Isn’t that used on Flathead V8s?
I am not seeing any fluid leaks coming from the master cylinder. I pulled the carpet and sound deadening material back and it was dry. I also looked on the other side of the firewall and nothing….
I will get under the truck in a bit. At the rate I have added fluid there has to be some coming out at the bell housing if the slave is leaking.
I had this happen twice before and both times it was the slave. Once was on this truck and the other my 1997 F250 light duty that I let die a few months back.
The symptoms were as follows. Clutch became harder to disengage until fluid leaked to where it wouldn’t. Adding fluid and pumping a few times restored function. If you really let it go to where it is hard to drive, you have to add it a second time in quick succession. At this rate if I look there will HAVE to be fluid somewhere.
And by most manufacturers. Well into the 1960’s as well.
I’m 56 years old and I recall replacing rope seals (front and rear) during the beginning of my career. Thankfully those days are gone now.
You probably also recall replacing things like distributor caps and rotors and radiator hoses with regularity, and replacing brake pads every 30,000 miles. All things that have improved in the intervening decades.
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So true, my daughters 17 Corolla LE w/CVT has over 105,000 miles on it with the original factory installed brake, at the rate they are wearing, I am thinking they will go 150,000 miles on them…
A lot of the Tacoma guys are getting 70,000 plus miles out of the brakes…
I know the Chevy Express vans were getting 100,000 miles out of their brakes (around here anyway)…
My Grand Caravan had 196,930 miles on all the original hoses, 06 Corolla had over 180,000 miles on the OE hoses, I don’t remember the last time I replaced a radiator/heater hose, unless I was replacing the radiator already…
Same here. And when’s the last time you saw a car by the side of the road with a broken hose? They used to drive into the gas station I worked at in the ‘70s all the time.
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Well I got under the truck today. The master cylinder looks pretty clean. I can see where I have dripped by constantly adding fluid but there is no leak at the firewall. I pulled the carpet and sound deadening back and nothing is oily.
On the other hand, fluid is just dripping from the transmission/engine interface and everything down there is just coated. This appears to be the slave cylinder which requires the engine and transmission come apart. This failure has happened to me twice before and it was always the slave. I guess I just got unlucky. Once with this this same truck and another time it was the 1997 F250 light duty that is done for.
You still are making sound like you have to pull the engine and trans, then separate them… You only need to pull the transmission, the engine just hangs from both the engine mounts…
I guess you are right on that. This still involves some labor and not a super quick fix. There may be a few other problems with the truck as well. It looks like the 2WD models do not hold their value at all so if I am not planning to keep this truck long-term, spending the money needed might not be a good idea.
Also, the ABS light just came on within the last week and I have maybe started hearing a suspension noise. The ABS is likely a simple wheel speed sensor. A chain tire shop I had to use due to a flat also told me that both my inner tie rods are on their way out but would be passable in an inspection for now. Others tell me this shop tells EVERYONE they need some new part to drum up business so am not sure I trust that diagnostic.
There might be a few things wrong with the truck but need to take the time to jack it up and look at the suspension or have a shop take a look. The truck will not be needed so was thinking it might be best to sell it as is if it isn’t worth much more with all the problems fixed.
Something else…. The oil pan was cracked when I ran over some metal in the road at night. I patched this probably over a decade ago with JB Weld and it is still holding fine. I do have a spare pan that I had planned to have swapped the next time something like the clutch had to be done. The oil pan on these isn’t just a small stamped metal deal. It is like a structural part of the engine and the transmission partially mounts to it on these trucks. I have a good used part on hand but the job of swapping this is more work and cost.
I wouldn’t flinch if I knew I was keeping the truck but am not sure at this point. I get the feeling that fixing all that might or might not be wrong with this thing is probably not worth it. The KBB value of the truck in excellent shape is only around $3000. My example is probably more of a $1500-2000 truck.
I know it would probably go on a while longer as the fundamentals are all good if all repairs were completed.
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Inner tie rod ends look just like outer tie rod ends, nothing fancy and just as easy to replace, RockAuto sells them for under $10.00 each… But my money would be on the center link and maybe the idler arm… lol… still not a bad job…
It’s aluminum, if it ain’t leaking, I wouldn’t think about it again, it looks fancier than it is…
Is it a short bed or long bed, standard or extended cab??
Someone looking to do a V8 swap and do some drag racing or street strip might be looking for it, so if you decide to sell it, try to add the hot rod truck crowd to the mix, I know several people running S10’s on the strip…
I bumped into a guy who has offered me $1500 for the truck. I will be calling him once the lein release arrives. It has been paid for long ago so now it is just a wait. He plans to use it as the platform for a classic car body and I told him about the clutch. The entire thing will pretty much get completely torn apart during his conversion so the clutch will be taken care of.
The funny thing is that he bumped into me as I was buying a hydraulic fluid stop leak at the local farm store. It was a Lucas product which I kinda view as snake oil but figured I didn’t have a lot to lose. I read the label and it said it is compatible with all fluids including brake but stopped short of suggesting using it in braking systems. Of course there are safety hazards and liabilities with this and some people would attempt to use it to fix a serious problem that really needs a proper repair. ALL other stop leak type products said NOT TO BE USED to fix brake system leaks which I am sure is a lot about safety and liability. In my case it isn’t brakes but a clutch system that uses brake fluid.
It got worse as the temps dropped. I had noticed this before on cold nights but on the first cold spell, it basically leaked the fluid out as fast as I could add it and even when it held fluid, the clutch was essentially inoperable. Now that I added this it is leaking much slower and clutch operation is the best it has been in quite a while, even in colder temps. For the short tem I am happy with this fix. I think mainly it is just a thickening agent as it pours like cold honey or molasses. Again, I have always viewed Lucas as snake oil but if it works for this, then I am happy. It may degrade the seals over time (I don’t know) but since both cylinders will be replaced during the proper fix with the new owner, it won’t harm anything else.
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That is awesome you found someone to repurpose the S-10, although not a GM guy myself, I do like the little S–10’s with the 4.3L or even better with a V8 swap, very capable drag trucks…
I hope you get some build pics and post them here, or PM me the pics, I love that kind of stuff…
My buddy that has helped me with my fun car has a 4x4 S-10 that he want’s me to build his engine and driveline (700-R4, maybe t-case and regear the diffs), if it was a 2WD, we’d be V8 swapping it, but to involved with the front diff… I think he is doing an engine swap in his 1984 Civic 1st… Time will tell…
Not sure, but I seem to recall S10 chassis are popular replacement for Studebakers undergoing restomod work.
The guy who approached me about it is a well-known mechanic in my area who just retired in the past couple years. We got to talking because he saw I had that jug of hydraulic stop leak in my hand at the checkout lane at the farm store. I told him about what it was for and that I was planning to sell the truck quite soon.
It sounds like he has done many hot rods and restomod type projects in his day. I think it is interesting how modern drivetrains are being swapped into classic but this makes sense. That way you get fuel injection and modern reliability, plus those who know how to work on the older stuff are retiring. Basically he said there are kits where you just buy brackets/mounts to go between the classic body and the modern frame. I am sure he will be happy to send me pics of the project as it goes along since this is right up his alley.
My truck is a 2WD which kills the value around here. I told him it was 2WD so maybe that makes for a better re-use without the 4WD stuff in the way up front as mentioned. I understand that the LS style motors are also desired for restomods these days with many aftermarket kits to make them work in many applications. Most pull the AFM/DFM nonsense out of them or find examples from a year when GM didn’t include that in the 5.3L. One of my friends who is a die hard Ford guy was considering doing this with a Mustang project as he really likes the LS. That project went by the wayside and he sold he car when he got married and had two kids.
The 5.0 Coyote has about 100 more horsepower out of the factory vs the 5.3L LS but I guess if you really want to build a motor, the LS has more potential.
Yeah you can buy a junkyard 4.8L LS engine, open the gap on the stock rings and stock bottom end, add a cam, heads and induction system, then add a turbo to it and get 1,200 HP and still be street friendly…
Me, I’d like to stroke a 3rd gen early Hemi, and add a cam and the later model ported Eagle heads with Holley induction with the Holley terminator x kit, for about 600-650 streetable NA HP W/an 8 speed auto for my fun car, but lack of money makes that only a dream… lol
Could probably build a boosted LS Mustang cheaper…
Fox body Mustangs had LX trim, not LS, but we knew what you meant.
Nope, sorry..
It went over your head I think, LS is the (GM/Chevy) engine not the trim level of the Mustang, we were talking about doing a LS swap into a Mustang, VERY common in the street/strip & purpose built drag racing world…
The Fox or SN95 body Mustangs are almost perfect for drag racing with the factory 4 link rear suspension and lightweight car and easy to modify with a ton of aftermarket support, and swapping in a LS engine gives you the most bang for the buck…
I knew you were talking Chevy. I was making a joke.
If I were to do an engine swap, I would put a SBF into a Studebaker Hawk just for all the people that think a Studebaker 289 is the same engine as a Ford 289.
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lol
Dropping a SBF (small block Ford for the non gear heads) in an engine swap, can be a better fit in a lot of engine swaps for no other reason than the dizzy (distributer) being up front and out of the way of the firewall…
And isn’t the SBF slightly smaller overall than the SBC? The SBF seems to get used in tight situations, like the Miata.
Yes, no, kinda, due to the short stroke and short deck of the 302(W) it is smaller than others, however due to the longer stroke in the 351W, it is a taller deck which makes it wider and taller by design over the little 289/302 SBF, so even though they are both SBF’s, they are not the same size, and then you have the 351C which is a SMF, but the 351C is a wider engine, but the 351W is a taller engine, but they all have the SBF bellhousing bolt patterns, now the 351M is just a different animal all together… Fords are just wayyy to confusing vs GM and even Mopar engines in the last 60ish years…