After sitting for more than a year, I am trying to get my '74 2500M
running and, I hope eventually, smogged. It starts up fine in neutral, but
when I try to put it in gear it won't budge (or grinds in reverse). So
I thought I would start by bleeding the clutch fluid. When I did this last
night, the fluid that came out was a very dark murky grey with little
bits of black sludge in it. There was a puddle of black crud on the bottom
of the main resevoir that I cleaned up. I replaced it all with DOT 3
brake fluid, bleeding it until only clear stuff came out.
Where did the black crud come from? I do not know how long it has been
since the fluid was changed, only that it was a long time ago. The crud
does not look like rust, but I suppose it could be. Could the rubber
parts be deteriorating and I need to rebuild the slave cylinder?
Any advice would be appreciated.
-Richard
(still un-smogged in Davis, CA)
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