Date: Tue, 16 May 2006 13:02:10 -0400
Reply-To: Sam Walters <sam.cooks@VERIZON.NET>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Sam Walters <sam.cooks@VERIZON.NET>
Subject: Re: suddenly clutch just gone?
In-Reply-To: <86476e250605160932s2d8151c7q2f5d3b405e20d58f@mail.gmail.com>
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Actually, it is the opinion of only some that when one goes the other is
sure to follow.
As I have posted several times before, I once searched the entire
archive for instructions on how to do this job and found folks rather
evenly divided over whether replace one or both. Most of those who say
replace both do so on the advice of their mechanics.
No one has anything other than anecdotal evidence. And every time both
are changed, it eliminates the possibility that in that van the one that
was still good would continue to function just fine for several more years.
The replace both position is repeated more often, but I don't think that
this means that the alleged underlying factual assertion, that both
fail close to the same time, is actually true.
I have changed out 6 slaves in my years of Vanagon ownership but never a
master. Others have reported only having master cylinders fail.
It can't hurt to change them both, but it may well be an unnecessary
expense.
A mechanic or vendor is going to remember the people who come back with
the other cylinder having failed shortly after only one is replaced -
particularly because they might be miffed at having to repair the same
system again. But one isn't as likely to remember the customer who
never came back for the second cylinder to be repaired.
My 84 had three slave repairs in 175k miles - I owned it from new. I
have replaced the slave 3 times on the Weekender in the 40-45k miles I
have put on it - now has about 205k miles on it. One replacement in
each was due to a defective slave that failed quickly after
installation. One of those was a rebuild and one was new.
As I said, it can't hurt (anything but your pocketbook) to replace both
and one may certainly choose the preventive maintenance approach, but it
just isn't a certainty that you need to do it.
If both cylinders had lots of miles and time on them, I too would lean
toward replacing both, particularly if I intended to keep that van a
long time.
Sam
--
Sam Walters
Baltimore, MD
89 Syncro GL, Zetec Inside
85 Westy Weekender
85 Mercedes Benz 300D Turbodiesel - to become veggie oil powered
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