Ah, I had it backwards!   I thought I saw 1" SLAVE!   Yes, I've seen the disk stick to cast iron after sitting for a few years.... Good one!!

no problem, i had this long discussion about the cylinder size with my mechanic and with wilwood tech, with the 3/4 master and the larger 7/8 slave we were not moving enough fluid to push the slave all the way out, this is the reason for the change to a 1 inch master. i am no expert but they both seemed to agree on the swap, anyway, it is pretty clear now that i have more than enough pedal. the clutch is on a pedal assembly that also has the brake pedal with its 2 masters for front and rear, this took a bit of adjustment as it has a portioning adjuster built into the pedal but i like they way it feels so far.

Sorry didn't see post till just now!  Yes of course you can call me!

At the time of my post yesterday, I did not see your post about the 1 inch slave cylinder to "move more fluid".... I think you might have this backwards...  The bigger the slave piston diameter, the more fluid VOLUME is required from the master to move it.... All things equal, a 3/4 inch bore slave will have quite a bit more travel potential than a 1 inch... when using the same master.   See what I mean about more variables with the Wilwoods... It should be fantastic once you get it dialed in!

I still want to hear about the 5-speed!

sean, you and dan are the winners?? looked it over and debated all the feedback, decided to give it a go. came loose in about a block. got some tuning to do on the motor in regards to the idle and also adjust the pedal travel on the clutch but i was thrilled to drive it for a few blocks today.

I have had a couple of clutch disks bond to the flywheel after sitting for extended periods of time. That would keep you from engaging...

I have had luck with starting it in gear and with the clutch in and rving the engine quickly

OK. Stop nut loosened. Suffiecent travel in slave, at least 15/16 inch and still not disengaged. So going to remove the cover and see what I see

jemal, we are going to be working on this today, would it be ok to call you if we have some more questions?

thanks all for the input, i am going to check the stop nut. i have talked with wilwood several times and also with mcleod and even though i did not do the intial build of the car i believe from talking with them this is a proper setup and should work i dont think the problem is the 5 speed itself, most likely the 16v head attached to my 1350 motor, maybe i should just swap you for an 850 with a 4 speed AJ?

when buying this car the only thing i was hesitant about was the 5 speed as i have read so many negative reviews about them over the years. but after researching a bit more it seems most people are pretty happy with these minispares units. just hoping i can get this to work without pulling it.

The problem is clearly the 5 speed.

Just rip it out and ship it to my house.  I'll send you my faithful four speed and you'll be much happier!

(We might as well swap the Wilwood pedals at the same time. )

:-)

  I had this problem and as Jemal suggests my problem was the stop nut.

I almost weighed in earlier, but I've never used the Wilwood Pedal assemblies... and that's an extra variable that could be considered!

Usually, the culprit with the clutch not fully disengaging is either too much of the hydraulic stroke lost to freeplay (and this includes problems with worn components, bent throw-out arms, incorrect adjustment causing the slave to operate at the end of piston travel, a bad rubber hose flexing, improperly mounted master cylinder that does not have the stroke matched to the pedal travel), or the stop-nuts are preventing movement of the throw-out plunger (this happens more than you'd think!).

For your Wilwood pedals, study the installation and try to see if you have efficient travel of the pedal for the available master cylinder 'range'.  I know those can work fantastic when properly dialed in!  I want to know what you think of the 5-speed!

That's the downside of custom setups - you have to do the design and calibration yourself (BTDT).

Besides the lengths of the various mechanical levers in the system (and assuming no wear /slop - after all its all brand new) the back plate travel (which releases the clutch plate) is controlled by the ralationship between the master and slave cylinder diameters... (Without doing the math) I think you could calculate the origianl ratio and compare that to what you now have?

However, with a standard clutch arm/lever (the bit the slave pushrod attaches to) and a properly set up flywheel/plate/back plate (drive straps parallel to clutch plate??) you need about 15/16th of an inch travel at the top of the clutch arm.

The length of the slave rod is irrelevant as long as the slave piston has at least the said 15/16th of travel before it contacts the outer C clip.

Starting the car in gear won't do anything for a clutch plate sticking on primary splines.  However, it will release a clutch plate glued to the flywheel with corrosion.  I don't think this is your problem because you say "fully disengage".  If the clutch plate is stuck the clutch won't release at all.  (Just like when you fit the straps back to front :((

I don't think you'll be able to see the splines with the clutch fitted.. maybe try a light and mirror through the starter hole?? (but I strongly doubt that's an issue).

Good luck, Ian

thanks for the reply dan, all the items in the first paragraph are a positive, i actually welded on 3/4 of an inch to the push rod on the slave to be certain it is the right length. the slave is large, 7/8 inch and the started out with a 3/4 inch master from wilwood, swapped this out for a 1 inch to be sure i had enough fluid moving and this is where i am at. my mechanic suggested to start the car in gear and drive for a bit to see what happens, am i going to see if the splines are rusted if i take the case off the tranny?

The obvious bits to check would be the clutch arm isn't bent or the ball tip worn, then check that the slave cylinder is corrctly positioned for full travel and the slave push rod is the correct length... so that all of the above is providing am apropriate range of movement wihtout the clutch release adjustment bolt being wound all the way out. Check also the big stop nut on the end of the clutch throw shaft isn't in too far.

Beyond that you have to go deeper. if the lump has been sitting assembled for 6 years, the clutch plate splines may not be sliding on the primary gear. ( I had a non-Mini that was plagued by a clutch that was sticky on the splines - the clutch always dragged a bit, especially when cold and the tolerances were tight. Sometimes had to use 2nd gear to stop the transmission spin in neutral. These parts go together un-lubed and a bit of rust may have developed, causing resistance.

Try putting the car in gear and starting with the clutch "disengaged".

trying to get my wagon on the road, brand new (rebuilt) engine and tranny. pre verto with a minispares 5 speed rod change gearbox. engine is starting and running good, cannot get the clutch to fully disengage. this car was built with a lot of aftermarket street rod shiny bits. wilwood brake and clutch pedal assembly, mcleod slave cylinder, etc. so right now the slave pushes the clutch arm to full extension and the clutch is still partially engaged? this was assembled in the UK 6 years ago at specialist components before shipping and has never been driven? is there something sticking possibly? should i try starting the car in first gear and driving it around the block? kind of stumped at this point, any suggestions would be appreciated.