Date:         Sat, 6 Jan 2001 23:14:35 -0500
Reply-To:     "1980 VW Westfalia \"Pokey\"" <pokey@VANAGON.ORG>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         "1980 VW Westfalia \"Pokey\"" <pokey@VANAGON.ORG>
Subject:      Re: Dying Clutch Hydraulics
Comments: To: Geo Hahn <geohahn@AZSTARNET.COM>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"

They are both cycled the same number of times so its quite possible that if
one is going the other isn't far behind. However, the slave is located
outside the vehicle so it is more likely to go sooner. The master is a bit
more protected, its inside under the pedals by the drivers feet.

When my slave went, my fluid level was fine but sure enough the slave was
the problem. I ended up replacing the master and the brake master at the
same time (the brake master WAS overkill but I had the dash apart at the
time to put in an instrument cluster with tach so I thought what the hell).
It will of course be more costly but if you replace the two of them (ie: not
three you probably don't need to do the brake master) at the same time you
only have to bleed the system once.

Thanks,
Chris Gronski
Toronto, Ontario,
'80 Westy "Pokey" - SLOPOKEY
'87 Chevrolet Sprint - Ice Racer
'91 Pontiac Firefly - Convertible
www.vanagon.org & .ca
www.gronski.com, .org, & .ca
www.nineeleven.org & .ca

----- Original Message -----
From: "Geo Hahn" <geohahn@AZSTARNET.COM>
To: <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
Sent: Saturday, January 06, 2001 10:37 PM
Subject: Dying Clutch Hydraulics


> I bleed the clutch and all seems well for about a dozen shifts or so but
> slowly I seem to lose it again.  Rapid pumping of the pedal brings it
> back for a bit, enough to get home.
>
> I've never had a master or slave cylinder fail without leaking but I
> suppose that is not only possible but likely given what I'm seeing.  The
> questions:
>
> Is there any way to determine whether it is the slave or master that is
> failing other than replacing one and seeing if that helps?
>
> Is one more likely to fail than the other (both have about 40,000 miles
> on them).
>
> I think I'm bleeding adequately (& have replaced the fluid - all DOT3)
> and the archives make no note of any special requirements, but... has
> anyone experienced difficulty getting a good bleed on these?  ISTR some
> British cars require back-bleeding if an air bubble gets into a high
> point in the clutch hydraulic line.
>
> TIA for any suggestions.
>
> Geo Hahn
> 84 Westy
>