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, Tue, 11 Sep 2007 17:56:01
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usually, but not always, if the master is "leaking" it actually just allows fluid to leak around the piston from on side of the unit to the other. basically it doesn't leak *out* of the unit, it just slips by the piston and doesn't make the pressure necessary to put pressure down the line and activate the slave. if you have ever had a bicycle air pump where the little rubber or leather wiper seal inside wears out this is about 95% of when a master cylinder fails, and basically is what the inside of the clutch master looks like too!
The slave, on the other hand, is built differently and when it gets pressure from the master and the seals (three o-rings) in it fail it leaks out of the unit. Sometimes it takes awhile to determine this because the clutch slave is hidden under a plastic shrowd, and there is also a place at underneath the slave that can catch a significant amount of fluid and keep it hidden from view. It doesn't take much fluid to move the slave and loosing just some can make it ineffective.
the usual trouble shooting, at the early stages of a master failure, are that 1) it sometimes needs to be pumped up several times to work, for a while and 2) it sometimes while holding the clutch pedal to the floor will just slowing allow the clutch to engage without your meaning to do that. (something like the reverse of a brake master going out, have you ever pumped the brakes up until they were nice and hard, kept your foot on the pedal only to have it sink back down to the floor? it's doing almost the same thing, fluid is leaing around the piston that is supposed to be holding the pressure. On the clutch master you are hold the pedal to the floor and the clutch is slowing moving back out *as though* you were letting off)
The slave, when the clutch pedal is held depressed, can also let the clutch engage as it loses fluid from the seals, however releasing and then reapplying the clutch pedal will usually work on a single stroke provided that 1) you have not run the fluid too low and 2) that the slave is in the early stages of failing. once it's failed it's done and you can't get it to move the clutch pressure plate at all.
Check the fluid level, if you are losing fluid it's most likely the slave, if no loss of fluid most likely the master.
The important this on either of these is to get them fixed sooner rather than later. They will *not* get better, even though they may seem to for awhile. They *will* finally fail completely and leave you stranded somewhere. Replacing the clutch slave without the "pickle fork" is extra work that you can avoid by doing it earlier.
Lastly, often replacing or rebuilding the clutch master cylinder will cause a weak clutch slave cylinder to fail. it's like city water pipes, fix the one at the corner that has been seeping for awhile and the pipe breaks in the next block. Be prepared for that possibility...
Hope this helps.
, Tue, 11 Sep 2007 17:56:01
, Wed, 12 Sep 2007 18:22:01
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