My clutch pedal on my '61 E goes to floor and does not return. I don't have any fluid loss and I don't see any movement of the slave cylinder rod. From looking at the diagram in the manual, it looks like the master cylinder pedal rod is not connected to the master cylinder piston and a spring in the master cylinder, is supposed to return the clutch pedal to the normal height. Does this sound right? I am thinking that the piston in the master cylinder might be jammed and that I might be able to shoot some compressed air (10 psi) into the outlet line to free up the piston. Has anybody had a similar issue?

I inherited this car from my dad 3 years ago. He had bought the car in pieces and completed the restoration on it four years ago, 1 year before he suddenly passed away. I am planning on showing the car in a month so I would not rather do a master cylinder teardown if I can avoid it. Any thoughts?

Submitted by woebegone@mind… on Sun, 07/22/2012 - 18:44

If the pedal drops, and the rod on the slave doesn't move, chances are the master is bypassing the seals.
Probably not jammed.
Was the car running when this happened?
I would recommend new or at least rebuild the master.
Personal choice is to do master and slave at the same time, as the seals are the same age, and both have had exactly the same number of strokes.
Flex hose at the same time is smart, unless you just recently did it.
Dave

Submitted by NC19-25890 on Sun, 07/22/2012 - 00:19

Quick update. I started the car earlier this evening for first time this year hoping that the engine heat might free something up. I just went back into the garage to cover the car and checked the clutch pedal. Now, I have a "firm" pedal and it returns to the normal height. Not sure what happen to fix the problem. I still have an issue that I can't shift into 1st gear at all but I am hoping that is an issue with the console padding. I plan to take the console off and investigate.