I got the new MSD 6AL wired and installed with a good new keyed power source under hood. With the new multiprong plug I was able to clean up the wiring a lot. I’ve been struggling a bunch with the clutch hydraulics but think I’ve finally got it resolved. Last night I noticed the new yoke 1350 ujoint was hitting the exhaust as was the trans cross member. Next project!
The car got two rides on the flatbed-to and from the exhaust shop-where they created a new exhaust connector from my header to the exhaust system. They also bled the clutch slave cylinder. I don’t have full clutch release yet so I need to get back inside and tweak the MDL linkage. Closer every day!
Really struggling with the hydraulic clutch system. It will not release. I’ve verified I have air out if the system and sufficient slave cylinder travel. I’ll get back in touch with Modern Drive Line in the morning for assistance.
Just for your reference, here’s a short video showing the range you should be getting from the MDL hydraulic clutch. The black marks represent the maximum range of fork movement, the actual travel is a bit less after adjusting for how I like the pedal to feel and still get full clutch release.
I need to verify travel of the clutch slave cylinder rod as I measured at front face of the clutch fork. if that’s not the issue then it’s time to pull the trans for measurements and possible changes inside the bellhousing. Yay.
I dropped the trans last night and will move the pivot ball forward then reinstall the trans.
I pulled the bellhousing today. I noticed some oil leaks on the bottom of the block separation plate. Dang. I got the pressure plate and clutch disc off today but noted no oil on the disc. There was some strange wear on the clutch hub springs urethane encapsulation from the ARP flywheel bolts so I need to call Ram in the morning. I’ll pull the flywheel and block plate to locate the oil leak. I’ve got both a new oil pan gasket set as well as a new rear main seal which should be here tomorrow.
And since everyone prefers pictures to words…
Odd wear on new encapsulated clutch springs caused by contact with ARP flywheel bolts
Wonder if thats all related to the issues you are having with the slave?
Well I feel like a dork. I installed the clutch disc backwards. To my credit it wasn’t marked and Ram only chuckled at me a little when I contacted them. I still need to locate the oil leak and I will index the pivot ball forward just because I’m in there.
In the past two months I pulled the oil pan, cleaned it up and resealed it to hopefully take care of the oil leak I had. I saw no indication that the rear main was leaking. To drop the pan I removed the motor mounts and front anti-sway bar plus dropped the PS rack. I buttoned that back up and cleaned then reinstalled the block plate, flywheel, clutch (the correct way), and pressure plate with everything torqued to spec. Bellhousing was next and today I refilled the trans and have it back in place though not yet fully seated. It will be bolted down before I close up the garage for the night.
It’s been quite a while since my last update. Since then I got the clutch and pressure plate in (correctly this time) then set to work putting all of humpty back together again. I finished reassembly a short time ago and got the car outside on jackstands so I could have the doors open, car running in neutral and in gear to verify clutch release. My 6 year old battery gave up the ghost and the car wouldn’t start even after a good dose of fresh electrons so I got a new battery today. I cleaned up the terminals, put the trans in neutral, and started her up. Looking back behind me I saw no wheel rotation this time!!! Success! I had a slight oil leak from one valve cover so tightened all 16 fasteners up and let the drips burn off. Tonight I’ll get her back 9n the ground for the first drive since 2019 now with a five speed TKO600 in place of the 3.03, a 3.70:1 with Auburn diff I place of the leaky 2.79 open, and rear discs in place of rear drums. I’m expecting a slightly different driving experience this time!
After my last post the troubles began. While I ow had a non-energized input shaft while in neutral as I now had my clutch disc in correctly I could not get the clutch to release. I had tweaked the MDL linkage system controlling the MC to its maximum stroke last fall and the system was bled but I couldn’t get the clutch to release fully. I removed it and replaced it with a direct acting clutch master cylinder assembly from Malwood USA. This system mounts the MC directly to a revised clutch pedal assembly which then is mounted to the brake pedal. After some struggles getting everything back up under the dashboard and some bleeding challenges I finally got the system functional last night and had full clutch release for the first time since the Z bar controlled the stock 3.03 trans. I’m pretty pumped that this thing will finally be road capable and let me start making it road worthy as I know I’ve got a lot of the little things to tidy up and tweak after putting some miles on it. Pics soon.
Nice work, always a good feeling to solve those headaches you have been fighting with. Looking forward to some more pictures and driving feedback!
Pedals previously modified for MDL master cylinder
Malwood USA clutch pedal
A few mods were required on my car as I had previously converted the pedals to Drake needle bearings making them wider than the bushed pedals. A longer bolt was the fix here. The new clutch pedal was delivered with an AN-3 line but I had the AN-4 already in place so I needed to add the adapter and the 90 union for clearance. Note the Malwood slave cylinder 90 fitting swivels which is really handy for installation.
Nice work. That Malwood setup is the way to go, wish I had done that rather than fighting with the MDL master cylinder.
Wish I’d known about it earlier. I thought the MDL system would work well but I had no luck with it. I know others use it successfully in their cars. I’ll be posting it for sale soon here if anyone is interested.
That is a nice setup an Ill have to keep it in mind when I change my setup. My challenge has been finding a solution to mounting a slave cylinder on a toploader.
Im actually ok with the Z-bar setup besides it being in the way of other things like headers and steering.
With everything going on in that area-brakes, steering, clutch actuation, exhaust-the hydraulic release made the most sense to me. It wasn’t easy for me obviously but I learned and got through ultimately.
Diesel-when I was considering reusing the original Ford bell versus the Fox body aluminum bell a factor I considered was clutch release method, ie hydraulic slave cylinder versus hydraulic throw out bearing. I chose slave cylinder which determined the next step being the later model bellhousing as I couldn’t find a slave cylinder set up using the early stock bell housing. This later model bell housing drove other changes-flywheel, clutch, starter, block plate. I was planning to replace the clutch and wanted to try and aluminum flywheel so that wasn’t an issue. I had planned ahead with my choice of Powermaster starter which, with a new nose plate, could accommodate either diameter/tooth count flywheel. The block plate was cheap. All of this to say when you’re considering something like this think about all the changes that may be required.
Tonight was a success! Short drive through the hood using 1st and 2nd gear plus reverse. I’ve got a couple of things to look in to quickly-strange steering binding and front end clunking but clutch releases and it shifts well at low speed. AL flywheel isn’t an issue at all at this point.