Date:         Mon, 21 May 2001 08:26:30 -0400
Reply-To:     The Bus Depot <vanagon@busdepot.com>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         The Bus Depot <vanagon@busdepot.com>
Subject:      Re: Slave or Master?
In-Reply-To:  <001201c0e17a$690ea100$0d23480c@pavilion>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"

> My Clutch went out on me this morning
> as I was getting to work.
> Is there an easy way to tell whether it's
> the clutch master cylinder or the slave
> cylinder that needs replaced?
> I don't want to replace them both If I
> don't have to.



The proprietor of a local VW repair shop, Lehmanns Auto, who is extremely
knowledgeable probably knows Vanagon repair better than anybody I've met,
advocates replacing both at once, as otherwise one tends to fail shortly
after replacing the other.  I have indeed noticed that among customers who
replace only one, maybe half end up purchasing the other within a few months
or less, which would seem to bear our out his claim.  I myself have always
replaced them in pairs.  Especially since the parts are not all that
expensive (under $100 for both).  Also for reliability reasons:  While the
errant cylinder will usually warn you by starting to seep before failure,
catastrophic failure is not unheard of, and shifting "clutchless" is not
fun, particularly if you're a long way from home.  Just not worth the risk
to save a relatively small amount of money, IMHO.

- Ron Salmon
  The Bus Depot, Inc.
  www.busdepot.com
  (215) 234-VWVW