Clutch pedal problems

Your clutch master or slave is either internally bypassing or externally leaking, and from the info provided,, I can't tell which. But I can say that driving your car with a defective hydraulic clutch causes irreparable wear on the ZF synchronizers in your transmission, which average around $1500 per synchro to repair. After 32 yrs of not getting its fluid changed yearly as it needs, the absorbed water in the hydraulic fluid has rusted the bores of the cylinderss.The manual says nothing about repairing the master or slave because they were never intended to be repairable, and there is no official reseal kit. Some guys use parts of two FIAT kits, or a Chevy as you say.. Honing plus resealing may help one out of ten Panteras, and the fix is usually temporary at best. I suggest you bite the bullet and order BOTH a new clutch master and a long-throw slave cylinder, in stainless steel, so a rusting bore will not happen again. The long throw slave will improve shifting and prolong the synchros lives. All Pantera vendors carry the parts you need and they are drop-in replacements..

Do you see fluid anywhere? I'd trace out the hydraulic line all the way from the master to the slave, if I didn't see fluid at the master or slave. Hows the reservoir level? Have you been working on it lately, may just need bleeding. Were you crawling around in the engine bay area, working on something else and maybe bumped a brittle hydraulic line to the slave cylinder, or was something under the front hood? Did you have something in the front that could have slid with force and knocked a crack in the line under the hood?

You could try bleeding the line, but where's the source of the leak?

I'd want to diagnose the problem before throwing parts at it, I've done that many times. (Just like lotto! :-))

Reminds me of when I was a student. Before class, we'd all kick around a problem or question someone asked. The student asked the prof. The prof asked the class. The class gave their best analysis, then the prof gave the answer.

When I posted, there were no replies to the Q? So I thought milehipan may want to do a little more checking while waiting for the prof to arrive.

Jack's the Boss Wrench, I'm not even an apprentice. But, I'm gonna flush, refill, and bleed my clutch hydraulic fluid Pronto! Ditto w/ the brakes.

The new master & slave are upgrades in my book, but I only got so many Pantera Bucks at one time, and I rather complete a few other upgrades 1st.

Thanks for the Q&A, I better do some inserts at the top of my project list. Better to use pencils on these lists.

The system must be internally bypassing. I don�t see any leaks and I haven�t been fiddling with the system. The reservoir has been full since I got the car in November.
I checked out Mike�s site and he has a nice article on rebuilding a master, but it looks like quite a hassle, one I wouldn�t mind taking it on if it was a solid fix.
I think I�ll take Jack�s advise and get 2 new cylinders.

I looked on the Pantera Int. site and they are advertising an aluminum master that �can be rebuilt with a stainless steel sleeve�. Are these to be avoided. I will be getting the long throw slave that Jack suggests.

These will be the first mail order parts I will have bought for the car, suggestions of good parts suppliers are welcome.

Ron,
The fix-it lists on these cars can really grow. I�m glad I let some things slide, that way I have the scratch for the MUST fix it things.

PS This would never be done in the Vette world, every attempt would be made to revive the original parts. Otherwise the NCRS judges would be gleefully deducting points.

If you want a recomendation for a place to do Mail Oredr Parts business, go no further than this Web Site, Dave and Linda Adler of Panreta International can fill all your needs, and they also offer the support of this Web Site and the services of The "BOSS WRENCH", and the rest of us out here trying to preserve and enjoy the Ma

From your name (Milehighpan..) it sounds like you could be from Denver, CO. There is a very good Pantera vendor and restoration shop in Castle Rock, CO, Pantera Performance Center, 303-660-9897.

To answer your second short question with a very long answer, the aluminum replacement master cylinders are hard-anodized and work very well, being lighter, somewhat corrosion-resistent and fit the peculiar Pantera clutch master bolt pattern correctly. Changing this is somewhat of a job, depending. The following is whats NOT covered in the manuals:
First, remove the throttle stop bracket under the dash, then clamp a vise-grip pliers to the now-exposed bolt heads. The nut can now be untightened from the front trunk side if you have no helper. There is a clevis pin, with either a tiny circlip on both ends or a roll pin, that fastens the master cylinder to the pedal. The inner side fastener (either circlip or pin) must be removed before the pin can be slipped out from the clevis. Some clevis pins are rusted in place, so the job gets much more difficult and the space available is minimal.
In that case, ALL the bolts holding the whole pedal plate to the car must be removed, then the aluminum plate can be pulled into the trunk far enough to get a pin-punch on the stuck pin and drive it out. The brake lines need not be removed- they're flexible enough for the 1" or so of movement you need. Be careful you don't crack something in pounding out the pin. Even after this, the master cylinder may not come out; the rubber boot on the cylinder nose often bonds to the pedal plate on the outside and to the cylinder on the inside, plus leaking brake fluid swells the rubber. Brutalize it- the rubber boot may tear but the assembly WILL come out. Measure the old actuating rod length; the new cylinder must be very close to the same length (or re-use the old pin of the correct length). The worst part of the job is dealing with those tiny circlips while upside-down under the dashboard while being burned by your aptly-named drop-light. Fumble a circlip and spend 15 minutes trying to find it down your collar (or worse- crack it in two). This is why some Panteras now use drilled holes and roll pins here! Save everything- you'll be re-using some parts in repairs elsewhere on the car.