85fortheDrive

During our motor mount work, I was dismayed to see red fluid dripping down from somewhere that seems to be above the oil pan. Through the course of the work, I had to unplug the slave cylinder and I think I would have worked a bit with the rubber tubing described in https://rennlist.com/forums/928-forum/281680-clutch-problem-hydraulics-or-clutch-itself.html.

When I took the car out for its first spin (notable smoother, I might add ) the clutch pedal was sluggish and felt jittery when it was in its up position. I got home, turn the engine off, and then tried the pedal one more time. It is now stuck to the floor.

So I'm asking for some leads on where I have a leak or what might have to be done with the slave cylinder. As for that slave, I thought it was weird getting that thing back into its position. There was a rod extending from it that never gave me a "this is fitting back in just like it is supposed to" feeling as I rebolted the slave cylinder.

Thanks in advance for your suggestions.

Peace,
Tim

Mrmerlin

jack er up remove the slave and see if you blew out the seal or maybe the slave has failed , not sure about the red fluid, brake fluid might be black/clear/straw or blue, red might be power steering fluid from the rack connections, you should be able to see where the slave pushrod fits into the clutch release arm once you remove the bolts, if it did not engage the clutch release arm then you might be able to put the slave back together and it might work,

85fortheDrive

How would I know if I'd blown the seal? I don't understand what the slave cylinder's function is, so I'm not sure how to know if it's not working. As I said, I'm unsure about how I reinserted it, so I'm more than willing to remove it again and look into the area from which the rod is extracted.

Thanks Merlin!

Mrmerlin

DISCONNECT BATTERY BEFORE REMOVING SLAVE.....remove the 2 bolts holding the slave cylinder to bellhousing, and also the clamp on the oil pan that holds the clutch line if you have one. It will be obvious if the slave has blown out it will be leaking fluid around the pushrod, the push rod slides into the bottom of the bellhousing and fits into a socket on the clutch realease arm with a flashlight you will see this after removing the slave, if your slave is leaking and it is in new condition try sliding the innerds abck together otherwise get a new slave, more than likely your master will go bad as well so it might be a good idea to replace both master and servant

V2Rocket

Slave cylinder is what moves the clutch away from the flywheel when you push the pedal.

It's kind of important.

largecar379

here's my 2 cents worth:

bleed (flush) the entire hydraulic system, starting with the furthest brake caliper and work forward----THEN bleed (flush) the clutch system.

If your clutch pedal goes to the floor very easily, and doesn't return to its' full upright position, you've (probably) got a bad clutch master cylinder, or a bad clutch slave cylinder, or a bad rubber clutch hose (frame to small steel line--not the blue hose), or any combination of these, or all of these.

Suggestions:

replace everything in the clutch hydraulic system (blue hose, clutch master cylinder--this is a real pain in the ***--, clutch rubber hose, clutch slave cylinder.---about $500 plus your time and labor.

I did my replacements one piece at a time and had the same problem until I finally replaced the clutch master cylinder.

Don't waste time and hydraulic (brake) fluid, hunting for the bad piece. Just go ahead and replace them all at the same time.

Good luck---rhjames

85fortheDrive

Okay, I pulled the slave cylinder and discovered something different than when I origianlly removed it during the MM process. Before, when I pulled the part that was bolted to the car, the 4" rod came with it. This time, the rod was stuck in the clutch housing. Though it came out easily, I could immediately see that the rod piece had been stressed.

Here's what it looks like.

I found no fluid leak elsewhere.



Thanks for all the suggestions so far. I'm a bit daunted by the bleeding process, but I will look for how-to's for it.

Larry Velk

It is possible to put the slave with the rod in the wrong way. The scrape you see on the rod might be the rod rubbing where it shouldn't be. I did this on my '86, but caught it right away as the install doesn't feel "right". This of course requires experience - when doing it for the first time it might feel normal.
As for bleeding, use the trick from the various secret sites (obviously I don't rem. which one!). You push the rod in from under the car is the method to use. I had zero luck bleeding in the conventional manner - worked right away with secret method.

Fabio421

There are rebuild kits available for the slave that are very affordable. That scar can be buffed out with a grinder.

85fortheDrive

Yup, that's what I did. Nevertheless, I've gone ahead and purchased a new slave cylinder. I'm hoping to get some tutelage from Jim Bailey by phone tomorrow so that I can get parts by the end of the week.

As for the secret bleeding protocol, I guess I'll have to learn the secret handshake in order to know it.

Thanks!

ceedee

so what do you think went wrong?

hacker-pschorr

Ah the old double disc clutch - my favorite.

After taking my clutch out a few dozen times - the parts in that picture were never removed. So from what I can see you found the problem.

Bleeding these things isn't that big of a deal if you have a power bleeder. $50 makes the job 100% easier. Give DR a call - I'm sure he could have one to you ASAP for the weekend. Isn't the big road trip this weekend?

Let me know if sh*t hits the fan with parts. I have a good slave (I think) & a power bleeder - maybe we could meet up in Sheboygan or Port Washington.