Ok so the clutch didn't 'feel' right and the
trans would not shift. Shut the truck off, and the trans can be forced
to shift, but it's not easy. Then I noticed the fluid running down the
inside firewall. Great ... It quickly became obvious that the
clutch master cylinder was leaking badly. It also had some foul
dark brake fluid in it. I checked the slave cylinder which looked OK i.e.
no leaks but the hose looked pretty bad. See Fig. 1-2.
I started researching and decided to just order
the Cool Cruiser of Texas kit that had a new master cylinder mated to a later
(1974) model slave cylinder. This would give me new parts and get rid
of the weird size hard line fittings (British threads) that are on the early
model Cruisers.
While waiting on the CCOT part I went ahead and
pulled the old one out and took it apart. (See Fig.
3 ) It was very dirty and because I had nothing better to do I decided
to clean it up. I could not see anything really wrong with it. The seals
looked ok and the cylinder bore was discolored but still smooth.
Fig. 1
Master Cylinder
Fig. 2
Slave Cylinder
Fig. 3
Disassembled
I got to thinking that maybe it would still work?
Well I reinstalled it, filled it with new fluid, bled it and son of a gun
it did work! Toyota engineers knew what they were doing! Thirty four years
and it still worked! I started the cruiser and for the first time in seven
years it moved under it's own power! Of course I had to put it in 4-wheel
drive as I had not yet installed the rear drive shaft but it worked!
Now I was feeling bad about the $126.00 I spent on the part from CCOT but
figured the old part would soon fail anyway right?
***Update Jan. 2007 *** The 'old' part was STILL
working when I removed it to start the tub work!
CCOT Replacement Part
Fig. 4
New CCOT System
Fig. 5
Re-Use old parts from slave cylinder
Fig. 6
Old master to new slave fittings
The CCOT as mentioned combines a 1974 > Slave
cylinder with a standard master cylinder using a custom made hose. You can
easily duplicate the hose. Just take the two cylinders and hoses to a hose
making shop and explain what you want. Don't tell them it's an automotive
application as they may not take the work due to potential liability!
To install the new system could not get any easier.
Unbolt the old master cylinder push rod from
the pedal assembly.
Remove the hard line from the master cylinder
and disconnect the clip holding the hard line to the frame bracket.
Unbolt the master from the firewall and drain
the reservoir of fluid. Set aside as a possible trail spare.
Remove the spring from the slave cylinder
bracket to clutch arm and unbolt the slave from the tranny mount.
Save the slave cylinder push rod, bracket
and spring. Good time to clean them up as they will be used on the new system.
While the paint is drying, bolt on the new
master cylinder and attach the push rod to the pedal assembly.
Insert the old push rod into the slave
then bolt the slave cylinder to the tranny mount.
Attach the spring to the clutch arm and bracket.
You can choose to bench bleed the master cylinder by attaching
a temporary hose from the output back to the input (see here)
or you can just add fluid to the reservoir, open the slave bleeder and start
pumping!
Once all the air is out you will need to adjust the pedal
height and test the clutch operation. You will probably have to adjust the
slave push rod a bit.
