FIesta Slave Cylinder

I have a 96 fiesta which developed a Slave cylinder leak. Off i went to my FOrd main dealer and paid E110 for a replacement part. When i got it home i noticed a slight change in the input line of the slave. My old one had a union which allowed for Pressure Valve thingy which according to Haynes- keeps 10 bar pressure behind the release bearing to keep it pressed against the plate.My new one however didn't allow for this pressure valve,it just connect straight to the pipe. I rang Ford and they told me that there was a modification in the Slave and the pressure valve is not necessary anymore, however they wanted to supply me with a new pipe whch they say shoould have been sold with the slave which would allow me to connect my slave to the line..another 47 euro please.I can already fit my line to the new slave but I went in and had a look anyway at this pipe, i though it was some sort of adapter/replacement/alternative for the now unnecessary pressure valve. The pipe looked the same has my pipe so i didn' t purchase. The problem is that when i connected everything up and bled the system my clutch dosen't work properly. Symptoms : The car will go into any gear with or without hitting the clutch, i though the clutch might be engaged permanently but when in neutral all is normal ie the wheels aint spinning. The pedal feels good. Does anyone know of the same problem. Why was the Slave modified and pressure thing deemed unnecessary. Will the pipe Ford were trying to sell me make a difference.Any help appreciated.. Fed Up

The problem is that when i connected everything up

I don't quite follow this. You are saying that you can engage a gear without using the clutch, and that in neutral the wheels don't spin.

When in neutral the wheels won't spin whether or not the clutch is working.
If you can engage a gear without the clutch pedal depressed it must be that the clutch mechanism is disengaged even without pressing the pedal, unless you've got a broken shaft in there, which is unlikely.

It sounds as though there is residual pressure in the slave cylinder keeping the clutch disengaged, even when the pedal is up. If this diagnosis is correct, opening the bleed nipple will allow fluid to be expelled under the pressure of the clutch spring, allowing the slave to return to 'off' and the clutch to re-engage.

Try this to see if this is the problem. If it is, maybe some of the pipes are necessary after all. I have to say that 10 bar pressure simply to keep the release bearing up against the release levers (not against the plate, incidentally) seems excessive. 10 bar = 150 psi and, although I may be wrong, I feel this is unlikely. If you've got that much residual pressure I'm not surprised the clutch remains disengaged.

Rob Graham