Question:
I have a 94 RT/10 that has light NA engine mods with 40,000 miles. About 1.5 years ago I had the tranny pulled for a full rebuild. At that point in time, I replaced several other parts including the clutch master cylinder. I got an OEM unit wrapped the lines in heat shielding and it has worked just fine until this last week. Was out cruising and did a 4,500 rpm pull through first. I went to catch second gear, and the clutch felt extra stiff at initial contact. Then when I applied some extra force (still seemingly reasonable to me) I felt and heard a clunk as the pedal went to the floor and did not come back up (it was lodged down there). Speed shop dug into it for me and found that the rod from the clutch master cylinder that attaches to the pedal arm was bent. Pedal bushings are in okay shape and shop doesn’t see any other damage. I didn’t think a part like this really ever broke, and am confused about what I might need to do to avoid this in the future. Really appreciate y’all’s time and any help/advice with this.

Answer by Dan Cragin:

There could be several issues that caused the clutch master cylinder to fail. First off, with the age and mileage of your car, the clutch and slave cylinder should be replaced. A dried up slave cylinder or rusty
pressure plate could have caused the clutch master cylinder failure. You mentioned your clutch pedal bushings were OK, with your mileage that is often not the case. If the clutch pedal has side to side play in it,
then they need service. When the bushings are bad, the clutch pedal moves sideways when engaged and can cause the master cylinder rod to bend. Another area to check is where the clutch master cylinder
screws into the pedal box. If it is not properly indexed, then this could cause the same problem.

Hope this helps,