BUGGER! Clutch hydraulics went TU!

[philbyil]

On Monday and Tuesday of this week, I got a job 43 miles away. At 7.00am, I slung my work stuff in the GQ, got in to fire 'er up and Whoa!! where's the darn clutch pedal ? Well, it was on the floor....tried lifting it back up and Plop! back it fell. Deb had already left for her work, there are no other cages available, no time to mess around with the GQ so....Ah! I'll just have to ride in !

So I ran back inside, heaved on my FG Overpants, FG Baron Jacket, Marsee Cooling vest (I know it sounds crazy but it's a good winter layer!), neck protector and my trusty Oxtar boots. As I was leaving, it was a balmy 26F with a thick frost everywhere.

Had a great ride.....beautiful crisp sunny morning and I could smell everything in the cold winter air. I ran the screen full up, put the handwarmers on and didn't feel the cold at all

Now, I reckon the clutch slave has given up the ghost. As the GQ is 15 years old, rather than screw around doing it piecemeal, I ordered a new clutch master cylinder, plastic hose adapter, slave cylinder, flexible hose and a litre of Ate Typ 200 and so I'll replace the whole darn system. Parts came to $140 so I got free shipping! As the shipping was free, I also ordered an additional couple of cans of the Ate fluid for the shelf.

I know the Slave is a doddle but the Master appears to be a bit of a bear!
I would appreciate anyones assistance/direction/wisdom on the following:

In my minds eye, I will start from the Master and work down.
I have a hose clamp to lock off the feed hose from the "Main" dualmaster in the engine compartment to the clutch master by the pedals.
I would then remove the flexi hose (which I am replacing anyway) between the solid pipe on both ends and then I could pull the clutch master away from the bulkhead to undo the flare nut going into it. I would then reattach the master to the solid pipe I pulled through the firewall. Rework the solid pipe into position, attach the flexi hose to the solid pipe and then reattach and open the feed hose from the dual master to the clutch master. This would then allow gravity to flow the brake fluid through the system. While waiting for that to happen, I would install the clutch slave and wait for the fluid to run out of the solid piping then reattach. I would then open the bleeder on the slave and wait for the fluid to trickle out. Then I would bleed, bleed and bleed the system.

Being as I am a less than limber 62yo, would it be best to remove the front seat to do this job or simply bend myself like an ageing pretzel and suffer the pain?

As I said, all advice and wisdom, tips etc appreciated:D

[BennyM]

I did the slave first just to be done with it, since that part is pretty easy.
The master is a PITA no matter how young you are. The best advice I can give is to pull the master and part of the metal piping into the cabin. Disconnect the hose going to the slave first and reconnect it last (but be careful with the slave hose when reconnecting, as it will want to go in crooked or warp the rubber gasket). With the slave hose disconnected, you can rotate the whole master cylinder to unscrew and re-screw the metal pipe.

Just be patient and don't worry if the metal pipe feels like it's bending too far.

[philbyil]

Thanks Benny, that makes me feel better :) !!!

BTW - I checked last night and it was the slave that failed. I was so grateful it failed in the garage. As last weekend, we did a 550 mile drive down to the coast and back!





I did the slave first just to be done with it, since that part is pretty easy.
The master is a PITA no matter how young you are. The best advice I can give is to pull the master and part of the metal piping into the cabin. Disconnect the hose going to the slave first and reconnect it last (but be careful with the slave hose when reconnecting, as it will want to go in crooked or warp the rubber gasket). With the slave hose disconnected, you can rotate the whole master cylinder to unscrew and re-screw the metal pipe.

Just be patient and don't worry if the metal pipe feels like it's bending too far.

[Mordan]

My slave cylinder failed me as well on my E36. It gave me many warnings. I was just too lazy not to replace it. It was leaking hydraulic fluid on the floor. I drive it like for one month since the first symptom appeared (a spongy clutch pedal during the first few clutch changes). I tested the limits and my car is now waiting for the repair on the roadside ;). Reminds me I have to do the job on the E34 as well. at least the slave. :)

It feels the clutch master cylinder is more robust than the slave? aint this true?
Also, I would think if the master cylinder fail you would have fluid in the cabin right?

Asking because the master is indeed a pain to change, while the slave is easy.

[philbyil]

Yuppers! It was the slave cylinder.
For the job, besides the slave cylinder, I bought a new hydraulic hose plus I bought a master cylinder and the plastic elbow adapter from the brake master, just in case!

15 years and a few Chicago winters certainly made the job more difficult but I found an easy solution!
Even though I PB Blastered all the hardware, I ended up removing everything from the top M/Cylinder pipe to flex hose union down. The top pipe union was less cruddy and unwound easily. I then removed the two nuts holding the Slave Cylinder to the g/box and just moved it all out as one assembly.
I then PB'd them again and used a vice to hold the assembly while I used an 11mm wrench on the pipe unions. This actually made it a lot easier to do, especially if you are replacing the hose. I put it all back in one piece, then just offered it up and installed it. I then did the multiple PITA manual bleed on the clutch system, as I didn't have a pressure bleeder unit available. There is now a noticeable difference and the clutch now starts to bite when the pedal is about 3 inches off the floor.

Thanks to all.....I am prepared for a master cylinder failure but didn't really feel like getting into it unless it was REALLY necessary. And it wasn't this time around:D!






On Monday and Tuesday of this week, I got a job 43 miles away. At 7.00am, I slung my work stuff in the GQ, got in to fire 'er up and Whoa!! where's the darn clutch pedal ? Well, it was on the floor....tried lifting it back up and Plop! back it fell. Deb had already left for her work, there are no other cages available, no time to mess around with the GQ so....Ah! I'll just have to ride in !

So I ran back inside, heaved on my FG Overpants, FG Baron Jacket, Marsee Cooling vest (I know it sounds crazy but it's a good winter layer!), neck protector and my trusty Oxtar boots. As I was leaving, it was a balmy 26F with a thick frost everywhere.

Had a great ride.....beautiful crisp sunny morning and I could smell everything in the cold winter air. I ran the screen full up, put the handwarmers on and didn't feel the cold at all

Now, I reckon the clutch slave has given up the ghost. As the GQ is 15 years old, rather than screw around doing it piecemeal, I ordered a new clutch master cylinder, plastic hose adapter, slave cylinder, flexible hose and a litre of Ate Typ 200 and so I'll replace the whole darn system. Parts came to $140 so I got free shipping! As the shipping was free, I also ordered an additional couple of cans of the Ate fluid for the shelf.

I know the Slave is a doddle but the Master appears to be a bit of a bear!
I would appreciate anyones assistance/direction/wisdom on the following:

In my minds eye, I will start from the Master and work down.
I have a hose clamp to lock off the feed hose from the "Main" dualmaster in the engine compartment to the clutch master by the pedals.
I would then remove the flexi hose (which I am replacing anyway) between the solid pipe on both ends and then I could pull the clutch master away from the bulkhead to undo the flare nut going into it. I would then reattach the master to the solid pipe I pulled through the firewall. Rework the solid pipe into position, attach the flexi hose to the solid pipe and then reattach and open the feed hose from the dual master to the clutch master. This would then allow gravity to flow the brake fluid through the system. While waiting for that to happen, I would install the clutch slave and wait for the fluid to run out of the solid piping then reattach. I would then open the bleeder on the slave and wait for the fluid to trickle out. Then I would bleed, bleed and bleed the system.

Being as I am a less than limber 62yo, would it be best to remove the front seat to do this job or simply bend myself like an ageing pretzel and suffer the pain?

As I said, all advice and wisdom, tips etc appreciated:D