3rd slave cylinder in a year!! WTF??
 

So, my new slave cylinder decided to crap its seals yesterday.

This is the 3rd one in a year. What is going on???

Has anyone else had to deal with this level of BS?

.??? That is not normal afaik....

Sounds like you really have a secondary issue going on. Are these NEW OEM or aftermarket?

First was OEM (I assume.. It was in the car when I bought it). Second I'm assuming had something to do with the clutch fork being bent and cracked. Over stressed it maybe. Third was irregular wear in the bore. Wore little grooves in the seal down one side. Also polished the hell out of the piston on that side as well. Super shiny. All different issues but seriously, I've never spent so much time wondering how many weeks will go by before the slave cylinder takes a dump on me again.

This on was kind enough to do it 2 days before leaving on a road trip with the gf. Had to overnight another one in from Dallas. Supposed to be here tomorrow at 10 am. The car will be on the road heading for Vegas at 3.

Sam,

What symptoms are you getting with slave cylinder failure? Any funny business with a lag after shifting?

Sounds like something is misaligned/bent. I've never had a slave cyl failure on any car. Proper clutch fluid?

Well, the first one had every indication that the clutch was going out then all of a sudden the slave just dumps all the fluid. Nothing crazy going on at the time, just slowly moving thru a parking lot then nothing. Won't shift. Get out to check it out and there's a puddle. I replaced the slave cylinder to get me another couple weeks (it was already late fall). The second slave lasted a day and then the same thing. I parked the car for the winter. A month ago, I replaced the clutch along with a bunch of other things(including the slave). When I pulled the transmission, I found this:

http://i1282.photobucket.com/albums/...psa6f415c5.jpg

Obviously a problem.

Anyway, I replaced all that and have been driving the car for the last month without a problem. Then a couple days ago, I noticed a small puddle under the slave cylinder. Took the slave off and disassembled it to inspect. Sure enough, the seals had gone out.

You've most likely put in a new Throw Out Bearing, Have you replaced the Guide Tube?

Pelican Parts - Product Information: 996-116-087-01-M100

JFP would be the member I'd contact / PM if it were me.

+1

If the piston is pushing against the outer seal of the housing, then it is not traveling at the correct angle to the clutch arm.

Any wear on the tube for the release bearing will change the how the arm and piston move together, and if enough wear has occured (like from being used with a cracked/failed arm) then it could absolutely cause your issue.

Ufortunately, if you replaced the clutch arm before, you know what it takes to replace the release bearing guide tube.

Skoot

Sam, when you put the slave in - did you leave the bleed nipple "open"?

Bentley says to install it and then bleed. I have heard some just push it in there against the pressure? I was able to get my slave in, unbled. There was NO pressure on the pedal, it would not even come off the floor, when it did it was erratic. Whether it is enough to break the seal or fork I don't know.

I ended up taking the slave out again. Opened the bleeder valve and, while being squirted by brake fluid, installed it in the "open" position and then bled all the bubbles out. It was a PITA but the pedal worked much better. Just a thought…

I didn't replace the guide tube. It seemed fine. No appreciable wear and all the little ridges seemed fine. I just cleaned it really good, greased it, and assembled everything. That's a good thought tho... In this case, I'll just install the new slave and monitor it for leaks. If it start leaking again, I'll prob go back in and do the guide tube.

Homeboy, the slave actually isn't really that big of deal (or I'm just getting pretty proficient at changing them). I just push it in against the piston pressure/spring pressure and click it into place on its boss. There's a ridge on the backside of its mounting boss that will hold it while u thread the 13mm head bolt in. In my case, the system is already depressurized as soon as I removed it.

Thanks for the tip tho.

What's funny is I can do a slave cylinder in about 10 minutes and that includes putting the car on jack stands and removing the left rear wheel. I should be on a race team pit crew... While everyone else is throwing new tires on and whatnot, I could be charging around doing slave cylinders. Lol

i don't remember any ridges on the guide tube. :confused:

They're very shallow and run the length of the guide tube. Act as a keyway that fit into the TO bearing.

Yep, new TO bearing, clutch, LWFW, ims bearing, UD pulley, thermostat, and a couple other things. I did discover 4 out 6 of my plug tubes are leaking so I need to go back in anyway.

http://i1282.photobucket.com/albums/...ps27ba5e47.jpg

Took me 4 hours to put mine back in. No joking. However, that was the first time I did it.