>Now on to my newest problem. While digging around the starter, I discovered
>that the hose leading to the clutch slave cylinder was cracked and possibly
>leaking (couldn't tell if it was clutch fluid or the engine oil which seems
>to be oozing everywhere.) Anyway, I plan to change the bad hose. So my
>question is this, is there anything besides the hose I need to order, such
>as new fittings etc.? How hard will this be to change & bleed? Do
>I just use DOT 4 brake fluid? I know, I know RTFM :-) I will, it just
>seems that factory manuals weren't written for the novice mechanic.
You've got a couple of options.
1. Just replace the hose. This means removing the hose from its
mounting point on the chassis and from the slave cylinder, then
installing a new one and flushing/bleeding the hydraulics.
2. Clean and rebuild the slave cylinder while you're at it. This
means #1 plus removing the slave cylinder from the bellhousing,
cleaning it inside and out with Brakleen or equivalent, installing
a new set of rubber seals to the inside, and reinstalling.
#1 will stop your leak problem. #2 will give you thousands of miles
of trouble-free clutch operation, at least till your throwout bearing
goes out (within about 30,000 miles of operation).
Replacing just the hose is simple, particularly on a B where you have
a fair amount of room to get at it. If that's all you plan to do, at
least have the decency to clean the outside of the slave cylinder as
best you can so that you don't run the risk of getting crud into the
fitting when you take the hose off. I'd suggest the following tools
and equipment:
- An old toothbrush
- A can of Brakleen or other nonabrasive degreaser-cleaner
- Your set of open-end wrenches (I think it's 9/16" but that's just
a guess)
- A quart of Castrol LMA brake fluid
- A Gunson's EEzi-Bleed or a friend, or both
- A container for the used brake fluid, as well as hoses (if you
don't have the Eezi-Bleed)
Allow me an unsolicited plug for the Eezi-Bleed. It really made short
work of a full brake-system flush and bleed this past weekend, and was
vastly superior to either of the two ways I've bled hydraulics before,
which were by pedal power and with a vacuum pump. It makes it much less
likely that you'll push air into the hydraulics, since you're applying
pressure to a reservoir of fluid rather than directly to the car. It
would be possible to do a full hydraulic service with an Eezi-Bleed and
no assistance, but it's easier and nicer to have assistance (hi Dan!)
For the clutch, you'll clean the slave cylinder and remove the hose.
Place a drip pan under the hose to catch the brake fluid, and remember
that it eats paint.
Install the new hose between the clutch slave cylinder and the chassis
mounting point of the hard-line.
Top up the clutch reservoir and bleed the system as follows.
With an Eezi-Bleed: Hook up the EB as per its instructions, with the
pressure valve on a tire with no more than 20 psi in it and a full
bottle of Castrol LMA in the supplied reservoir. Climb under the car,
hook up the bleed hose to the bleed nipple, and open the valve. When
you get a steady stream of brake fluid without any bubbles, you're
done. (This should be long before you run out of fluid, as the EB
reservoir holds about a pint of fluid, or about three times what
the clutch system holds.)
Without an EB: Have friend operate clutch pedal while you lie under
the car with a wrench on the bleed valve. The algorithm is like this:
Loop:
Friend presses pedal to floor.
You open bleed valve.
Air and fluid spurts into container.
Test for completeness, return here.
You close bleed valve.
Friend releases pedal
If not complete, repeat loop, else finish up.
Test for completeness:
Does clear, bubble-free, gunk-free fluid come from hose?
If yes, return true, else return false.
Finish Up:
Tighten bleed valve.
Remove hose.
Top up clutch master cylinder reservoir.
Replace master cylinder cap.
Expect to do the loop a dozen times or more to get it right. Note
that if you're anxious about having your friend sit in the car, a
crutch works very well as a pumping lever for the clutch pedal...
Believe me, though, it's worth investing in an Eezi-Bleed. Yet
another fine DIY tool brought to you by the folks from Gunson,
makers of the Color-Tune.
If you decide to change the cylinder, ask me about that too. The
hardest thing is getting the wrench on the bolts that hold it to the
transmission; other than that, it's just messy, not particularly
difficult.
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