goody944

I've search the Rennlist over and seen a ton of posts regarding the clutch hydraulics. Awesome amount of information available, helps the mediocre mechanic feel confident. Thanks!

Ok, now I'll ask what I haven't read yet - except in my Haynes manual. What's the possibility of getting a rebuild kit for the clutch MC instead of replacing it? I figure an inspection is in order before knowing if it's possible.

If it's an option, how much are the kits and where do ya get them?

TIA

Goody

iloveporsches

Don't know how much the kits cost or where to get them, but I don't know how much you'd save. A new cylinder is only $40 or so. If you find a signifigantly cheaper source, please post it. I'm sure there'd be plenty of other people who'd like to do that instead of replace it.

tod84944

I think napa sell them for 25.00

ELLSSUU

I don't understand why you'd want to rebuild it. Even if you find a kit for $10 do you really want to spend all that time to find out you still have a pressure leak. All you will save is about as much money as it would take to go to a sub-par restaraunt? My father had some wisdom that I don't always follow but it went something like this:

If you're going to do it and it can be done right reasonably then why do it any other way?

Rebuilds should be left to higher price items like racks, engines, trans etc.

Tremelune

I agree. Word 'round here is to replace the clutch master at the same time as the slave--inspect the blue hose and consider getting a pressure bleeder.

User 462021

</font><blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana,Tahoma,Helvetica">quote:</font><hr /><font size="2" face="Verdana,Tahoma,Helvetica">Originally posted by Tremelune:
<strong>I agree. Word 'round here is to replace the clutch master at the same time as the slave--inspect the blue hose and consider getting a pressure bleeder.</strong></font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="Verdana,Tahoma,Helvetica">Very true, you wanna do them both at the same time...

TRUST ME!

goody944

Thanks for the input. I tend to want to do all I can to save here and there on these jobs (but no shortcuts!), due to all the other $$ things pulling at me seemingly everyday. I see all the time on this board that 'it's worth another $40 for this convenience', yet I think 'well I can SAVE $40 by using my 10-year-old son to help pump the clutch pedal... ' or just do the MC and not the slave AND MC at the same time.

And my Goldwing is hungry for money too! Boys and their toys, huh? Explain that to my wife! ;-)

Seriously, thanks for the advice. I'm gonna leave it on the stands and get the work done on it, even if I have to wait a week or two...gives me a chance to get reacquainted with my Si!

Pilot Dave

Actually, rebuilding it yourself may not be a bad way to go if the metal parts are in good shape e.g. no internal corrosion/pitting. A "new" cylinder may be NOS a which has been sitting on a shelf for years. The seals are dry and brittle and will leak within a year. Guess how I know this? Yup, I replaced my master cylinder twice.

And, absolutely, change the master and slave at the same time. If one is leaking then the other will start leaking in less than a year. Guess how I know this?

goody944

Well, thought I'd take the MC out tonight, just to get a good look at it. Since the floorboard had fluid on it, I suspected it was the problem (as opposed to the slave). Man it was tough to get out! But it's out and looks ok, except for some gunk inside. I've cleaned it up, it 'plunges' in and out really well, so now I don't know why it failed to work. It goes in tight (used fluid as lube), seems to have a good seal, but then again, I don't have it in a high pressure enviro at this point.

The rubber boot inside the car had a crack, and since it's not a high pressure piece (I read somewhere) that it was probably ok to apply some silcone to it.

Since I have some time to screw around with it this weekend, I'm going to put it back in (this is all a learning experience at a minimum), and try bleeding the clutch. I've read that getting the rear higher helps... so how much fluid do you suppose I'll need to try this?

tx

Goody

Jay W

Did you hone the cylinder before putting it back together? I have just re-honed wheel cylinders and gotten away with re-using the rubber parts, as long as there werent deep pits or scratches in the metal bore and the rubber looked good. PS I rebuilt my clutch slave cylinder in 15 minutes and used a rebuild kit I got for $15 from partsamerica.com . Dont know if they have clutch master cylinder kits

Jay W

PS PS the reason I rebuilt the slave cylinder is that the last new one only lasted 1.5 years even though it was a factory replacement one

F18Rep

Good post Jay, and confirmed with a quick look through the partAmerica online catalog. The slave kit sells for 16 & 22$. While cross checking that to autozone, I noticed the price of the slave cylinder to be $126. Interesting how Napa has them at $64 (a little higher than was mentioned but still reletively cheap). As you know, Napa is usually higher. I guess it pays to look around. There may be differences that I missed though.

Now about this idea of if one part wears out, we should replace the other related parts. I'ld say the same thing if I were selling parts.

Tom R.

F18,
i got an a$$ reaming when in an earlier post i said why change the master cylinder when you do this. something about going under the car and doing labor twice for a relatively inexpensive part. i then learned there are two master cylinders, the brake, and clutch. i thought posters were talking about the brake master cylinder.

when i spoke to my wrench, he said he would only change the master and slave (clutch that is) cyliners together because of the labor issue...

pete944

Definitely change them both. Think about it: every time you push in the clutch pedal you are working both the master & slave together. They both get the same amount of wear. If you only replace one, I can almost guarantee you'll be replacing the other one within a month or two. The Motive pressure bleeder is worth the money. I've heard guys here that had to bleed over & over for days before it wqas right. I did mine with the Motive in 15 minutes.

Jay W

Yes, the first time I replaced the slave cylinder, I looked inside the car and saw the master leaking down the firewall so I did them both. Just that the second time for the slave was only 1.5 years later, most likely because of an inferior part. Also the economy and my job status have changed forcing me to go the 'as cheap as I can get' way. I do agree with the parts wearing at the same rate argument, although I did notice that the slave cylinder drags one side of the seal and piston against the bore harder resulting in the seal wearing much faster on one side causing it to leak. I think the wear may be a result of a not so straight push by the piston because it is pushing the clutch arm which moves in a slight radius rather than a straight line. Saw this wear pattern on my 928 slave cylinder too. (it was the same part number for the rebuild kit for the 1980 928 and 1987 924)