Slave Cylinder Seal Replacement
Discussion
I recently had a problem whereby after a short period of not being used, the car would drive fine for a few miles and then out of the blue the clutch arm would stick in the depressed position, ie no drive in any gears, levering and wobbling the arm caused it to snap back to its correct position and it would be fine untill the next most inappropriate time for it to stick and then it would duly comply, usually when at the front of a queue of cars at traffic lights.
It decided to do it again on saturday afternoon so I decided to sort it out once and for all on Sunday.As it had stuck whilst on the drive I was able to undo the bolts on the slave cylinder to check wether the cylinder then moved back as the bolts were undone, it did , this proved it was the cylinder or hydraulics at fault and nothing in the clutch mechanism (otherwise the arm would have stayed in the depressed position without the cylinder putting pressure on). Once the cylinder was removed it was obvious that the fault was corrosion on the inside of the cylinder due to the rubber cover never having been put back on since it was last removed, this had allowed road water and dirt to get in the end of the cylinder and cause the corrosion.I removed the cylinder from the car completely and got it in a vice, I was then able to gently tap the piston down into the cylinder enough to allow me to get some fine Wet or Dry sand paper with oil on into the cylinder and carefully remove the corrosion taking care not to go too far into the cylinder and damage the area along which the piston seal travels. By pushing the piston down all the way with a screwdriver and letting it spring back up the cylinder under its own accord I eventually got the piston to about 6mm from the end of the cylinder then using a pair of pliers placed in the end of the piston (its concave) and pulling the pliers open instead of sqeezing the handles, I managed to pull the piston out.
I had a replacement seal kit so fitted it, a simple operation involving pulling the old seal off and pushing the new one on, then refitted the cylinder, it now works fine and is much smoother than before ( and it doesnt weep oil).
The following is a list of tips if you are doing this job, some are obvious if you've done one before if not they my all be of help to someone.
1. If the 2 bolts holding the cylinder on have been placed in from the rear of the car it is awkward to hold the nuts with a spanner as there is very little room between the cylinder and other components ie chassis, gearbox etc.Get an old 1/2 open ended spanner and cut it about 1.5" overall, it can now be placed on the nut and the bolt turned thus jamming the spanner against the cylinder and holding the nut whilst you undo the bolt.It was not possible on mine to get a ring spanner or socket on the nuts as they are close up to the side plate which strengthens the bracket which the cylinder mounts on.
2.Place an old rag around the opposite end of the cylinder before you depress the piston as fluid will be pumped out of the pipe hole when you push the piston down.
3.Coat all components with plenty of brake/clutch fluid when assembling, especially the new seal and the internal walls of the cylinder.
4. Do not put the new rubber end cap onto the cylinder untill after the cylinder is located through its mounting bracket as if its like mine it wont fit through the aperture with the cover on ( I assume thats why mine was left off previously) Use plenty of fluid or a suitable lubricant on the cover as it really is a pain to get on in the confined space.
5. Any threads left open to the atmosphere should be coated with a form of grease to make sure they can be removed at a later date.
6. Whilst the piston is out of the cylinder, take the opportunity to flush the cylinder out, long cotton buds help here and you will be amazed at the amount of dirt stuck at the bottom of the cylinder.
7. Remove the bleed nipple and make sure the seat and taper on the nipple are clean also check the hole for bits of debris with a piece of copper wire.
And finally make sure that your son, who has buggered off out for the day with his girlfriend, has remembered to leave the keys for his car which is blocking the drive thus stopping you from spending the rest of the day enjoying driving the fruits of your Labour in the sunshine. Oh!! how we laughed when he got home.
It decided to do it again on saturday afternoon so I decided to sort it out once and for all on Sunday.As it had stuck whilst on the drive I was able to undo the bolts on the slave cylinder to check wether the cylinder then moved back as the bolts were undone, it did , this proved it was the cylinder or hydraulics at fault and nothing in the clutch mechanism (otherwise the arm would have stayed in the depressed position without the cylinder putting pressure on). Once the cylinder was removed it was obvious that the fault was corrosion on the inside of the cylinder due to the rubber cover never having been put back on since it was last removed, this had allowed road water and dirt to get in the end of the cylinder and cause the corrosion.I removed the cylinder from the car completely and got it in a vice, I was then able to gently tap the piston down into the cylinder enough to allow me to get some fine Wet or Dry sand paper with oil on into the cylinder and carefully remove the corrosion taking care not to go too far into the cylinder and damage the area along which the piston seal travels. By pushing the piston down all the way with a screwdriver and letting it spring back up the cylinder under its own accord I eventually got the piston to about 6mm from the end of the cylinder then using a pair of pliers placed in the end of the piston (its concave) and pulling the pliers open instead of sqeezing the handles, I managed to pull the piston out.
I had a replacement seal kit so fitted it, a simple operation involving pulling the old seal off and pushing the new one on, then refitted the cylinder, it now works fine and is much smoother than before ( and it doesnt weep oil).
The following is a list of tips if you are doing this job, some are obvious if you've done one before if not they my all be of help to someone.
1. If the 2 bolts holding the cylinder on have been placed in from the rear of the car it is awkward to hold the nuts with a spanner as there is very little room between the cylinder and other components ie chassis, gearbox etc.Get an old 1/2 open ended spanner and cut it about 1.5" overall, it can now be placed on the nut and the bolt turned thus jamming the spanner against the cylinder and holding the nut whilst you undo the bolt.It was not possible on mine to get a ring spanner or socket on the nuts as they are close up to the side plate which strengthens the bracket which the cylinder mounts on.
2.Place an old rag around the opposite end of the cylinder before you depress the piston as fluid will be pumped out of the pipe hole when you push the piston down.
3.Coat all components with plenty of brake/clutch fluid when assembling, especially the new seal and the internal walls of the cylinder.
4. Do not put the new rubber end cap onto the cylinder untill after the cylinder is located through its mounting bracket as if its like mine it wont fit through the aperture with the cover on ( I assume thats why mine was left off previously) Use plenty of fluid or a suitable lubricant on the cover as it really is a pain to get on in the confined space.
5. Any threads left open to the atmosphere should be coated with a form of grease to make sure they can be removed at a later date.
6. Whilst the piston is out of the cylinder, take the opportunity to flush the cylinder out, long cotton buds help here and you will be amazed at the amount of dirt stuck at the bottom of the cylinder.
7. Remove the bleed nipple and make sure the seat and taper on the nipple are clean also check the hole for bits of debris with a piece of copper wire.
And finally make sure that your son, who has buggered off out for the day with his girlfriend, has remembered to leave the keys for his car which is blocking the drive thus stopping you from spending the rest of the day enjoying driving the fruits of your Labour in the sunshine. Oh!! how we laughed when he got home.
Gassing Station | S Series | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff