RBConvert
Well-Known Member
The Dart has a Tremec 5 spd from Keisler Engineering with the hydraulic TO bearing. The past year or so I've dealing with a spongy clutch pedal - to the point that I couldn't shift into gear. I can turn off the engine, shift into 1st, restart and take off.
The hydraulics would work OK when the car was cold; after about 20 -25 miles though it would start losing pressure all the way down to nothing. I've put up with it while consumed restoring the Coronet; driving it occasionally to get it up to operating temp, but having to stay close to home.
Now that the Coronet is back on the road I've turned my attention back to the Dart. KE is gone so I wound up talking with Ben at Silver Sport Transmissions - a former KE employee and a great resource. I've called several times and he's always been very patient talking through the troubleshooting process.
At his suggestion I first changed out the fluid to DOT 4. Seemed to delay the sponginess but not a fix. Ben believed it was the master cylinder not the TO bearing because there was no external leakage anywhere and if the TO hydraulics failed there would be noticeable fluid leaking.
Eventually he directed me to CNC Inc.; they made the original m/c for KE (the m/c is now sourced from Wilwood). CNC still offers rebuild kits for the original m/c. After describing my situation with their tech, she also honed in on the m/c. I could either buy a new Wilwood m/c kit for $330 or the rebuild kit for $49; I went with the rebuild kit.
The rebuild was straightforward; the m/c bore looked brand new. The original parts weren't damaged or noticeably worn although the edges of the rubber cup might have been slightly more malleable than the new one, which could have been the cause of the leak down. While the m/c was out I also increased the length of the linkage by about 5/16" - 3/8". Previously Ben mentioned that any firewall flex while pushing down on the clutch pedal would affect the linkage and ultimately the piston travel. There was some flex so I extended the linkage to compensate.
While everything was apart i also wrapped the high pressure line down to the TO in some DEI heat wrap I had lying around. The PO did a nice job of routing the line away from the headers, but I wanted to cover every base.
Mercifully, the end of the story - I've driven the Dart about 100 miles since the rebuild, including a spirited back roads drive between Lincoln and Auburn, lots of down and upshifting, and the pedal is holding. I know its a small sample size but I'm encouraged the issue is solved. If not then I'll wind up replacing the m/c.
In the end I wanted to let members know there is an alternative to replacing parts if you have an old KE system, and to give a shout out to Silver Sport and CNC for their help.
The hydraulics would work OK when the car was cold; after about 20 -25 miles though it would start losing pressure all the way down to nothing. I've put up with it while consumed restoring the Coronet; driving it occasionally to get it up to operating temp, but having to stay close to home.
Now that the Coronet is back on the road I've turned my attention back to the Dart. KE is gone so I wound up talking with Ben at Silver Sport Transmissions - a former KE employee and a great resource. I've called several times and he's always been very patient talking through the troubleshooting process.
At his suggestion I first changed out the fluid to DOT 4. Seemed to delay the sponginess but not a fix. Ben believed it was the master cylinder not the TO bearing because there was no external leakage anywhere and if the TO hydraulics failed there would be noticeable fluid leaking.
Eventually he directed me to CNC Inc.; they made the original m/c for KE (the m/c is now sourced from Wilwood). CNC still offers rebuild kits for the original m/c. After describing my situation with their tech, she also honed in on the m/c. I could either buy a new Wilwood m/c kit for $330 or the rebuild kit for $49; I went with the rebuild kit.
The rebuild was straightforward; the m/c bore looked brand new. The original parts weren't damaged or noticeably worn although the edges of the rubber cup might have been slightly more malleable than the new one, which could have been the cause of the leak down. While the m/c was out I also increased the length of the linkage by about 5/16" - 3/8". Previously Ben mentioned that any firewall flex while pushing down on the clutch pedal would affect the linkage and ultimately the piston travel. There was some flex so I extended the linkage to compensate.
While everything was apart i also wrapped the high pressure line down to the TO in some DEI heat wrap I had lying around. The PO did a nice job of routing the line away from the headers, but I wanted to cover every base.
Mercifully, the end of the story - I've driven the Dart about 100 miles since the rebuild, including a spirited back roads drive between Lincoln and Auburn, lots of down and upshifting, and the pedal is holding. I know its a small sample size but I'm encouraged the issue is solved. If not then I'll wind up replacing the m/c.
In the end I wanted to let members know there is an alternative to replacing parts if you have an old KE system, and to give a shout out to Silver Sport and CNC for their help.
