Clutch Slave Cylinder Issues...

[Legacy Rally Guy]

I had a torn boot on my clutch slave cylinder when I swapped transmissions. *This was a freshly rebuilt slave cyl...* Tear causted by A/C line rubbing. I relocated it since.

I noticed a bit of fluid on the rod side of the piston.

I wiped out the rust the best I could, pushed the piston in and rinsed with fresh brake fluid. I then ran a hone *dingleball brush* into cylinder *upside down to hopefully keep crap from collecting near seal and rinsing it well*

Then about 750 miles later, my clutch lever sinks to the floor and decides not to come back. Driving home wasn't fun. *no grinding of course, but take offs are a biotch without a clutch!* Anywho...


- Fluid leaking from boot...
- Rebuild Kit Ordered...
- Installed an offset-resevoir master cylinder prior to trans swap for the top mount intercooler.
- Offset cylinder was used for probably 2500 miles
- After Trans swap, clutch pedal had to be pressed VERY close to floor, I'm thinking I may have had some air in it.

I did lots of searching and didn't find too many answers...

1. Could I have possibly misadjusted my clutch pedal link? It seemed to disengage the clutchfully, only when it was reallly close to the floor, so I dont imagine I pushed the piston past the seal... If it was this, wouldn't it have failed pretty quickly?

2. Was the rust preventable? Besides the obvious damaged boot letting in water, is there anything I could use that wouldn't break down the rubber seal if a thin coat is applied? When I rebuild brakes, I just apply a bit of brake fluid to the inside of a freshly honed wheel cylinder, so it's what I did when I rebuilt it the first time.

3. Any tips for bleeding the clutch system? I usually pull the slave cylinder loose... and with piston just barely pressed into cylinder, I use a vaccum pump to pull as much air as possible out of the slave cylinder. I then install the slave cylinder, attach the line and bolt in place, and after the rod is installed, I press the cluch down and use a rod to hold it, then hit the bleeder and repeat this a few times... I think it works.. but I'm not sure...

Any advice is much appreciated!

[New92]

I used a bleed kit on the slaves bleeder. Then I used a bicycle inner tube cut in half and secured to the reservoir to pressurize the sytstem and bleed. Be sure to clean the crap out of the tube first. A bike pump will work if you dont have a air compressor to fill the tube. Just dont over pressurize it. I found that trick in a Ford Ranger forum. Apparently those guys have the same problems we do with trapped air.

[AWD_addict]

Are you using the original clutch damper thing? That also has a bleed nipple, and is a pain so it should be removed.

Don't detach the slave cylinder line at any point during bleeding! Keep it all connected during the process.

If you just have a line from the master cyl to the slave cyl, you should be able to bleed it using the pedal. Your "rod" to hold the pedal may not be pressing the pedal in completely. Try getting a helper or somehow pushing the pedal in all the way.

[Aerotech]

I used a bleed kit on the slaves bleeder. Then I used a bicycle inner tube cut in half and secured to the reservoir to pressurize the sytstem and bleed. Be sure to clean the crap out of the tube first. A bike pump will work if you dont have a air compressor to fill the tube. Just dont over pressurize it. I found that trick in a Ford Ranger forum. Apparently those guys have the same problems we do with trapped air.

Wow, that's a GREAT idea! I have the same issue on my Vanagon too, the clutch slave is all the way at the back of the vehicle, it's a real pain in the ass to bleed.

[Legacy Rally Guy]

I used the helper.. it worked well, it's wierd, how much of a pain in the butt it is to bleed, but a bit of paitients and determination did well for me.

the clutch pedal actually stiffened up the last bit some after about 20 minutes of driving too.

Yay for driving WITH a clutch again!