There's absolutely no reason to use an extended slave or master cylinder rod if everything else is in working order in the clutch system.
I've actually replaced quite a few pressure plates and release bearings due to people using these "fixes" and over-extending fingers or collapsing the bearings. The worst scenario is when someone uses on of these rods, then down the line fixes the actual problem and doesn't remove the extension.
The most common issue is that of improper bleeding of the hydraulics. Proper instruction has been out there since the days of vfaq.com, but is still missed quite often. This is not to say that in this day of our cars getting older, other problems don't arise (pedal rounding, ballooning rubber lines, failed cylinders, worn pivot/fork), but I still get calls once or twice a month from people who have replaced everything, but still have release issues which typically end up being improper bleeding technique.
While the bleeding system listed above will make the job easier, it won't correct improper bleeding processes.
I would definitely check for leaking at the master (inside the car), the slave, the pedal (do the push down, release slowly, put foot under pedal and pull up--if the pedal comes up more, it's rounded and needs to be fixed), and be sure you don't have a worn pivot/fork in the transmission. After that, I would bleed the system properly.
I posted on DSMTuners a while back in response to someone having release issues:
" A couple of notes on this subject:
1) An extended slave or master cylinder rod is a Band Aid--they mask a problem, and have been documented to cause severe issues in many cases. If everything is working correctly, there is absolutely NO need to use these products. If one of these products has corrected your issue--there's something wrong in your clutch system. Down the line, if you fix this issue, then you end up over-extending the fingers, or mushrooming the T/O bearing.
2) If you're bleeding the clutch by having someone pump the pedal and hold it down, and just cracking the bleed screw on the nut, you're not going to bleed all of the air out of it. We get calls all of the time from people having issues after installing a new clutch, or slave/master claiming that they've bled it properly. I ask them how they did it and they give me the process outlined above.
If you look at a slave cylinder, you'll notice that the bleed screw is right next to the clutch line where it feeds it. Simply pumping/cracking the bleed will only bleed out the line itself. The whole slave cylinder chamber itself is NOT getting bled in this process. Fluid/air in the line comes in--and then right out the bleed. You're not touching the air in the cylinder area.
To properly bleed the system manually:
Step One: Have someone pump the clutch and hold the pedal down. While said person is holding pedal down, open bleed screw. Close bleed screw, have person pull pedal back up and repeat this process two or three times.
Step Two: Next have person pump clutch, hold down pedal, open bleed screw, and then most importantly, SQUEEZE SLAVE CYLINDER SHUT! THEN with pedal down and slave cylinder compressed, close bleeder. This pushes the air out of the cylinder itself which is past the bleed screw. Without this step, the air will just sit in the cylinder no matter how many times you do step one.
Step Three: Repeat Steps One and Two until good pedal is attained, and no more air is coming out when you crack the bleeder."
Hope this helps.
Josh
