Clutch Master Replacement

[Montauge]

Hi - will be doing this in the coming days and will have difficulty getting under the car. Do I have to drain the old fluid by disconnecting the pipe at the bell-housing or can I do it from elsewhere such as in the footwell or via the breather somehow?
Also anyone out there remember how many litres will be required to top the system back up? It's DOT 4 isn't it? Thanks in advance.

[esso]

Are you doing the clutch master cylinder or the slave cylinder ?...one of them is a much bigger job than the other. The master cylinder is straightforward ,if there is fluid remaining in the old one remove it with a syringe.Undo the hydraulic pipe ,release the clevis pin/clip from the pedal then you need an open ended spanner bent at an angle to undo the bolts holding the cylinder to the baulkhead.If its the slave your doing its a gearbox out / bellhousing off job.

[Montauge]

Thanks esso - sounds easy enough. Yes it is just the master cylinder I'm doing - did the slave 2,000miles ago. Can one buy spanners like that or do you have to heat up and bend your own?

[Mr Cerbera]

Montauge said:

Thanks esso - sounds easy enough. Yes it is just the master cylinder I'm doing - did the slave 2,000miles ago. Can one buy spanners like that or do you have to heat up and bend your own?

Oh I love that John - Cerbera Maintenance at its best

_This_ should save your blowtorch

[Juddder]

Mr Cerbera said:

Oh I love that John - Cerbera Maintenance at its best

When I had my shocks replaced at Str8Six they had a hole bunch of spanners that they bent, modified and generally cut bits off to make them fit TVRs

I was intrigued so asked the guy working on my car, and he said that was the TVR way and they always had a bunch of half customised / b*stardised spanners for the cars!

[Montauge]

Thanks Paul. esso had mentioned open-ended - any reason you can think of why the ring ones in your link wouldn't be suitable?

[Mr Cerbera]

Montauge said:

Thanks Paul. esso had mentioned open-ended - any reason you can think of why the ring ones in your link wouldn't be suitable?

I have always believed that ring spanners give you better options for angles, give you more purchase on the job (provided that the nuts aren't rounded ) and so that's what I used them when removing my Master Cylinder.
I also found that, for this particularly fiddly application, they could be 'left on the nut' without hands, without pinging off, whilst I moved into the footwell

BUT

then again, I always work on my own.



____________________________________

"he said that was the TVR way and they always had a bunch of half customised / b*stardised spanners for the cars"

That's where the phrase "British Ingenuity" stems from

---

One of my future desires is to sit down with my old man and David Hives and have a laugh about the tools that they developed for fiddly jobs and compare them with the tools that I developed to work on 'em.

Edited by Mr Cerbera on Saturday 3rd March 12:21

[esso]

You will not get a ring spanner on because of the close proximity of the body of the master cylinder.Also when I did mine the bolt can turn as well so you need an assistant to hold a spanner on the head of the bolt in the footwell to stop it turning.To prevent this happening I welded a tab onto the head of the bolts to stop them turning. Bend your own spanners to the angle required ! 😉

[pmessling]

An alternative to welding the bolts is to thread the holes of the master cylinder. It’s very easy as it’s aluminium. Makes it so much easier.

[esso]

Also make sure you use OE master cylinder ,the cheaper Land-Rover ones have a different size thread for the hydraulic pipe connection.

[esso]

pmessling said:

An alternative to welding the bolts is to thread the holes of the master cylinder. It’s very easy as it’s aluminium. Makes it so much easier.

Now why didn't I think of that !

[pmessling]

I have a willwood one to replace mine as the seals have gone. Does need a thread adapter but shouldn’t be a problem.

[Mr Cerbera]

esso said:

You will not get a ring spanner on because of the close proximity of the body of the master cylinder.Also when I did mine the bolt can turn as well so you need an assistant to hold a spanner on the head of the bolt in the footwell to stop it turning.To prevent this happening I welded a tab onto the head of the bolts to stop them turning. Bend your own spanners to the angle required ! ??

I really wonder why I fking bother sometimes.

If you use a BENT spanner you avoid the M/C body.
If you then tie the unused end against summat immovable the bolt head is easy to undo in the footwell.
(although it's best to crack the seal first with the ring to get you on your way)

[Montauge]

I'll let you know how I get on because I've ordered some bent ring spanners - will try that before bending any of my others.

[esso]

Mr Cerbera said:

I really wonder why I fking bother sometimes.

If you use a BENT spanner you avoid the M/C body.
If you then tie the unused end against summat immovable the bolt head is easy to undo in the footwell.
(although it's best to crack the seal first with the ring to get you on your way)

✌️

[Mr Cerbera]

esso said:

Mr Cerbera said:

I really wonder why I fking bother sometimes.

If you use a BENT spanner you avoid the M/C body.
If you then tie the unused end against summat immovable the bolt head is easy to undo in the footwell.
(although it's best to crack the seal first with the ring to get you on your way)

??

(... by the way, did you receive your Christmas pressie ??)

[Mr Cerbera]

Montauge said:

I'll let you know how I get on because I've ordered some bent ring spanners - will try that before bending any of my others.

IIRC it's a 13mm

HTH

[esso]

Mr Cerbera said:

(... by the way, did you receive your Christmas pressie ??)

Hi Paul....yes I did and I meant to thank - you very much ,they have come in very handy. Will you be visiting the UK this year or doing Le-Mans ?...
Regards
Al.😉

[Montauge]

Splendid. The old master is off! My bent ring spanner couldn't get to the bottom bolt but my ham fisted helper got some mole grips on the old master cylinder once the top bolt was out forced it towards the windscreen putting pressure on the bottom nut so I could get it off.
A bodge-it idea for those of you without the adapted tool!
Planning on filing down a bit of the flange, by the bottom hole, on the new one so that the bolt head sits lower and can't rotate when I put it back in.
Thanks for your help so far!

[Mr Cerbera]

Montauge said:

Splendid. The old master is off! My bent ring spanner couldn't get to the bottom bolt but my ham fisted helper got some mole grips on the old master cylinder once the top bolt was out forced it towards the windscreen putting pressure on the bottom nut so I could get it off.
A bodge-it idea for those of you without the adapted tool!
Planning on filing down a bit of the flange, by the bottom hole, on the new one so that the bolt head sits lower and can't rotate when I put it back in.
Thanks for your help so far!

Well done, Sir !

I will have to take a photo of mine so that someone will believe me

I'm not too sure of the ability of the Cylinder Body to accommodate changes so,
as an alternative, you could tack one of these onto the lower nut ???....