Clutch slave cylinder going bad?

I recently replaced a faulty clutch master cylinder (clutch pump). The symptoms were similar but not exactly like yours. I also had trouble selecting gears and the longer I held the clutch depressed, the more difficult it became because the piston was bypassing fluid pressure. Eventually the car would creep ahead even with the pedal full down.

I would suggest you bleed your clutch system before you do anything else because your symptoms could be caused by nothing more than air in the system. Be sure to use the correct torque value on the bleeder screw because people report cracking the bleeder block if you over do it.

You can reach this bleeder from the top. It's right on the right side of the transmission.

I don't actually know what the slave cylinder looks like because it's an internal, constant contact type, not the more usual external slave cylinder. I suppose it could bypass fluid past faulty seals just like the master cylinder, but I confess that I don't know how to tell which part might be faulty. Given the relative ease and low cost of replacing the master cylinder myself, I would certainly do that first if bleeding didn't fix the problem. Replacing mine was a bit fiddly and somewhat frustrating because lack of space for a fat guy with arthritis, but it wasn't expensive and not technically difficult. Nor did it require any special tools. You can find all the information you need on this forum and in the digital workshop manual.

 

I live in Italy. Parts are also expensive here plus we pay a high IVA (VAT) tax on top of that. I source most of my parts from England and I paid 98 Euros for my master cylinder. That's about three or four times what it's worth, but by Ferrari standards it isn't too bad. Certainly way cheaper than even taking a look at a slave cylinder, much less replacing it.

If you use a suction bleeder, be sure to seal the bleeder screw base with a gob of thick grease before you begin the bleeding process. Wear pants without a belt buckle so you don't scratch your fender. Use big wads of paper towels to catch the inevitable drips. Don't let the reservoir run dry. Don't over tighten the bleeder screw.

If you do change the master cylinder, so a search on my earlier post. It's titled something like "Master cylinder replacement, lessons learned" or something like that.

Good luck.