Clutch fluid

[aerosilver]

Just been for a blast in the Stag and the clutch felt "different" - operated OK but was a bit light and spongy compared to normal. When I got back home I took the top off the clutch fluid reservoir to find it empty! :shock:

There was nosign of leakage around the master cylinder so assume it's the slave cylinder leaking. Is it a relatively easy job to overhaul it? Looks like next weekend's job. :?

Cheers,

Bob.

[aerosilver]

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I see LD Parts sell a clutch slave cylinder repair kit for a fiver, or a complete new slave cylinder for 11 quid. Seems to me a no brainer to just shell out another 6 quid, save a lot of messy fiddlingand renew the whole unit.

Bob.

[StagnJag]

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I replaced the seals in my slave cylinder. I ended up replacing the cylinder a few thousand miles later as the seals had gone again. The corrosion in the bore just wore straight through the new seals.

Rgds

Dave

[Duncan Skye]

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Hi, Bob,

The spongy feeling is due to air in the system, which could also lend a feeling of 'lightness' which may be a euphemismfor 'vagueness'. It's hard to tell them apart unless you know what you're looking for.

Drips from under the gearbox side indicate a leak there, but also run your fingers around the clutch master cylinderrubber cover on the inside of the firewall bulkhead to see it there is a leak of fluid coming from the operating rod area. If so, your carpet or the underfelt are likely to have a wet patch underneath the pedal if the leak is there. In that case, I'd get the carpet and feltout and rinsed through to get rid of the fluid before it strips the paint from the floor. The fluid rinses away very quickly in a milky white runoff.

I've not replaced a slave cylinder in situ but it must be possible -accessibility for servicing and all that. When rebuilding my engine I took the engine and gearbox out as a unit andI noticed the rubber boot on the slave cylinder had perished, letting in road dirt and water with subsequent scratching and corrosive pitting of the bore. It was too far gone to grind out so I replaced the whole slave cylinder as a unit for (I think) £20.00. It may be worth removing the slave cylinder and checking for corrosion before nipping out and buying new seals, for if the corrosion has got a grip, then fitting new seals will be a waste of money. It's only worth fitting a new seal kit if the bore is good but the old seals have gone soft, cracked or otherwise deformed.

In other words, If you identify the slave cylinder as being the culprit, I'd recommend taking it off, cleaning the crud offand checking it out internally before buying anything. (A replacement unit normally comes with a new piston and seal if you specify the kit).

Apart from jacking and proppingup, etc. Replacement of a unit should easily be done in an afternoon.

Hope that helps,

Duncan, Skye

[aerosilver]

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Duncan Skye wrote:

Hi, Bob,

The spongy feeling is due to air in the system, which could also lend a feeling of 'lightness' which may be a euphemismfor 'vagueness'. It's hard to tell them apart unless you know what you're looking for.

Drips from under the gearbox side indicate a leak there, but also run your fingers around the clutch master cylinderrubber cover on the inside of the firewall bulkhead to see it there is a leak of fluid coming from the operating rod area. If so, your carpet or the underfelt are likely to have a wet patch underneath the pedal if the leak is there. In that case, I'd get the carpet and feltout and rinsed through to get rid of the fluid before it strips the paint from the floor. The fluid rinses away very quickly in a milky white runoff.

I've not replaced a slave cylinder in situ but it must be possible -accessibility for servicing and all that. When rebuilding my engine I took the engine and gearbox out as a unit andI noticed the rubber boot on the slave cylinder had perished, letting in road dirt and water with subsequent scratching and corrosive pitting of the bore. It was too far gone to grind out so I replaced the whole slave cylinder as a unit for (I think) £20.00. It may be worth removing the slave cylinder and checking for corrosion before nipping out and buying new seals, for if the corrosion has got a grip, then fitting new seals will be a waste of money. It's only worth fitting a new seal kit if the bore is good but the old seals have gone soft, cracked or otherwise deformed.

In other words, If you identify the slave cylinder as being the culprit, I'd recommend taking it off, cleaning the crud offand checking it out internally before buying anything. (A replacement unit normally comes with a new piston and seal if you specify the kit).

Apart from jacking and proppingup, etc. Replacement of a unit should easily be done in an afternoon.

Hope that helps,

Duncan, Skye

Thanks for the info Duncan. I've had a good look under the dash and around the pedal area with a torch and it's all clean as a whistle which is why I suspect the slave. On Sunday when I get a chance I'll pop the car up on the ramps and have a good look at the slave cylinder and hopefully confirm that as the culprit. If so I'm tempted to just replace the whole unit, then I can look at the old one in slow time and recondition it for a spare if it's salvageable.

Cheers,

Bob.

[Duncan Skye]

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Sounds like the OK thing to do. All the best with it.

Duncan Skye

[Rubce]

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Bob

Replacing the slave cylinder is an easy jobIf you are slim like me you won't even have to jack the car up to reach it

When refitting it, make sure youmount it on the gearbox side of the bellhousing. Plus, bleed the system with the bleed nipple at the 12 o'clock position before bolting the cylinder onto the bellhousing.Otherwise you will end up with air in it. See my recent clutch thread from a few weeks back.

Have fun

Bruce

[Andy Rundell]

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aerosilver wrote:

I see LD Parts sell a clutch slave cylinder repair kit for a fiver, or a complete new slave cylinder for 11 quid. Seems to me a no brainer to just shell out another 6 quid, save a lot of messy fiddlingand renew the whole unit.

Bob.

Yep - at that price it is a no-brainer, change the whole thing, you'll be saving time spent on the repair into the bargain.

..........Andy

[aerosilver]

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Rubce wrote:

Bob

Replacing the slave cylinder is an easy jobIf you are slim like me you won't even have to jack the car up to reach it

When refitting it, make sure youmount it on the gearbox side of the bellhousing. Plus, bleed the system with the bleed nipple at the 12 o'clock position before bolting the cylinder onto the bellhousing.Otherwise you will end up with air in it. See my recent clutch thread form a few weeks back.

Have fun

Bruce

Thanks for thetips Bruce. I have had a closer look at the slave cylinder, and it was so covered in general crud and oil I couldn't tell if it was leaking or not! I also had a closer look at the master cylinder as well inside the car and the seal on that appears to be seeping, although it hasn't made any mess on the carpet so can't be that bad. However, this has led me to the decision to do both cylinders, so will order the parts from LD this evening.

Cheers,

Bob.

[Duncan Skye]

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Hi Bob,

The brake fluid won't make an obvous mess on your carpet, as it can do two things - seep through it at the point of the drip, or run down the bulkhead and under the underfelt - you may not detect it with a wipe of your hand. If you want to be sure, pull back the carpet and squeeze both it and the underfelt with some coloured paperwipes. Look for a colour change through wetting, andwhile you're at it,check with a fingernail for softening or wrinkling paint.

Have a nice weekend.

Duncan, Skye.