Clutch cylinder replacement
03-24-2004, 05:28 AM
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Clutch cylinder replacement
If your clutch pedal starts to stick in the down position you may have bad slave and/or master clutch cylinders. But it might also be so stupidly simple as a lack of brake fluid!!
My clutch pedal stuck and I read the symptoms and remedies here on the forum. So, I have now replaced both the slave and master cylinder on my '85 Audi 100. Both cylinders are a bit of a bitch to get at, but if you have done it once and know how to attack them, it will not be too difficult. Just too bad I will not have to do this again since I think the new cylinders will outlast the car.
First step might seem blindingly obvious (but I don't mind telling you all that I did not know the actual workings of the hydraulic clutch and might have replaced the cylinders unnecessarily) CHECK BRAKE FLUID LEVEL!!!
The hose that feeds the clutch from the reservoir sits much higher than the ones that feed the brakes and the clutch will stop working long before your brakes in case of a lack of brake fluid. If the level of fluid is low, replenish it and bleed at the slave cylinder.
If step one does not help, then you may suspect the cylinders.
The slave cylinder sits on top of the tranny and is fixed in place by a pin that goes into the tranny housing and fits in a groove on the cylinder. I have a handle from a jack that has a little pin on the end, it made it very easy to hold the handle and tap the end of the pin with a hammer to press out the pin from the tranny housing. Then it is just a question of sliding/twisting the cylinder backwards and out of the tranny housing. Disconnect the hyd hose, and fit new cylinder in reverse order.
The master cylinder sits above the clutch pedal and can be really awkward to get to. Remove any plastic ducting to get to the cylinder. Depending on the actual cylinder you may have to cut an allen key to be able to unscrew the top bolt, the space in there is very limited, due to the hyd hose coming down and blocking the bolt. Detatch the hyd line that goes towards the firewall and the line from the top. Now unscrew the whole cylinder from the conneting block that connects it to the pedal. And yes, you have to turn the whole cylinder to unscrew it.
Fit new cylinder in reverse order.
On my new master cylinder, the inlet on the top is slightly offset to the side, making it a lot easier to fit the top bolt.
Now it is time to refill the brake fluid reservoir, and bleed the system with the bleed screw on the slave cylinder. This is best done with a vacuum system, but a good old-fashioned hand bleeding will also work.
Good luck.
My clutch pedal stuck and I read the symptoms and remedies here on the forum. So, I have now replaced both the slave and master cylinder on my '85 Audi 100. Both cylinders are a bit of a bitch to get at, but if you have done it once and know how to attack them, it will not be too difficult. Just too bad I will not have to do this again since I think the new cylinders will outlast the car.
First step might seem blindingly obvious (but I don't mind telling you all that I did not know the actual workings of the hydraulic clutch and might have replaced the cylinders unnecessarily) CHECK BRAKE FLUID LEVEL!!!
The hose that feeds the clutch from the reservoir sits much higher than the ones that feed the brakes and the clutch will stop working long before your brakes in case of a lack of brake fluid. If the level of fluid is low, replenish it and bleed at the slave cylinder.
If step one does not help, then you may suspect the cylinders.
The slave cylinder sits on top of the tranny and is fixed in place by a pin that goes into the tranny housing and fits in a groove on the cylinder. I have a handle from a jack that has a little pin on the end, it made it very easy to hold the handle and tap the end of the pin with a hammer to press out the pin from the tranny housing. Then it is just a question of sliding/twisting the cylinder backwards and out of the tranny housing. Disconnect the hyd hose, and fit new cylinder in reverse order.
The master cylinder sits above the clutch pedal and can be really awkward to get to. Remove any plastic ducting to get to the cylinder. Depending on the actual cylinder you may have to cut an allen key to be able to unscrew the top bolt, the space in there is very limited, due to the hyd hose coming down and blocking the bolt. Detatch the hyd line that goes towards the firewall and the line from the top. Now unscrew the whole cylinder from the conneting block that connects it to the pedal. And yes, you have to turn the whole cylinder to unscrew it.
Fit new cylinder in reverse order.
On my new master cylinder, the inlet on the top is slightly offset to the side, making it a lot easier to fit the top bolt.
Now it is time to refill the brake fluid reservoir, and bleed the system with the bleed screw on the slave cylinder. This is best done with a vacuum system, but a good old-fashioned hand bleeding will also work.
Good luck.
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