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Slave Cylinder Failure Confirmation/Advice TIA

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Old 08-19-06, 10:34 AM
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Slave Cylinder Failure Confirmation/Advice TIA

It's been two years since I put the motor in my car...We didn't align the slave rod correctly on the first try, and one of my "helpers" thought if he just pushed the pedal harder it'd pop into place. Needless to say, after he left, I had to fish the rod out of the bell housing and remove the slave cylinder. I dissassembled it, inspected all the components (piston, coned o-ring, and spring) Everything looked okay, so I put it back together and re-installed.

TODAY (13k miles later), I'm backing the car out of the garage (for a much needed FD cruise) and as I'm depressing the clutch to coast a little..."SNAP"...WTF?! car stalls...pedal is on the floor. Hmmm...okay, that's weird.

I jack the car up, remove the starter, and start unbolting the slave adaptor plate...ATE Super Blue starts seeping out. Okay, I think this is good...at least the fork didn't snap or anything. I release the rear nipple, and try to push the rod back in...won't budge

I remove the assembled and dissassemble...all the pieces still look good, I put it back together and piston can move again...although not the smoothest action.

My question is...what could have happened??? I use an ACT extreme pressure plate (way to extreme for the street...if anyone was wondering, does feel like I'm in a race car everytime I drive though, haha). Last time I drove, no signs of failure. First 5' of my drive today BAM FAILURE!

Next Question is...what are my options? Rebuild kit, New unit, or (I've read) FEED replacement? Anyone know where to buy a FEED unit? and the advantages? Rebuild kit worth it? Few more bucks and get a new unit?

If you read this far, please leave opinion.
Old 08-19-06, 10:45 AM
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Are you sure the fork didn't break? I've seen several crack toward the ends that fits into the t/o bearing and it's hard to diagnose until it's removed because it's usually only one of the two fingers that break. This will also give you a hard clutch pedal travel.
Old 08-19-06, 10:49 AM
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well, the hard clutch travel only happened once...I didn't reinstall after the "second" rebuild, I just moved the rod in and out of the cylinder and that's where the rough action statement came from.

If the fork broke, would it cause my slave to leak? I guess if the rod came out...no?
Old 08-19-06, 10:50 AM
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the reason most people think the rebuild kits suk is that they never hone the cylinder. how does the bore look/feel any gouges?? i put the rebuild kit in my slave/master with no probs. i think it is like 10 bucks
Old 08-19-06, 10:52 AM
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Is a machine shop the best place to do the hone job? Or can I take it to a dealer?
Old 08-19-06, 11:06 AM
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cylinder is smooth as glass on the inside...but the piston has color on it???



Old 08-19-06, 12:37 PM
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Damn...the more I think about why this happened, I start to think the fork broke and "allowed" the rod to come all the way out
Old 08-19-06, 04:31 PM
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piston color does not matter as the rubber seal is what rides on the bore. yea if the fork broke it would push out. it should have a good amount of drag to it when you move it by the way. hyd tend to go soft when the seal fails as the pressure bleeds past the rubber.

time to get a good mirror and look at the fork....
Old 08-19-06, 05:01 PM
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^thanks...I think it's time for that JDM tranny (nice 5th). I was having high RPM 1st to 2nd "fast" shift problems/grinds...and now that I think about it more, I believe I had some vibration as I'd touch the pedal. Kept telling myself it was due to the extreme PP. I have a feeling this will be a long project...as I might pull the motor to get to the tranny, and make some "changes".
Old 08-19-06, 05:37 PM
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Originally Posted by dubulup
Damn...the more I think about why this happened, I start to think the fork broke and "allowed" the rod to come all the way out
Bingo.

I replaced my clutch fork with the new 'upgraded' model when I put the ACT clutch in. Hopefully it holds... I'm not running the extreme pressure plate though.
Old 08-19-06, 05:42 PM
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what is this upgraded model you speak of?
Old 08-19-06, 05:45 PM
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Originally Posted by dubulup
what is this upgraded model you speak of?
The part number for the stock clutch fork changed a few years back, and supposedly they are stronger now. Looked the same to me though...
Old 08-19-06, 06:31 PM
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IMHO, it's far better to get hydraulics new. I've beaten the horse of hydraulic component rebuilds in the past, and have had to re-do my work then finally just buy the part new. The slave and master are pretty reasonably priced, especially if you can find a local parts store that sources the new Tokico parts (Tokico made the hydraulics for Mazda, BTW).

With a heavy pressure plate, you increase the hydraulic load the entire system sees. It will typically wear the components out faster, and if you have old hydraulics, you'll likely have a failure pretty soon.

I've also seen components fail all at the same time. If one goes, do the lot. If you put in a nice, tight slave, you'll increase the load the old, worn master sees, so it fails sooner. Then, you increase the load on the rubber clutch hose....

Dale
Old 08-19-06, 09:33 PM
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actually the rubber hose was the first to go...replace with SS, the rest is history.
Old 12-19-06, 08:58 AM
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Not Slave, Not Fork...to Bearing

Figured I'd bring this back to see if I can get some answers...well, the slave looked fine...the fork wasn't broken...it was the Throw Out Bearing. I haven't taken a picture of it yet...but it royally failed. Ball Bearings started to drop out before I got the PP off. Basically, the bearing that connects to the wedge collar stayed with the PP, and everything else on the fork.

Can anyone explain why/how this would/could have happen?

TIA
Old 12-19-06, 09:05 AM
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I would like to see some pics.
Old 12-19-06, 09:17 AM
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what? is my misery your enjoyment

I'll see about snapping some pics tonight...should have done it last night; stupid.

Any ideas PHIL?
Old 12-19-06, 09:32 AM
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If your slave was not fully disengaging then your throw out bearing might have been under constant pressure. You said at the begging of this thread that you had some problems with the slave install. I think 13K of constant pressure on the bearing could have this repercussion? Also when you installed the throw out bearing did you put it in parts washer or brake cleaner etc.? Because I've seen them fail from this before too.
-J-
Old 12-19-06, 09:40 AM
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^that's a negative. (part/washer etc)

I did have an issue with the initial install, but rebuilt the slave before reinstalling...I'm not sure I follow how the slave couldn't fully disengage?

I did hear some gumbling with the clutch pedal pressed in. And some gear grindage at high rpm fast shifting between 1-2 and 4-5 (shifted fine normal street driving). 2-3 and 3-4 were always butter. Minus the unhappy TO bearing gumbling.

am I painting a better picture now?
Old 12-19-06, 10:17 AM
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meaning the piston was getting "hung up" in the cylinder. ie still holding more than normal pressure on the bearing causing it to heat up dry out and break.
-J-
Old 12-19-06, 01:02 PM
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how was the pedal free play before it failed??
Old 12-19-06, 01:46 PM
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Originally Posted by dubulup
what? is my misery your enjoyment
You know me.. I love to see others suffer! LOL!

I'm not 100% and just wanted to see some pic
Only thing I could think of is that if your ball bearings came out of the throw out bearing, it could be your high pressure plate which needed more force, which in turn created more heat, causing pre-mature ball bearing wear and eventual failure. But thats my guess. I say inspect the ball bearings and see if you see anything unusual..
Old 12-19-06, 01:53 PM
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Originally Posted by mad_7tist
how was the pedal free play before it failed??
no free play in the pedal...pretty stiff from the top to the floor.

Originally Posted by herblenny
You know me.. I love to see others suffer! LOL!

I'm not 100% and just wanted to see some pic
Only thing I could think of is that if your ball bearings came out of the throw out bearing, it could be your high pressure plate which needed more force, which in turn created more heat, causing pre-mature ball bearing wear and eventual failure. But thats my guess. I say inspect the ball bearings and see if you see anything unusual..
the reason the BB's came out is because the "inner" bearing (we'll call it) came out of the assembly.

I'm sure the pics will do the failure justice, ha!!
Old 12-19-06, 03:54 PM
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no free play is not good. you should have at least a 1/2 inch
Old 12-19-06, 04:51 PM
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^thats what i was trying to say...... its not only at the pedal but its probably holding pressure on the bearing.
-J-



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