Hydraulic Throw out bearing

[pzazz03]

I just bought my cobra a few months ago. In reading some of the threads in shop talk, I noticed some discussion about hydraulic throw out bearings. How do I determine if I have one of these throw out bearings?
Also, what is the best (easiest) way to bleed my hydraulic clutch? Cheers -- Bob

[BB427]

If you have a master cylinder hooked to hydraulic lines that feed into the side of your belhousing you probably have one. If you have a hydraulic cylinder mounted on the side of the transmission you have a slave cylinder.

Bleed just like you would bleed brakes.

Brent

[trularin]

First, Cobras in general do not leak fluid, they mearly stake out their territory.

Follow the lines from the clutch cylinder and see if they go directly into the tranmission. If they do, chances are good you have one.

Just about every person I have talked to that had/has one, wished they didn't... leaky.

Just my $0.02

[pzazz03]

Thanks for the answers gents. I guess I lucked out and do not have the hydraulic throw out bearing. The car does stake out its territory with one sort of fluid or another.

[Roscoe]

trularin,

I have a Tilton Racing hydraulic bearing on my Cobra and have over 18k on it without a problem. The key to a trouble free bearing is in the initial setup which is very critical. Many people have problems with the bearings because they do not set the pedal stop up correctly and 'overthrow' the bearing. This immediately kills the seal.

Roscoe

[Cal Metal]

Roscoe:

Fortunately, there is nothing critical in the set up of an external slave TOB. A leak will not cost one a clutch, either, or the pain of pulling the trans and bellhousing.

[rbray]

How are you guys attaching the lines so they do not get caught up in the spinning parts of the clutch?

[Roscoe]

If you do not have the ability or confidence to install and set up a hydraulic throwout bearing then I would strongly suggest you go with either a slave or cable.

Roger: I brought the lines out and attached them to the bellhousing with adel clamps, no slack.

Roscoe

[rbray]

Thanks Roscoe.
That's what I did as well, just wanted a reality check.

[kevinR]

Originally posted by pzazz03


[The car does stake out its territory with one sort of fluid or another. [/b]

that fluid is usually venom

[Bluesman]

The stainless braided lines, inlet and bleed outlet don't flop around and attach to the Hyd ram itself. With the McCleod, their are two extension hard pipes that extend out towards the hole in the bell housing. That is where you attach your flexable lines. They don't leak if you tighten them. It is very important that you know how to measure for the right size collar. No magic, pretty simple operation.

[rbray]

thanks for the info guys.
My first install of my Mcleod T.O. failed because of too much pedal travel and line damage.
When I sent the unit back to be rebuilt I was informed that I could upgrade to Mcleods new model. They redesigned the housing and eliminated the banjo joints.
So far so good on this go around.
Thanks again.
Roger

[Rick Bagley]

Bluesman,
Not all McLeod have hard lines, I have a year old McLeod that is braided all the way to the Bearing itself. I have a Lakewood Bellhousing and I made a bracket that attaches to the two holes where the clutch lever pivot would normally attach. This braket secures the lines and keeps them away from the rotating assembly. Then the hard lines attach outside of the Bellhousing.

[PatBuckley]

FYI-

The McCleod that I purchased a month ago also has braided lines all the way to the bearing.

[Chaplin]

Question re: hydraulic t/o bearings:

What is the benefit of a hydraulic t/o bearing compared to the old fashioned slave and fork? Why wouldn't you want to keep things as simple as possible?

[Roscoe]

Chaplin,
I don't think you can get simpler than a t/o. When I was building my Cobra and got to the point I had to think about what I was going to do I found the t/o to be the simplist. Why? Well first I had to make a bracket for the fork and then the pedal with the cable adjuster then run a cable and then have to deal with adjusting the cable due to stretch.

I mean I just installed the bearing and bled the lines with a small amount of adjusting I was finished. I've never touched it since other than to drain and replace with fresh fluid.

Can' t be simpler than that,
Roscoe

[Chaplin]

Roscoe-
If I had fabricate brackets and such I can see the benefit of using a hydraulic t/o. But I think the set up on my car is simpler than a hydraulic. I just have a hydraulic slave cylinder bolted to the block which activates a stock clutch fork. I don't have to mess with cables or worry about the hydraulic t/o leaking, etc. But I see your point.

How about generic advantages/disadvantages of hydraulic v. manual t/o bearings? For instance, if you could use either with relative ease (i.e., no fabrication was required to use either system), what are the pros/cons of each setup?

[Rick Bagley]

I like the HTOB because of the minimum amount of clutch peddle travel it takes to engage or release. The feel of the peddle is great too. Hard for me to beleive that it's all hydraulic. Bleed the system annually and its good to go.

[Curt C.]

I have had both. With the slave, I could not get it perfectly aligned with the throw of the clutch arm. As a result, the piston would hit the inside of the bore resulting in small aluminum particles floating in the fluid. I went through about 4 seals before I gave up and put the Tilton hydraulic bearing in. Also, with the slave, I could not get as much throw as I wanted. When the clutch would get really hot, it was sometimes hard to shift. Zero problems with the bearing; I did ensure that it was set up porperly. My $.02.

[John S Peterson]

For me HTOB was the only solution other than major fab of brackets and such. In the beginning I had the usual problems everyone has probably had. I did change the banjo fittings to 90 degree A/N fittings and added a pedal stop, since then flawless.

J