Stupid slave cylinder!!!!!

[Daft]

Man, I am having the worst week ever....

So on December 23rd, I left work and my clutch stopped working and I had to limp home (60 miles) by stopping the car and shutting it off to change back to 1st at intersections.

I got a resurfaced flywheel and bolts overnighted. I ordered the clutch and throwout bearing sent ground since it would likely arrive on Friday. It did not...

So on Friday I started removing my tranny. I only have jackstands. Got it on the floor Saturday morning and was all ready for the UPS man's arrival on Monday.

Just got the clutch mid-day yesterday. Had a major battle with my clutch slave cylinder, it just would NOT go into the hole on the tranny and allow me to get the bolt screwed in. I finally got it in and it seemed like all would be well. Got the tranny bolted on by dinner time yesterday and just needed to re-install all the other stuff that is connected to the tranny. This stuff takes forever!!!! My downpipes were a major pain in the ass since they are really tricky to get tight.

So fast forward about 8 or so hours and I finally get the whole garage cleaned up and the car is now fully assembled and resting on it's tires. The time is now 4:15am today. I open the car door sit down (mind you I'm really beat) and press the clutch. It is hard and won't move.

To anyone reading this: Never force a stuck slave cylinder!!!!!! EVER!!!! In fact, read THIS thread before fiddling with the slave cylinder at all.

I forced it.... Yes, I am an ass....

The slave cylinder exploded and shot the pushrod into the tranny and then proceeded to ooze brake fluid all into the tranny.

I then shut off the light and went to bed. So pissed. I just finished ordering a new slave cylinder that is going to arive tomorrow via Next Day air.

I now will be headed down to my garage to redo the entire hell that occured between Friday and today. Oh, and I get to mop up a lake of brake fluid too!!!

That is all. Have a Happy New Years.... I won't....

[Stampy]

Damn, sorry to hear man.

[audirs]

sorry to hear bro. my buddy busted mine too by accident when he dropped the motor back in after my swap. was leaking fluid too. he dropped the subframe to replace it. said it was such a bitch to do lol

good luck sir, that part is made out of plastic isnt it?

[Daft]

Actually, there's still hope. I just removed the driver's axle and tranny mount to get to the slave cylinder. The piston pushed the boot off and the pushrod/boot is wedged between the throwout bearing lever and the hole in the bell housing. If I'm really delicate, I might be able to extract it in one piece and just leave the tranny in place.

The only sucky part is that I have a golden shower of caustic brake fluid dripping on me while I do this..

The area is real tight but, it's better than taking all 9 million parts back off again. UPS will be here tomorrow with a brand new slave cylinder so, maybe I can just swap it and do a bleed and move on with my life.


EDIT: Victory is mine!!!! The boot and pushrod are out and the old slave cylinder is removed and laying on my garage floor. Now I just have to wait till tomorrow for the brown truck to arrive! Thank god

[Kievskiy]

i feel your pain , Brett, i almost broke mine,i wanted even use a hammer to help it a little, but then used my flash light and a LOT of patience and help....but still till now i don't think we got the links right....my reverse since then became a pitta to change....hope it works well for ya!
Happy 2009 ! Enjoy the holidays and then with the new energy you will fix it ! :)

[Daft]

i feel your pain , Brett, i almost broke mine,i wanted even use a hammer to help it a little, but then used my flash light and a LOT of patience and help....but still till now i don't think we got the links right....my reverse since then became a pitta to change....hope it works well for ya!
Happy 2009 ! Enjoy the holidays and then with the new energy you will fix it ! :)

Andrey, you can easily fix that reverse gear change by re-adjusting the shifter assembly. I had that issue too and it took me about 1 hr to do it properly and it shifts like silk now.

You need to make a little cardboard square that is exactly 43mm to set the distance from the shifter plate and the inside lip of the hole that the shifter assembly sits in. I can make a PDF out of the procedure if you like.

[A62TURBO]

Oh shit, hope all works out Daft, Happy New Year!

[jon c]

Daft, that slave cylinder sounds like a biotch.

Do you know exactly what was wrong with your tranny? I've experienced similar problems with my car too. One day while I was driving i suddenly couldn't shift into any gears unless the engine was off. Then it started working again and the problem sporadically comes back. I want to fix it but i don't have any monies saved up right now. I just want to have a good idea of what i need to do to fix the problem.

[pit viper]

My car did the same thing. One day leaving work, I only had an inch of clutch pedal movement off the floor, but it worked ok. I stopped at a gas station on the way home, and then couldn't get it into gear. Took it in, and had a leaky slave cylinder. When the mechanic replaced it, he stepped on the pedal and blew it up. So, they go another one, put it in, and he tried to actuate it with his hand. Sure enough, wouldn't move. I ended up doing the whole clutch/flywheel assembly (needed it badly).

[Daft]

Daft, that slave cylinder sounds like a biotch.

Do you know exactly what was wrong with your tranny? I've experienced similar problems with my car too. One day while I was driving i suddenly couldn't shift into any gears unless the engine was off. Then it started working again and the problem sporadically comes back. I want to fix it but i don't have any monies saved up right now. I just want to have a good idea of what i need to do to fix the problem.

Well mine was not able to switch gears without stopping the engine like yours which usually means that the pressure plate has run out of adjustment to compensate for the wear that occurs at the clutch disc. Just like when your brake pads wear down, the caliper's piston needs to travel further and further to keep the pad in contact with the rotor surface.

The difference with a clutch is that the pressure plate has a preset amount of travel to compensate for wear and once you travel beyond that distance, you're S.O.L.

The odd thing about your story is that it sounds like the clutch might have gotten stuck at a position that was out of adjustment and then popped back to it's proper position. Has the clutch ever slipped while going WOT in a gear?

Mine slipped for the first time around Thanksgiving and I knew the end was near. I should have started buying parts back then to avoid the un-expected repair but, I've never had an SAC clutch before and didn't know that it could go from "OK" to "no clutch" overnight.

BTW, for anyone who is new to a SAC clutch, SAC stands for Self Adjusting Clutch. There is a spring loaded assembly that will automatically feed the friction surface of the pressure plate closer to the flywheel to take up the slack as the clutch disc wears. The SAC system is designed to maximize grabbing power throughout the life of the clutch and never need manual adjustment. It also keeps the clutch pedal's engagement point in the same place throughout the life of the clutch.

Non-SAC units will start to slip more and more as they wear. The other problem is that the clutch engagement point will move higher and higher towards the knee bolster as the clutch wears. By the end, you will not get the clutch to engage until you are almost off the clutch pedal.

[jon c]

I don't think the clutch has been slipping much. The clutch isn't too old (but done by the previous owner) and it was an RS4 unit installed by Stasis so I'm pretty confident that installation wasn't messed up. That is the reason why I think I might have a different problem.

[pit viper]

I've never had an SAC clutch before and didn't know that it could go from "OK" to "no clutch" overnight.

Exactly what I ran into. Like not having run a MAF car before and finding out that the thing damn near won't drive when you blow a hose off.

[Kievskiy]

Yes , PDF please, PM me the details, i would love to fix that.

Andrey, you can easily fix that reverse gear change by re-adjusting the shifter assembly. I had that issue too and it took me about 1 hr to do it properly and it shifts like silk now.

You need to make a little cardboard square that is exactly 43mm to set the distance from the shifter plate and the inside lip of the hole that the shifter assembly sits in. I can make a PDF out of the procedure if you like.

[Daft]

Yes , PDF please, PM me the details, i would love to fix that.

Here you go Andrey: Click Me.

Like I said before, make a piece of rigid material that is 43mm wide and use it to align the shifter plate. I used cardboard but, in hindsight, a piece of thick plastic would have worked better as it would not have bent at all when the shifter plate pushed on it.

As for the angle settings, I bought a magnetic based angle gauge from Home Depot. It will stick onto the shifter and give a good reading.

[Kievskiy]

Thanx Brett, i'll def do it this sunday, i gave my car to my dad and he got stuck at the shoping mall parking lot, i can't let it happen again ! :)