Slave Cylinders
By
User:AllieCashel @timeAndDate(1277914358)
If you've started to notice a grinding sound when you change gears in your car, or if your clutch stays pressed to the floor, or if you notice a brake fluid leaking from your transmission, chances are you need to replace the slave cylinder in your car. It is responsible for operating the clutch release function in your car and is thus a surprisingly important part of your engine. If it reaches the end of its life span, the clutch in your car can stick, preventing you from changing gears and putting you in an incredibly dangerous situation. Staying on top of the maintenance of your slave cylinder is fairly inexpensive and something you are totally capable of doing on your own. Just follow the steps in this guide and you'll be replacing your slave cylinder in no time.
Before You Replace Your Cylinder
As with procedure, you'll want to make sure that the issue is focused around your slave cylinder and not a more serious problem. The easiest way to go about diagnosing the problem is to locate your slave cylinder and see if it's leaking. Because it operates by releasing brake fluid, if it's broken it will be leaking this fluid either from its own Hydrolic hose (attached to the slave cylinder) or from the master cylinder (a small, similar looking car part that is attached to the slave cylinder). Locating your cylinder is often considered the hardest part of this process. Your slave cylinder will be attachedto the manual transmission of your car. However, this can be hard to get to: in most cars you'll either need to access it from underneath the car or from inside the cockpit. Check with your car dealer to see how you will need to go about accessing your manual transmission and your slave cylinder. Once you figure out how to get to the cylinder, you will still need to remove the hardware that secures it to the manual transmission of your car, which can be difficult to do in a small space. That said, once you get to the cylinder, replacing it is simple.
Replacement
* Now that you have access to the cylinder, gently slide it forward until its hanging on the end of its flexible hydraulic hose.
* Unscrew the flexible hydraulic hose from the slave cylinder and remove it. Then re-screw the new cylinder on to the hydraulic hose as tightly as you possibly can by hand.
* Lift the new slave cylinder back into its original position, making sure that the hydraulic hose is not twisted.
* Slide the slave cylinder towards the back of the car so that it engages with the clutch release lever (located underneath the slave cylinder) and it is aligned with its mounting platform.
* Press the cylinder towards the back of the car against the resistance of the return spring, making sure it pops into its place.
* Bleed the clutch.
* Test your clutch! It should be moving smoothly and should pop back up into place when you remove your foot.
Things To Consider
* Many car companies will make slave cylinders for their specific brand of car. Check to see if your car has a specific brand of slave cylinder before you go for something more generic.
* You can also try rebuilding your slave cylinder instead of replacing it entirely, which many people say is better for the environment. However, the cost is often the same and the process is much more time consuming. Think about which you would rather do before you replace your slave cylinder with a brand new one.
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