Date:         Wed, 30 Nov 2011 06:54:06 -0800
Reply-To:     Don Hanson <dhanson928@GMAIL.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Don Hanson <dhanson928@GMAIL.COM>
Subject:      Migrated clutch action- Follow-up, solved
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1

  A week or so I posted with my clutch pedal (84  2.0liter inline 5-sp)
having it's engagement 'migrate' down to the floorboards of my van, and
then keep going so the cluctch would not release at all.  We figured "slave
cylinder" and we were right.   I bled the slave with my Motive power
bleeder...

(note:  These power bleeders have a cap that screws on to the hydraulic
reservoir above the instruments.  A hose runs from that cap to the pressure
bottle to bring fluid up as the pressure forces the fluid through the
lines.  On mine, there is no rubber gasket under the Motove screw cap that
goes on the res.       I may have lost it at some racetrack or something.
Anyway, remember to switch the one from your van's reservoir cap onto the
Motive power bleeder cap before you put pressure into the system or you
will have brake fluid leaking out ...)

  So.....I bled the slave cylinder (new about one year ago....P.O.S!...)
and the clutch returned to almost normal...for about 50 miles.
  I ordered a replacement over the T-giving weekend.  Meantime, I needed
the van, so I dug around and found my old spare one.  This was the one that
came with the van, the one I replaced with new, I recall vaguely.... "just
in case" or "because I was in there".  I decided that I'd just stick that
one on, 'for now" rather than re-bleeding the faulty one then putting "new"
on when my part arrived..(expected delivery: Today)

  The clutch action is now excellent again...And I will have a back up
clutch slave...hopefully a better one than the last....  another note:  I
am now marking my 'spares' with the date and operating history before I
toss them into my parts locker (under my bench seat)  I looked and looked
at that clutch cylinder, trying to recall it's exact history...since I did
a bunch of swapping of hydraulics when I first began driving my van...and I
couldn't be sure whether it was supposed to be good or what...

  ....and, you can drive a vanagon without a clutch..as long as you don't
have to stop completely or change to reverse....I bet you could even do
that, if you found the proper hill, went up, pushed into neutral, stopped
and started rolling back, then meshed into reverse... betcha could...

  Don Hanson