New McLeod RXT Clutch Issue

[PrestonJ]

Let me preface this with the fact that I am not a mechanic...

So back around April I had a Mcleod Racing 6918-07 RXT installed. I also had the McLeod Racing 1200 Series Hydraulic Slave Cylinder installed as well as a Ford Performance replacement pilot bearing (Thanks to BJ McCarty for giving me advice on this). Also on a previous clutch replacement I upgraded my clutch line to a stainless steel one. I did a 600-mile break-in period with casual city driving and no TCS per McLeod's instructions. Everything has been great up until about a week ago. I noticed my clutch felt a little spongey but otherwise driving was normal. After a day or two I put my car into reverse to back up and my car died... and I noticed the clutch pedal was stuck at about the 50% position. Even pressing the clutch pedal all the way down I was unable to take my car out of the reverse gear. Finally after lifting the clutch with my foot manually and messing around I got it into first and it did the same thing (stuck at 50%, car died). After this I took it to be serviced and they suggested I most likely had air in my clutch line so they bled the clutch last Friday. I picked up the car and it felt perfect, no problems at all for the next few days. Today I'm sitting at a red light and my car shut off, clutch stuck down once again. I took the car back in for service but figured I would post here to see if anyone has any insight into what the problem could be. I assume my clutch is leaking/losing pressure somehow over time? Any help would be appreciated.

 

[Rb0891]

Let me preface this with the fact that I am not a mechanic...

So back around April I had a Mcleod Racing 6918-07 RXT installed. I also had the McLeod Racing 1200 Series Hydraulic Slave Cylinder installed as well as a Ford Performance replacement pilot bearing (Thanks to BJ McCarty for giving me advice on this). Also on a previous clutch replacement I upgraded my clutch line to a stainless steel one. I did a 600-mile break-in period with casual city driving and no TCS per McLeod's instructions. Everything has been great up until about a week ago. I noticed my clutch felt a little spongey but otherwise driving was normal. After a day or two I put my car into reverse to back up and my car died... and I noticed the clutch pedal was stuck at about the 50% position. Even pressing the clutch pedal all the way down I was unable to take my car out of the reverse gear. Finally after lifting the clutch with my foot manually and messing around I got it into first and it did the same thing (stuck at 50%, car died). After this I took it to be serviced and they suggested I most likely had air in my clutch line so they bled the clutch last Friday. I picked up the car and it felt perfect, no problems at all for the next few days. Today I'm sitting at a red light and my car shut off, clutch stuck down once again. I took the car back in for service but figured I would post here to see if anyone has any insight into what the problem could be. I assume my clutch is leaking/losing pressure somehow over time? Any help would be appreciated.

Bad slave cylinder? I have always heard the oem ford ones are better than aftermarket. I have no experience other than I did the Rxt on my GT and had no problems with the Ford tob.

 

[PrestonJ]

Bad slave cylinder? I have always heard the oem ford ones are better than aftermarket. I have no experience other than I did the Rxt on my GT and had no problems with the Ford tob.

That's sort of what I was thinking. I have heard from others as well that that OEM Slave is a good option. If the slave does end up being the problem I guess I'll have them install the OEM one.

 

[Bullitt1448]

No real experience with the hydraulic clutch actuator personally but have heard that there have been lots of issues with them, If it were mine, Iwould go back to an OEM Cable

 

[Rb0891]

No real experience with the hydraulic clutch actuator personally but have heard that there have been lots of issues with them, If it were mine, Iwould go back to an OEM Cable

They didn’t come with a cable. Oem is hudraulic

 

[Bullitt1448]

Apologies, I thought we were talking 03-04 cars.

My bad

 

[Imatk]

If you are losing that much in the pedal from the slave you should be able to tell by looking at your brake reservoir.

The fluid is shared between your brakes and the clutch.

Off the top of my head I can't remember if the bellhousing has a "window" on the bottom like the T5, but if it does you should be able to see some leakage there as well I would imagine?

I don't know if a bad slave would basically leak or if it just wouldn't function?

Never heard of this issue before but I'd be interested to know.

Also, I know that depending on the clutch the length of that slave will change.

I found this out the hard way after using the OEM '07 slave with an OEM '13 clutch. Cracked the disc :/

But if it's too long (like mine was) they would have known immediately. I wonder if it's maybe not long enough and that's causing your pedal issue?

 

[SCGallo2]

The bottom of the bellhousing has a small inspection hole where you might be able to detect a clutch hydraulic fluid leak from the slave cylinder; look for obvious wetness.

The brake and clutch systems do share a reservoir and the same hydraulic fluid, but the aft partition of the reservoir isolates fluid to the clutch in such a way that if your clutch line ruptures and dumps all of the fluid, it does NOT empty your brake system as well. It is possible to see two different fluid levels in the front and rear partitions.

The slave cylinder is the usual culprit, but you could check the o-rings on your stainless clutch line for leakage and damage first, which would not require removing the transmission.

The correct length OEM slave cylinder for your application will usually offer the best performance and long-term reliability.

 

[Imatk]

Interesting, so if the slave were to puke you wouldn't see it in the fluid level in the brake reservoir?

 

[SCGallo2]

Interesting, so if the slave were to puke you wouldn't see it in the fluid level in the brake reservoir?

Yes, you would see it if you knew where the fluid level was to start with on the level indicator. With a leak the entire reservoir level would drop to a certain point. If the leak continued unresolved, the front partition would be low but not empty keeping the brakes functional. The back partition that supplies the clutch would eventually be empty.

 

[PrestonJ]

Ok so I'm bringing this post back from the dead because my clutch saga STILL isn't over.

The issue I initially posted about here ended up being a combination of a bad master cylinder and clutch cable. With those parts replaced the clutch started performing normally for a short time. So to summarize here is what has been installed in my car:

-McLeod RXT Clutch and Flywheel 6918-07

-Ford Performance 4.6L/5.4L/5.8L & 5.0L TI-VCT Roller Pilot Bearing

-McLeod Racing 1200 Series Hydraulic Slave Cylinder

-OEM Master Cylinder Replacement

-McLeod 139251 High Performance Hydraulic Clutch Line

So a few weeks after I got the car back (I don't drive it a ton) I noticed a very peculiar issue... about 50% of the time if I roll to a stop with the clutch pedal pressed down and the car in gear, the shifter will stick in that gear. I cannot pull the car out of that gear (can be any gear per my testing) without excessive force. The clutch is obviously disengaged because the car doesn't stall or try to pull at all. The only way I've found to get the car "unstuck" is by slowly releasing the clutch until the car starts pulling, then pressing the clutch back down. At that point I can pull it out of gear no problem. For the time being I have been able to avoid the issue by slipping the car into neutral before coming to a complete stop.

I took it to the same Ford dealer today for them to investigate and they bled the clutch but that didn't help at all. Now they're suggesting another slave cylinder replacement. I am at my wits end with this issue and I am really not sure how to proceed. I know a bunch of you suggested that the OEM slave is a good option - do you guys honestly think pulling the McLeod slave out and replacing it with another OEM slave could possibly fix this issue? I have spent thousands of dollars at this point and really want to cut my losses chasing a fix. Any help is appreciated!

 

[SCGallo2]

What you are experiencing now is clutch drag... the clutch is not fully disengaging. If you recently replaced the clutch master cylinder and hydraulic line, your problem is definitely inside the bell housing. It sounds like the slave cylinder is not actuating the pressure plate diaphragm spring appropriately. Also, while the clutch is dragging, it is building unnecessary heat in the clutch discs, floater, and flywheel contact surface... not good if left unchecked. You will need to remove the transmission to properly diagnose, but do replace the slave cylinder with a proper length OEM replacement at the minimum while you are in there.

Out of curiosity, is the correct brake fluid being used to replenish the reservoir when clutch work is performed? Mixing of incompatible brake fluids could have undesirable effects.

 

[1Kona_Venom]

Ok so I'm bringing this post back from the dead because my clutch saga STILL isn't over.

The issue I initially posted about here ended up being a combination of a bad master cylinder and clutch cable. With those parts replaced the clutch started performing normally for a short time. So to summarize here is what has been installed in my car:

-McLeod RXT Clutch and Flywheel 6918-07

-Ford Performance 4.6L/5.4L/5.8L & 5.0L TI-VCT Roller Pilot Bearing

-McLeod Racing 1200 Series Hydraulic Slave Cylinder

-OEM Master Cylinder Replacement

-McLeod 139251 High Performance Hydraulic Clutch Line

So a few weeks after I got the car back (I don't drive it a ton) I noticed a very peculiar issue... about 50% of the time if I roll to a stop with the clutch pedal pressed down and the car in gear, the shifter will stick in that gear. I cannot pull the car out of that gear (can be any gear per my testing) without excessive force. The clutch is obviously disengaged because the car doesn't stall or try to pull at all. The only way I've found to get the car "unstuck" is by slowly releasing the clutch until the car starts pulling, then pressing the clutch back down. At that point I can pull it out of gear no problem. For the time being I have been able to avoid the issue by slipping the car into neutral before coming to a complete stop.

I took it to the same Ford dealer today for them to investigate and they bled the clutch but that didn't help at all. Now they're suggesting another slave cylinder replacement. I am at my wits end with this issue and I am really not sure how to proceed. I know a bunch of you suggested that the OEM slave is a good option - do you guys honestly think pulling the McLeod slave out and replacing it with another OEM slave could possibly fix this issue? I have spent thousands of dollars at this point and really want to cut my losses chasing a fix. Any help is appreciated!

Your 2 hours from Ft Mill, SC. Unless your really invested in having the dealership troubleshoot a bunch of aftermarket stuff, I would give Dan a call at Pro Dyno and go see them. Sorry thats all I could offer as far as help

 

[PrestonJ]

What you are experiencing now is clutch drag... the clutch is not fully disengaging. If you recently replaced the clutch master cylinder and hydraulic line, your problem is definitely inside the bell housing. It sounds like the slave cylinder is not actuating the pressure plate diaphragm spring appropriately. Also, while the clutch is dragging, it is building unnecessary heat in the clutch discs, floater, and flywheel contact surface... not good if left unchecked. You will need to remove the transmission to properly diagnose, but do replace the slave cylinder with a proper length OEM replacement at the minimum while you are in there.

Out of curiosity, is the correct brake fluid being used to replenish the reservoir when clutch work is performed? Mixing of incompatible brake fluids could have undesirable effects.

This definitely sounds like a possibility. I contacted McLeod directly and they first suggested bleeding the clutch which we've already tried. They said to drive it for a while and see if it gets better, and if not it could be that the clearance between the clutch disks wasn't set properly during the installation. They confirmed that the McLeod 1200 slave cylinder should be compatible with my setup. I have to say I highly doubt that it's going to get better on its own. I had it stick so bad today in my driveway that I had to circle around the driveway to get it out of first gear.

As far as the brake fluid I'm guilty of trusting the dealership but I will follow up with them to confirm. They have been solid for me over the years with various installs.

 

[PrestonJ]

Your 2 hours from Ft Mill, SC. Unless your really invested in having the dealership troubleshoot a bunch of aftermarket stuff, I would give Dan a call at Pro Dyno and go see them. Sorry thats all I could offer as far as help

This is a good point, I have actually met the Pro Dyno guys a few years ago when I had the car dyno tested by them at a local car show. I have relied on my local dealership mostly just out of convenience and they have been good in the past.

 

[1Kona_Venom]

This is a good point, I have actually met the Pro Dyno guys a few years ago when I had the car dyno tested by them at a local car show. I have relied on my local dealership mostly just out of convenience and they have been good in the past.

They know their way around these cars. And they install McLeod's all the time.
Their Ford Master tech has been there for over 15 years I think.

Look at it this way, 4 hours round trip and if you have some other stuff you wanna get done that would be a good time. How many hours would you have invested going back and forth to your dealership, waiting around etc? W/e you decide to do I am sure it work out

 

[VNMOUS1]

I am a McLeod fan but their slave sucks

I only recommend a Ford OEM replacement.

Sounds like a good plan of attack and Dan at Pro-Dyno is an excellent choice. Give him a hug for me

Sent from my SM-N986U1 using Tapatalk

 

[PrestonJ]

I am a McLeod fan but their slave sucks

I only recommend a Ford OEM replacement.

Sounds like a good plan of attack and Dan at Pro-Dyno is an excellent choice. Give him a hug for me

Sent from my SM-N986U1 using Tapatalk

Thanks for the reply BJ. Maybe going back to the OEM slave will solve this issue. A friend of mine is heading to SC for Christmas and offered to tow my car down to the guys at Pro Dyno so that's the plan as of right now.

 

[claybeatz]

Thanks for the reply BJ. Maybe going back to the OEM slave will solve this issue. A friend of mine is heading to SC for Christmas and offered to tow my car down to the guys at Pro Dyno so that's the plan as of right now.

Nice, can’t wait to hear the good news.

 

[1Kona_Venom]

Thanks for the reply BJ. Maybe going back to the OEM slave will solve this issue. A friend of mine is heading to SC for Christmas and offered to tow my car down to the guys at Pro Dyno so that's the plan as of right now.

Pro Dyno did my clutch. My factory clutch even with only 4500 miles hadn't failed, but the graph showed as the clutch heated up, it wasn't 100%. The guys installed an OEM slave. And I have not had a single issue, rattling, noise etc from my clutch

So what else you gonna have them do since you are making the trip? More power??