Hydraulic Clutch Conversion: Hydramax or McLeod or...?

[DannyG]

Hey guys,

I asked this same question on another forum and got a few insights on which direction I should go, but I'd really like to gather some additional opinions/advice prior to making my final decision, and this site is always great for that.

I want to do a hydraulic clutch conversion for obvious reasons but I'm not sure which kit I should go with. Is one better than the other for any particular reason, or are we talking apples to apples? Also, are there any, possibly better, conversion kits out there that I'm not even considering yet? Any insight on this matter would be greatly appreciated.

Danny

[gmorris]

I ran a macloed for a while and the feel and weight were great...unfortunately it puked its guts out twice on me. First time it just started leaking so I sent it in and they rebuilt it for free because they had some with out of spec orings. Put the new one in over the winter and the first time I put the clutch in in the spring it blew...brand new! I had checked the stroke and all that was good. I went to an external slave setup after that so I wouldn't have to drop the tranny every time it went.

[DannyG]

I ran a macloed for a while and the feel and weight were great...unfortunately it puked its guts out twice on me. First time it just started leaking so I sent it in and they rebuilt it for free because they had some with out of spec orings. Put the new one in over the winter and the first time I put the clutch in in the spring it blew...brand new! I had checked the stroke and all that was good. I went to an external slave setup after that so I wouldn't have to drop the tranny every time it went.

Thanks for the feedback! I actually heard that the McLeod kit had leaking problems and, from what I've been told, the Hydramax does not.

[Carbo]

I ran a macloed for a while and the feel and weight were great...unfortunately it puked its guts out twice on me. First time it just started leaking so I sent it in and they rebuilt it for free because they had some with out of spec orings. Put the new one in over the winter and the first time I put the clutch in in the spring it blew...brand new! I had checked the stroke and all that was good. I went to an external slave setup after that so I wouldn't have to drop the tranny every time it went.


I have been considering doing an external slave setup as well. Which company or parts did you use for this? I want to do it as well for the same reasons....don't have to remove tranny for repairs.

[dale68z]

I am using the hydromax from American powertrain. The hydraulics have been great for the 20k miles I have been using it.

I did have the nut on the slave to pedal fall off. The attachment method is single shear and leaves some to be desired. Some locktite and have had no more issues.

[TheJDMan]

I spent a good deal of time researching hydraulic clutches and I could find no compelling reason to switch from the conventional Z-bar. I did modify my linkages and incorporated 3/8" rod ends at all pivot points.

[gmorris]

It's been a while but I believe this is what I used:

http://www.fortesparts.com/clutches-bellhousings-flywheels/hydraulic-external-slave-for-steel-bellhousing

[badazz81z28]

I suggest Keisler as it uses an OEM type of bearing. Also consider a CTSV bearing if you got a t56. I have researched Mcleod and they do leak. I even called summit racing to get the return history and it was high.

[latamud]

I suggest Keisler as it uses an OEM type of bearing. Also consider a CTSV bearing if you got a t56. I have researched Mcleod and they do leak. I even called summit racing to get the return history and it was high.

Keisler went bankrupt, I only know this because I was looking them up a couple days ago.

I have a McLeod hydraulic TO bearing in 3 different cars. 65 Barracuda has been installed for almost 10 years, I've bled it once, never had an issue with it. 66 Mustang since 2010, accidentally mixed synthetic fluid and everything turned into gel, rebuilt and no problems. 03 Viper, installed almost a year ago, and no problems. All are custom setups.

I don't know about other brands, just giving my experience.

[badazz81z28]

Keisler went bankrupt, I only know this because I was looking them up a couple days ago.

I have a McLeod hydraulic TO bearing in 3 different cars. 65 Barracuda has been installed for almost 10 years, I've bled it once, never had an issue with it. 66 Mustang since 2010, accidentally mixed synthetic fluid and everything turned into gel, rebuilt and no problems. 03 Viper, installed almost a year ago, and no problems. All are custom setups.

I don't know about other brands, just giving my experience.


All their assets are being sold by Silver Transmissions. You can get anything that Keisler sold.

[Carbo]

It's been a while but I believe this is what I used:

http://www.fortesparts.com/clutches-bellhousings-flywheels/hydraulic-external-slave-for-steel-bellhousing

Thanks. That's exactly what I am looking for.