In the same boat but a customers F250. 2nd time leaking and now its failed. Last time, they said MEH and didn't seem to care. Customer needs this truck for work. Any other options, please list.

Thanks.

 

The damn thing is so simple, all you need is good tolerances when you machine the parts. I posted this on the HAMB and have already gotten a lot of replys, this is my reply there............


Pedal not stiff, normal I would say. The old McLeod had given good service in front of the Muncie for 15 years but only 10,000 miles. It blew out and rebuilt it at the same time I swapped the Muncie for a Tremec 5 speed OD. That old bearing after rebuild would have worked fine with the Muncie, but on the Tremec would not fully engage the clutch, so on heavy throttle it would slip. Called McLeod and they said only their newer 1400 series would now work with the Tremec. It is a new unit that is leaking, so will be sending it back as per McLeod instructions. But I was a bit worried when Craig said he had 3 that leaked on his '32. The replys I'm getting here are a mixed bag, but it sounds like the old ones were pretty good. I just hate dropping the exhaust and trans everytime this sucker leaks.
__________________
Bob
http://tbuckets.lefora.com/
516 lb/ft, short shift, its fun

 

So what are you saying?

I have the new style, rebuilt it twice already. I can't have my customer down again for this hunk of crap failing.

Might look at going to a slave cylinder and putting the fork back in. I'll call Mcleod tomorrow but no holding my breath on them doing anything,

 

Well you can do me a big favor when you talk to McLeod, mention that you have concerns when members of the automotive forums you participate in are having such mixed reviews of their product. We need to drive home to the OEM's of hot rod goodies, that we are connected as a group via these forums, and a run of poor machining will bite them in the butt.

 

Well you can do me a big favor when you talk to McLeod, mention that you have concerns when members of the automotive forums you participate in are having such mixed reviews of their product. We need to drive home to the OEM's of hot rod goodies, that we are connected as a group via these forums, and a run of poor machining will bite them in the butt.

Will do. I'll update after I talk to them.

 

Thanks.

It has worked before in the hot rod market. Some of the OEMs know the power of this forum, the HAMB, and even my little T forum

 

Well got the answer I figured I would get, he said its obvious I have an issue, and to send it in, they'll go over it and see what's going on. I mentioned they seem to be having issues with it based on the web and he didn't even bat an eye lid. "we can't diagnose over the net",

So off I go to remove it and send it off, so now my customer is without his work truck for at least a week. After I get it back, time to look for another option, can't afford to keep doing this and my customer can't afford the down time. What a ****ing joke,

 

I considered one of those TO bearings when I was working on the 59.
One of the vendors even suggested I try to stay with OEM parts as they
generally will work for years w/o issues.

He also said the the aftermarket units were prone to leaking as they were
not excercised on a regular basis----seems if they sit for any length of time,
the seals will begin to fail.

Now, the GM master and slave I have in my 59 have never given me an issue
other than trying to figure out how to get all the air outta the system.
(jack rear of car sky high and let it sit for a while)

 

I considered one of those TO bearings when I was working on the 59.
One of the vendors even suggested I try to stay with OEM parts as they
generally will work for years w/o issues.

He also said the the aftermarket units were prone to leaking as they were
not excercised on a regular basis----seems if they sit for any length of time,
the seals will begin to fail.

Now, the GM master and slave I have in my 59 have never given me an issue
other than trying to figure out how to get all the air outta the system.
(jack rear of car sky high and let it sit for a while)

Well this truck is used everyday, so no worries about seals drying out.

 

most of these seem to be derived from a race car design, and they aren't expected to be used much let along agressively. I constantly tell customers that come across my service desk that yes a Zbar is 100yr old tech, BUT the parts are available new AND THEY WORK. Im constantly asked about servicing stock T56 hyd clutches and how to bleed them. Bottom line? Convinced me a long time ago Id never put a Hyd clutch as a retrofit in a car unless I had literally no other choice.

You guys that have the HTOBs might want to talk to Howe. They make a very nice race piece, but I dont know if its comfortable sitting unused for 6mos

 

most of these seem to be derived from a race car design, and they aren't expected to be used much let along agressively. I constantly tell customers that come across my service desk that yes a Zbar is 100yr old tech, BUT the parts are available new AND THEY WORK. Im constantly asked about servicing stock T56 hyd clutches and how to bleed them. Bottom line? Convinced me a long time ago Id never put a Hyd clutch as a retrofit in a car unless I had literally no other choice.

You guys that have the HTOBs might want to talk to Howe. They make a very nice race piece, but I dont know if its comfortable sitting unused for 6mos

Not for this truck unless you have another source. EVERYTHING on this was worn out, nothing salvageable, plus the body flex's on top of that,

1980 F250 4x4.

 

Well, after being on "hold" for more time than I care for, they couldn't tell me if they even received the leaking new TO bearing. It has been over a week and I've already missed two events, so I also asked if there is a high return rate on these units, prompted by the replies on this thread? I'm talking with Billy at McLeod, he seemed somewhat annoyed at what is said on these forums. He says the 10 guys out of 500 units sold in a month that have leaks are going to be complaining all over these forums. I asked him to set the record straight by telling me the return percentage. He couldn't say but assured me that it isn't anything major. I think there is a problem because Billy suggested the same as one of the replies on the forum, and that is to switch to the outside the bell housing actuator. I don't have the room, but it is bothersome that on one hand McLeod says don't accept what you hear on these forums, and on the other hand suggest a cure that "these" forums already gave me. Sure your going to hear from disgruntled customers, but the numbers I've seen on this and other forums suggests that most are happy with the older McLeod products, but the newer offerings, mixed reviews.
__________________
Bob
http://tbuckets.lefora.com/
516 lb/ft, short shift, its fun

 

Finally got it out today, took the bearing apart, o-rings look fine, a bit flat but not torn. Filled out the RMA form, a few hours later, still waiting for the number, ***? I am so pissed off, this job is costing me a fortune,

 

Doesn't look good for us who have purchased recent McLeod TO bearings. Here are the replies on the HAMB...........

That's what I can't believe, especially with the crazy price of the McLeod setup!

My 1400 series lasted only 6 MILES in my coupe, and leaked terribly! I took it out, took it apart, expected to find something, ANYTHING wrong, but saw nothing unusual, so I replaced all the seals in it with the included re-seal kit I got with it (that should tell you something), and it has been working for about 350 miles, but I'll never trust it again, and it still has enough "seep" to have a tiny amount of fluid on the bottom of it whenever I'm under the car, So I am fully expecting a future failure. I called McLeod, and they said it had probably been sitting "dry" for too long before I installed it. For the record, I have the suggested master cylinder setup, and the adjustable stop was set correctly, so there is no over-pressurization.


Wow!!! That is INCREDIBLY LAME!!! That may have sealed the deal for me, right there! (sorry for the pun)

I'm going to look at the Quartermaster, Tilton, and Ram. I've heard some VERY good things about the Tiltons, but I believe they're pretty spendy. I really don't have the time to be fixing a t-out bearing all the time, though. I want to drive and drive and drive. It's worth it for me to pay the price on something I KNOW will work.

This thread throws up big flags I can't ignore, now. Makes me wonder about the clutch package I bought from them now...

 

On race cars, I count on replacing the o-rings in a hydraulic TO bearing every spring. I think some of it is the fluid and maybe the composition of the o-rings. The o-rings are never cut or broken, just leaking.

 

Doesn't look good for us who have purchased recent McLeod TO bearings. Here are the replies on the HAMB...........

That's what I can't believe, especially with the crazy price of the McLeod setup!

My 1400 series lasted only 6 MILES in my coupe, and leaked terribly! I took it out, took it apart, expected to find something, ANYTHING wrong, but saw nothing unusual, so I replaced all the seals in it with the included re-seal kit I got with it (that should tell you something), and it has been working for about 350 miles, but I'll never trust it again, and it still has enough "seep" to have a tiny amount of fluid on the bottom of it whenever I'm under the car, So I am fully expecting a future failure. I called McLeod, and they said it had probably been sitting "dry" for too long before I installed it. For the record, I have the suggested master cylinder setup, and the adjustable stop was set correctly, so there is no over-pressurization.


Wow!!! That is INCREDIBLY LAME!!! That may have sealed the deal for me, right there! (sorry for the pun)

I'm going to look at the Quartermaster, Tilton, and Ram. I've heard some VERY good things about the Tiltons, but I believe they're pretty spendy. I really don't have the time to be fixing a t-out bearing all the time, though. I want to drive and drive and drive. It's worth it for me to pay the price on something I KNOW will work.

This thread throws up big flags I can't ignore, now. Makes me wonder about the clutch package I bought from them now...

Gotta agree on their products, pretty upset too.

LMK what you find out for a decent replacement. For now, maybe I'll just order some more o-rings and get him on the road again, then source up another setup and eat this, ouch.

Here's the Quartermaster unit-

http://www.quartermasterusa.com/qm/.../qm/721-series-hydraulic-street-release-bearings-complete-bearing-assembly.html

 

On race cars, I count on replacing the o-rings in a hydraulic TO bearing every spring. I think some of it is the fluid and maybe the composition of the o-rings. The o-rings are never cut or broken, just leaking.

I agree with a race car but daily drivers, not so much. If the OE's can make them leak proof, why can't McLeod?

 

I'll give McLeod one more chance to get it right.

Anyone have any comments on this or their $100.00 cheaper unit? $200.00 cheaper than McLeod.

http://www.quartermasterusa.com/qm/...ents/bearings/tri-lite-hydraulic-release-bearing-complete-bearing-assembly.html

 

I'll give McLeod one more chance to get it right.

Anyone have any comments on this or their $100.00 cheaper unit? $200.00 cheaper than McLeod.

http://www.quartermasterusa.com/qm/...ents/bearings/tri-lite-hydraulic-release-bearing-complete-bearing-assembly.html

Wow, nice piece.

I am calling them and Tilton tomorrow morning, I need something now. Based on the info you've posted and the fact I find nothing wrong with the bearing seals etc, I can't afford to give them a 3rd chance. Game over for McLeod as far as I am concerned.

 

Billy at McLeod did tell me he would call back today when he finds my returned TO bearing. They close at 4:30, so another 45 minutes.....


As much as I would have liked to report they called by 4:30 with some info on my TO bearing, no such luck. I hate to have to call them tomorrow because they put you on hold longer than,,,, well longer than any recent business call I can remember

 

Hi all,

I think I have good news to report. Talked to Bernie at McLeod, a 68 year old that talks straight with the customer. Prior to the new year they were getting about 20% returns on this TO bearing. That explains all the bad press here on the forums. He assures me that the vendor problems have been resolved and the returns now are nil. McLeod for over a week said they couldn't even find my returned TO bearing, but when I mentioned that Bill Layman in their shipping department signed for it back on the 7th, then the story changed to how bad they were backlogged. I will of course return this next bearing if it is a leaker, requesting a full refund, but after talking to Bernie I believe this is now a resolved issue. Companies can gain a lot more credibility when they have employees such a Bernie that won't blow smoke up the customer's hind side, be honest and admit a problem, then hand pick parts to insure no further issues and ship priority same day. Because of the actions of just one employee, my faith is being restored in McLeod.

 

Thanks for the contact name, just talked to him, seems really straight up, felt bad for my predicament, is going to fix it asap and get it back to me this week. :thumbup:

 

Here is how I see it. Because of forums like this and others, we the end user consumers finally have a means to address problems caused by manufacturers not doing due diligence in QC and pushing on the public product they know has a 20% return rate. If I would have been just one in a thousand that had this problem with McLeod products, the thread I would post would not get any traction and die on the vine. When I'm part of the 20% that has the problem, it now becomes the manufacturer's problem. Search engine bots roam the Internet and assign a hierarchy to everything out here. When a thread is kept alive on big forums for a long period of time because there is a problem with a product, then future potential customers on their search for that given product will see links on the 1st page of the search directing them to all the negatives said on the forum BEFORE the product's retailers and manufacturer's web page appear in order of searches. Giving a company bad press on a forum might only effect one or two future customers immediately, but if not resolved and the thread lives on, could spell curtains for that company. I am very appreciative for what this and other large forums can do to level the playing field for us consumers. THANK YOU.

 

Agreed, funny thing, was just saying the exact thing to a customer, IE what did we do with out the net, lol.

I was ready to buy another product at $300 and lose my shirt over this job but after this thread, looks like I am in good hands. I was willing to post up on all the forums I am on, at least 10 and start spreading the bad news, but looks like I can do the opposite. :thumbup:

They do have a redesigned housing, so if its red, the new ones are gray.

 

Agreed, funny thing, was just saying the exact thing to a customer, IE what did we do with out the net, lol.

I was ready to buy another product at $300 and lose my shirt over this job but after this thread, looks like I am in good hands. I was willing to post up on all the forums I am on, at least 10 and start spreading the bad news, but looks like I can do the opposite. :thumbup:

They do have a redesigned housing, so if its red, the new ones are gray.

My leaker was red, so if they send me a half red and half gray I should now be in the group of "nil returns"? Or all gray?