Brandon_cone

I have recently bought a 1996 Cherokee sport 4x4 5 speed. The clutch pedal has no pressure and will not come up on it's own. The previous owner says the slave and master are good. What else could be wrong with it? Thanks in advance

PatHenry

If the master and slave are good (that's a big -IF-, you can't trust that the P.O. was both truthful and correct) then worn springs on the pressure plate (like, really worn) could prevent the fork from being pushed back when the pressure is off the pedal.

I'm theorizing here. I've looked at the pedal on my 95 for a spring or something and can't find any spring or anything like on earlier models.

Edit - Of course, if the slave push rod is off the fork, that would be similar.
When I recently did the clutch due to a grinding TOB, I actually thought the rod was off the fork and removed and re-installed the slave cylinder before realizing it was just the new clutch set was just a lot less firm than my previous one and supposedly will firm up some as it breaks in.

I'd check the slave push rod is sitting in the clutch fork - while you've got it open, see if you can use a solid object to push/pull on the fork. It should require effort to push in and should spring back when you let off.
If the slave push-rod sits in the fork and the fork seems tight and springy, then it's got to be the master/slave. Replace both as a single, pre-bled unit. The single unit replacement isn't nearly as expensive as you'd expect.

Edit 2 - Re-installing the slave cylinder should be a PITA because the slave wants to push back while you're trying to thread the bolts in. I think that the nut is supposed to come off the stud to make this easier, but the nut was so rusted on the stud the studs came out and I was too lazy to separate them. If the push-rod is in the fork and the slave isn't fighting to push back, that's another tell-tale sign that something's wrong with the pressure plate springs, the fork is bent (unlikely, that thing is pretty beefy) or the master-slave isn't holding pressure.