Weeping !!

[broadside]

Not me personally as we all know that grown men don't cry !!

My clutch master cylinder is leeking fluid down my clutch pedal and onto the conveniently placed rubber matting on my carpet. It's only a small amount, a bit annoying and have topped up the master cylinder fluid. It was about quarter of an inch down from the max fill line.

My question is.....

Can the rubber seals be replaced on the master cylinder or is it just as easy to fit a new master cylinder?

Thanks in advance to the wise ones of all wedge knowledge......

Nige'

[number 7]

broadside said:

Not me personally as we all know that grown men don't cry !!

My clutch master cylinder is leeking fluid down my clutch pedal and onto the conveniently placed rubber matting on my carpet. It's only a small amount, a bit annoying and have topped up the master cylinder fluid. It was about quarter of an inch down from the max fill line.

My question is.....

Can the rubber seals be replaced on the master cylinder or is it just as easy to fit a new master cylinder?

Thanks in advance to the wise ones of all wedge knowledge......

Nige'

You can replace the seals, but IMHO it's a waste of time. The bore may be worn, so new seals would only be a temporary fix. In addition, because of the less than ideal installation angle, the pushrod can get bent. The last one I got was from Tower View - c. £50 IIRC. Beware of people trying to supply you with the wrong unit - David Gerald tried that with me - that requires you to re-use the old pushrod.

7.

[jchase]

You can get genuine girling master cylinders with the correct threaded end from Europa for around £30, they have a nice plastic lid so your power brake bleed kit will work with them too. They come in 0.625, 0.7 and 0.75 piston diameter, depending on how trashed your knees are. 0.625 is the SD1 soft version, 0.7 is standard TVR quick gear change, and 0.75 is what I have from a landrover I think, and it makes my knee hurt (but I have whimpy knees). 0.75 is dead cheap if you get a used landy one. (Its only supposed to be 10% harder than the 0.7 but it seems like more)

-jim

[redweapon]

I replced the seals on mine, only cost a couple of quid and has worked fine since. That was 6 years back. God knows where you would buy the seals today mind ? I went to a old Motor Spairs Shop and routed through a box of seals to find the correct size.

[jchase]

I bought seals just incase from Rimmers, cost about £12 though!

So, what can go wrong if you replace the slave cylinder? Is it possible that the push rod can become lost in the bell housing, or even worse that the clutch fork falls off?

-Jim

[gsx600]

I also had the fluid on the floor at one point in my 350, replaced the rubbers at master and slave, but still weeping, replace master cylinder but still weeping.
In the end it was the threaded joint on the copper pipe that needed replacing - the flange had gone brittle and flattened slightly. no more leak - well not clutch fluid, just the normal water ones

[jeff m]

The decision on whether use a "repair kit" or to put in a new master cylinder should depend on whether the master is pitted (on the inside)

[350zwelgje]

jchase said:

I bought seals just incase from Rimmers, cost about £12 though!

So, what can go wrong if you replace the slave cylinder? Is it possible that the push rod can become lost in the bell housing, or even worse that the clutch fork falls off?

-Jim

Push rod won't disappear in the bellhousing just like that. The clutch fork or lever can get disconnected, but not to easily. So if you are careful no problem. I normally try to twist the pushrod to get it out of the dustcap on the slave cylinder.

Rob

[mmalbon]

I replaced my clutch master cylinder with one from RT Racing. Cost best part of 100 quid in the end for the parts when you add in delivery vat etc. Bit of a pain in the arse to fit, but pretty easy compared to some jobs. One problem i had was that I didn't have a locking nut on the piston when I got it from RT, fitted the master cylinder anyway - got a locking nut from Wilko's for a few pence a couple of days later and then couldn't get the piston to unscrew from the pedal to put the lock nut on:-( So I left it alone and ignored it :-) Seems OK apart from a nasty clicking sensation on the piston sometimes :-( I've learned to ignore that now as well. As I said, it's an easy job, just thought I'd point out a few things for you to watch out for.