Date: Fri, 5 Sep 2014 11:42:22 -1000
Reply-To: "SDF ( aka ;jim lahey' - Scott )" <scottdaniel@TURBOVANS.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: "SDF ( aka ;jim lahey' - Scott )" <scottdaniel@TURBOVANS.COM>
Organization: Cosmic Reminders
Subject: Re: Clutch slave cyl. replacement: What could go wrong?
Well.....Friday sort of.
In-Reply-To: <CAHTkEuKE=i_iR9SELkbKJ8cTeiUL0AYOMkfvM_eVXL8GROGNPQ@mail.gmail.com>
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at least brake fluid is soluble in water and common kitchen cleaner sprays.
I hate it when I have to fix a tool first, in order to use it ..
and sometimes it's 'fix this so I can do that, but first I have to fix
this other thing to be able to fix that thing' ...
etc.
I do regard the vanagon clutch as one of the best in the car world.
The hydraulics are 100 % self-adjusting ..very nice.
action is smooth ...feel and control are good.
the clutch itself..I always use Sachs rebuilt ones ( rebuilt in Mexico )
with excellent results.
the disc material lasts just forever if driven right.
the TOB's are excellent.
one overlooked area often ....
the pilot brg and clutch dust seal are commonly neglected ...and the
felt seal left out because the metal ring in the flywheel that holds the
felt seal in place got lost somewhere...and it was put back together
with no clutch dust shield...and the pilot brg rollers go out in a few
years .
the weak areas are..
the clutch master cylinder push rod clevis metal pin ..metal to metal
there..
the hole for the pin in the clutch pedal can wear badly ..especially in
Syncro vanagons ..
and it's not easy to lube, other than to spray up in blindly.
if you ever have to adjust the length of the clutch master push rod
...you'll curse whoever designed that over and over.
It is The Single worst adjustment in a Vanagon ..
it can't be done in place unless you have a 15mm very deep ( usually
stamped metal type ) long socket.
fortunately it almost never needs attention ...especially if that one
pivot spot is lubed at all. The grease they put on the pin at the
factory 25+ yrs ago isn't adequate anymore.
I'm nutty about lubrication ..
I can't insert any push rod into a hyd cylinder without a tiny dab of
grease on the nose of the push rod. Metal wears unless kept seperate by
lubrication , simple as that.
lol...just the cross shaft for the TOB ..I spend 10 minutes lubing that
part in about 6 places..
if there is one 'standard job' that I have seen done poorly dozens of
times..
it's the clutch area inside the bell housing.
oddly in my perception people jsut don't 'get it' about lubing stuff
..whether door hinges, latches, mechanisms , pivot points etc. etc. etc.
...like 150 to 200 of those in an entire vanagon .
A well-lubed mechanism is So Nice to use .
On 9/5/2014 11:16 AM, Don Hanson wrote:
> I'm pretty sure my clutch slave cylinder failed yesterday. No clutch
> action, bled it and drove some but this A.M., I checked in theslave's
> rubber boot and it was full of hydraulic fluid. The brake fluid reservoir
> would not hold pressure very long from my Motive pressure bleeder
> either.....
>
> "No problemo" says I..."I have a spare under my seat" I've done these
> before and while it is a nasty messy job and frustrating with the rear
> mounting bolt, it isn't rocket surgery....
>
> So first I have to fix one of my jacks tands, it's been semi-broken for
> some time...the pawl would release, but only with fiddling. I find the
> roll pin is broken connecting the shaft of the pawl and the lever to
> release it. OK, so I do that.
>
> Dig into my brake bleeding box and find my bleed hose...It's turned to
> gum and is no longer serviceable.. It feels like an eraser now, not
> resilient at all, won't stay on the bleed screw. OK, fix that.
>
> I decide I should inspect for leaks in the whole brake/clutch system. I
> fill my Motive pressure bleeder bottle and screw it onto the brake
> reservoir above the steering wheel, then pump it up to about 20psi and
> crawl under to look for leaks.. After about 3 minutes rolling around on
> my creeper I find no leaking but.....I hear a "Phut...psssssssssss,
> ker-thump!" "Uh-Oh!" I roll out and find the hose between the pressure
> bleeder and the brake res. has popped.....and there is brake fluid sprayed
> from end to end....inside the van...All over everything. Including my
> very pricey bike, some sailboards, clothes, upholstery, pillows,
> headliner...it even got to the rear hatch window! What a mess! So a
> couple of hours trying to clean the brake fluid off every-frikken thing...
>
> Next, I decide "OK, no leaks...I'll just put on the new slave and bleed
> it with my mighty vac and be done" but of course, the Mighty vac (or
> whatever harbor freight calls theirs) also has rotten gummy hoses that need
> fixed. Then it sucks fluid into the 'squeeze pump' rather than into the
> cannister that it's supposed to go into...So I have brake fluid running up
> my arm into my pit....as I try to bleed the air out of the slave....Now I
> am a REAL mess, the shop floor is puddled and the inside of the van is
> trashed. Hopefully I got all the brake fluid off my Colnago, which is
> worth more than my van..
>
> So next, I take my spare Blue Hose hydraulic line and put that onto my
> Motive Pressure bleeder to fix THAT, and finally.....finally....bleed the
> slave without anything blowing up or leaking all over everything...Oh,
> wait....when I go to remove the excess fluid from the reservoir, the horse
> syringe I use....the plunger comes all the way out and I dump brake fluid
> on the floor of the van...no worries.... as it's already saturated from my
> recent blow out of the pressure bleeder...
>
> Sheesh! What could go wrong on such a simple task?....those are some of
> the things that did go wrong....
>
> (at least it isn't a windy day and I am not missing out on windsurfing
> time to take a brake fluid bath....Ha!)
> Don Hanson
>
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