue i had. Clutch doesnt look too good either. Putting in a mcleod as we speak but it's slow work on jackstands.

 

[Midlife Crises]

Slave cylinder overextended! Should have been shamed. Measure the new setup to be sure there is preload on the throwout bearing.

 

[Juice]

Called that one a week ago.

 

[08bullitt4288]

Called that one a week ago.

Hahaha I KNEW you'd be back with an I told you so.

 

[08bullitt4288]

It was just so hard to believe that a somewhat working vehicle immediately became undrivable after only replacing the cmc. Looking back I think the new master cyl is what did the slave in finally. Before dropping the trans when I was still trying to bleed it out i noticed a squeak when disengaging the clutch which wasnt there before. Looking back should have just dropped the bellhousing but its hard when you have 3 ton jackstands and the bellhousing weighs about the same as you do. Leaving thread up so anyone else with similar issues is able to find a solution. Had symptoms initially of the car being very difficult to get into gear at a stop which progressively got worse. No noises were heard from transmission other than squeak of slave after bleeding. It seems like the main failure parts were the slave and the pilot bearing, both exedy from the mach 400 kit PO installed. Clutch material was burnt but servicable, but the slave cylinder was completely blown out and the pilot bearing wore into the input shaft of the trans.