slave cylinder and clutch question

clutch on my 97 3.0 2wd went out the other day. I havent pulled the transmission yet as I'd like to have all the parts in hand.

I see kits online with the complete hydraulic slave cylinder/throwout bearing combo and then there are ones with just a throwout bearing.

does the throwout bearing come out of the slave and can be independantly replaced or are there two different types of clutches on these things?

also, a bunch of the kits are advertised as fitting 2.3/2.5/3.0? so the 4-bangers use the same clutch as a v6?

New Slave usually comes with throwout bearing clipped on, but throwout bearing can be replaced without replacing the slave if needed, so can be purchased separately.

1993 to 2012 Rangers all used the same slave, 1992 and earlier had different Quick Connect fitting on the slave
Heads up:
You have to watch out anytime there is a transition to a new part, Ford doesn't just throw away older versions at the assembly plants, they use them up until they are gone, so 1993 Rangers could have older 1992 quick connect style.
You are fine in 1997

Yes, the 4cyl and 3.0l V6 used the same clutch disc and pressure plate, 8 7/8" clutch
4.0l V6 used 10" clutch

The 8 7/8" is fine for 3.0l power and "heavy duty" for 4cyls, so just easier to have them use the same size

I wonder if the slaves hydraulic line is long enough that I can drop the bell and maybe ziptie it to the exhaust or something so I dont have to unhook it and then bleed it?

No, you will damage the hose to Master
You can pull out the Master and reservoir, and lower them down so hose won't get pulled when you lower transmission down

Quick connect closes the hose when detached so no fluid should leak out and no air can get into the hose, the slave will need to be bled after reinstall

If you are going thru the motions of dropping the trans for the clutch I would put both throwout and pilot bearings in it while you are there.

It would stink to drop the trans in a year to change the throw out bearing...

ok, so I've found a couple "prebled" slaves online for sale. if I use one of these will I have to bleed it still? a quick connect was mentioned so I'm assuming when I disconnect it, it will remain sealed? or will fluid leak out?

Master hose has the quick connect and that seals the Master's hose
Slave is OPEN to leak fluid when it is disconnected.

Never heard of a "pre-bled" Slave, don't think that is even possible unless they capped the end for the quick connect and you took cap off just before connecting.
But you could do that

We used rhinopac from RockAuto the connector disconnected from the slave, but the line is permanently connected to the master cylinder, the hardest part using the pre-bled setup is getting the new line down and up over the frame. Most people don't but I will always replace all the hydraulics, whenever the transmission has to come out. transmission it's just too much hard work to do it a second time.

the connectors are self-sealing when/if you take them apart but they are a beech to take apart even, with the right tool, so plan your work well, so you don't have to do it twice.

No bleeding necessary after it's all in I even checked.

RonD said:

Master hose has the quick connect and that seals the Master's hose
Slave is OPEN to leak fluid when it is disconnected.

Never heard of a "pre-bled" Slave, don't think that is even possible unless they capped the end for the quick connect and you took cap off just before connecting.
But you could do that

Click to expand...

Yep it's completely full with fluid. I thought the slave would have to be filled but it's all ready to go, I was quite amazed how well it works and still works

+1 to what others said, definitely just replace all of it at once. The original clutch master is not very robust in my opinion, neither is the slave for that matter- the whole job is a bit of pain so definitely do everything at once (slave, clutch, master, pilot bearing, rear main seal too) and also you should consider going with a LUK brand clutch kit that has all components, a lot of cheap aftermarket slaves fail prematurely. That is no fun. I was told the OEM clutches are LUK clutches, not sure if that's true but I know they are well liked.

The quick disconnect can be tricky but it usually does work well

Bench bleed the entire slave and master assembly before installation. There are good videos on youtube. It gets much harder to bleed when installed and the air becomes harder to purge. There are a lot of ways to do this.

To do the master, find a post or something you can string the master assembly up on, vertically, with the actual cylinder pointing upright as much as possible, and then pump it with a screwdriver as you keep adding new brake fluid (DO NOT use the new master pushrod to pump/bleed master assembly, you want to install that after the master is on the truck's firewall, otherwise clearances get very tight trying to install the whole unit). Bleed that thing until it has just the smallest amount of play in the cylinder- I think no more than a 1/16" is what you want. Rap the hard plastic line with a screw driver over and over while the assembly is upright to shock air bubbles free and force them to rise. It's a bit of a process. Sometimes I walk around with the whole assembly shaking it violently... air bubbles like to get caught in the bends and crevices and will present themselves later if left

As for the slave, I have always connected it to the new, bled master assembly and pushed brake fluid through it in a similar fashion on a bench. Just don't let the reservoir of the master get too low or you will introduce air and defeat all your hard work. Probably best to fill/bleed master with the bleeder near top so that rising air heads towards the bleeder and not get stuck somewhere. I have in the past held the master compressed before opening the bleeder to get the maximum push through the unit, then quickly closed bleeder with master cylinder compressed so as to not introduce air during release of master. Seems to help

Also, the pre bled units are good, I have used them before, but sometimes they aren't 100% perfectly bled! Just be sure to bench test it yourself and be sure its bled before installation

EDIT: I'm not sure how you properly remove a pilot bearing but what I have done in the past as stupid as this seems: hammer white bread into the middle of the pilot bearing. 100% serious. Keep pounding bread in there and it will drive the pilot bearing out. Then clean that bread out and install a new pilot bearing. Hope someone here gets a kick out of that

I've used the bread method numerous times to get the pilot bearing out of the back of a crankshaft, but the 1991 Ranger I'm working on has the pilot in the flywheel--just use the appropriate size round thingy to drive it out.

YES-replace the slave cylinder every time. I'm in the middle of a do-0ver right now because I tried to save $60.00 and it sucks.

RonD said:

Yes, the 4cyl and 3.0l V6 used the same clutch disc and pressure plate, 8 7/8" clutch
4.0l V6 used 10" clutch

The 8 7/8" is fine for 3.0l power and "heavy duty" for 4cyls, so just easier to have them use the same size

Click to expand...

Rock auto showing clutch disc size of 9 1/8 not 8 7/8 for my 1999 3.0l V6. Just wondering.

pulled the clutch off a 99 I bought in July, 8-7/8" pressure plate matches the disk.


however,,,,, that truck was converted to a manual from an auto so all bets are off.