hi,i am bleeding my slave cyl on my t5...the unit is brand new ....how should the clutch pedal feel?....i haven't started the car yet,,,but should the pedal feel stiff?...or soft?....thanks.

 

A stock clutch does not require a lot of pressure, so the pedal will probably feel on the soft side. It won't feel like a break pedal. You will be able to press the pedal all the way to the floor. But the pedal will spring back, all the way, by itself, from the pressure of the clutch springs.
I hope I'm answering your question & not just stating the obvious.

Some hydraulics (I used a GM master-slave assembly) have a plastic piece around the slave cylindar pushrod, to prevent it from popping out until everything is installed.
It is supposed to break the first time you step on the clutch pedal, but it might not break, just stretch. Until it breaks, the pedal will be much harder to push down. You might want to just cut the two plastic pieces on each side of the pushrod.
I hope you know what I am talking about & that I'm not making things worse...

I don't know how your pivot ball is supposed to be adjusted, knowing you have an aftermarket bellhousing. The stock pivot ball just gets screwed all the way in to the bellhousing.

When you push down all the way on the clutch pedal, the slave cylinder pushrod should move at least .57 inches. This should be enough to completely disengage the clutch.

Hope this helps.

 

hi.yes you helped....my pedal feels soft as you say ,,,but springs back right away...the plastic tabs on the salve were there as you say...i cut the tabs after bolting the slave cyl to the bellhousing...but after cutting the tabs the pedal still feels the same...i am bleeding the slave now...it's a new unit (whole kit) ...the pivot ball seems to be fine,,,i adjusted it to move quite easily ...you think i'm on the right track....?...thanks.

 

Yes, I think you're on the right track.
When you're under the car, and finished bleeding the system, you can check that the slave cylinder pushrod is moving as it should.

Before you start the car for the first time, put the trans in neutral and hold the clutch pedal down to the floor.
Start the engine, keep the clutch pedal down and shift into any forward gear. You shouldn't feel a lot of resistance and the car shouldn't move.
Then, keep the clutch pedal down and shift into neutral for a few seconds and then into reverse. (keep the clutch pedal down.) Sometimes it can be difficult to put in reverse if the gears aren't lined up, but you should not hear any gear "grinding".
What your are checking is whether the clutch plate starts moving, when you are in neutral.
Reverse isn't sychronised, so if you hear a lot of grinding, that indicates that the clutch isn't completely disengaging.

But if the slave cylinder is moving as it should, then you should be fine, really.

 

hi , thankyou....i went to a freinds house who has a gta 5 speed and i sat in the car and pushed down ,,his clutch pedal feels quite harder than mine now...i hope it gets a little harder as i bleed the system ,,i will do that this evening.

 

so , i bled the system..i had my someone pump the clutch pedal like a brake pedal and keep it down to the floor after 3 times and bled the system ,,i did this about 6-7 times...i filled up the reservoir and that's it...i looked while the pedal was being pumped,,,and in fact the pushrod on the slave moves about .5 inches give or take...is that right?...i am sure there is no air in the system ,,,but the clutch pedal feels about the same...it springs up fast but it's not hard,,,rather soft,,,i guess it's fine ?...and not to be confused with a brake pedal feel?...am i ok?

 

Hello mooch1!!

Your pedal will feel kind of easy, on the soft side for awhile, then it will stiffen up a bit from use, and lack of lube on the input shaft!! I had my clutch changed a long time ago, and the mech put some lube on the input shaft, and the first time that I stepped on the clutch pedal, I almost put it through the floor!!! That's how soft it was, however over time it will stiffen up a bit!!

Try out a clutch in the new 5th gen Camaro, you'll see what I mean!!



P.S. As stated above, as long as you are not getting any grinding of gear teeth, and you can actually shift it into a gear, and your pedal comes back up right away, you'll be fine!!

 

hi, thankyou...i feel better hearing that!!...my pedal is real soft as you say...i did in fact put some lube-grease on the input shaft and throw out bearing...the pedal springs up right away...the pushrod on the cylinder moves ...but i don't know about grinding gears yet ,,i haven't started the car yet....i just was worried that the pedal is too soft and won't engage/disengage the clutch ,,but if you say it's fine,,,then i guess that's how it is,,,,,thankyou.