On Tue, 27 Oct 1998, Jennifer Horsman wrote:

> I am guessing this is true and I don't really
> feel like rebuilding the cylinder (unless someone tells me it is easy).

It is easy.  The "kit" (assuming you can find one) consists of 2 or 3
parts, so rebuilding, while messy, it really not too hard.

> So, I am going to buy a new slave cylinder and put it in. Does anyone have
> experience with this? I think it seems pretty straight forward, except that
> I have never done it before and I have never bled the clutch before. Any
> hints would be appreciated.

It is pretty straight forward.  Remove attachment to slave cylinder,
remove two bolts holding cylinder in place, remove cylinder.  The
problems come from the cylinder not being easy to get to and the
difficulty of getting at the bolts that hold it in place.

Slave and master clutch cylinders seem to fail pretty much in tandem, so
you might consider replacing (or rebuilding) the slave master too.

> (If anyone has done a slave cylinder rebuild, I would be interested in
> hearing about it.)

I did it once quite a long time ago and I can't remember anything
particularly interesting about it.  It's a pretty straight forward parts
replacement.  Many people tend to discourage rebuilding of cylinders, but
I've done it with good success.  Rebuilding cylinders is inherently
messy, it takes more time than simple replacement, so weigh those
disadvantages against your cost savings.

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Tom Young               young@sherlock.SIMS.Berkeley.EDU
Lafayette, CA  94549    '81 Vanagon
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