3.4L Messed up clutch install - need advice before pulling trans again

[tomvs123]

I've been reading the board for a while, but never ran into any problems until now, so here's my first post.

I have a 3.4l '94 firebird and I just attempted to replace the clutch. I went by the Chilton's book and removed the transmission and flywheel housing cover separately. Other than a few stubborn bolts and noticing that my oil pan gasket was leaking, it all went well.

But when all back together, i noticed a big problem - the clutch won't engage.

The clutch pedle is all the way up and has pressure, although not as much pressure as it should. The actuator cylinder has good pressure and presses on the clutch fork when I push the pedal.

I'm thinking I either put something together wrong, or there's not enough pressure in the clutch hydraulic system.

Here's a few questions/concerns:
-Is an actuator cylinder the same thing as a slave cylinder?
-The clutch disk has the flat side toward the flywheel and the raised side towards the transmission, right?
-The throwout bearing I received did not have a little raised notch in its groove like the old bearing. Was I given the wrong part?
-The throwout bearing does slide into the clutch fork, right? With the bigger side of the bearing touching the fins of the clutch pressure plate? This is the only part that couldn't remember exactly how I removed.
-I cleaned the actuator cylinder (never removed it), but have noticed it leaking a tiny bit of brown fluid.
-Are there any picures on the net of a 3.4l clutch install?

Thanks in advance for any tips or suggestions.

[tomvs123]

It looks like I have some terminology wrong..

My clutch won't disengage, meaning I can't shift gears while the car is running. They shift fine when its not running [img]smile.gif[/img]

I'm going out now to try to manually press on the clutch fork so see if the actuator isn't pressing it far enough..

[tomvs123]

Here's some more thing's I've tried:

- as suggested by someone in a different post, I've tried to "break the clutch disk free" by starting the car while in gear (back end was on jack stands). I was able to go through the gears, but it was very difficult and pressing the clutch pedal didn't make a difference.

- bled the actuator cylinder several times thinking that it doesn't have enough pressure to push the clutch fork. I've bled as per the instructions in the chilton's manual (which is basically just pumping the actuator while it's facing down and watching the master cylinder for bubbles). There is a tiny screw on the actuator that I may try to unscrew to see if it does anything.

- and one more concern - the clutch pressure plate didn't seem to fit perfectly. When I first lined it up with the flywheel, it was raised about 1/4" and I had to forcibly bolt it down to get it in contact with the flywheel. I assumed this is normal since I assumed I was given the right parts. Is this how the install of the pressure plate should have went, or were there spacers/etc required?

[tomvs123]

Like I said I was going to try before, I figured out a way to depress the clutch fork without the actuator in there. The clutch disengaged fine, so there's a problem with the actuator (I now know this is called the slave cylinder), or with the hydrolic system in general.

I'm going to try to flush the system or replace the slightly leaky slave cylinder.

I've pretty much solved my problem (even though I've been talking to myself), but any comments would be welcome.

[FunkZ]

It sounds like you've got it pretty much licked. Only thing I might offer is the Haynes mentions unbolting the slave cylinder and hanging it down at ground level but I thought it was pumping the master cylinder to release any air.

[tomvs123]

Well, I bled the system, installed a new slave cylinder ($39.99 with lifetime warranty from o'reilly's), released air from the system, and now the clutch disengages just barely when the clutch pedal is all the way to the floor.

The master cylinder is holding pressure fine and isn't leaking, so I'm just going to let the new clutch break in for a while or maybe look for a way to adjust the clutch pedal so it presses the master cylinder in further.

[FunkZ]

Sounds like maybe not quite all the air is out of it. If it is disengaging at least you know everything is functioning.