Replacing the clutch slave, have a dilemma or two

I went in circles with my clutch slave. Not giving any direction but this is what I did. It was leaking when I purchased my car. I honed it out and replaced the rubber. Didn't fly. I purchased a replacement unit for under $200.00 and it worked for a couple months before leaking. I then shipped my original to white post restorations 540-837-1140 where they sleeved it with a metal that won't corrode and provide a lifetime warranty. This was done at the recommendation of my tech, he gave me their specific name and number. I've put about 1.5 years and 15k miles on it and all is well.

When I receive it back, instead of the accordian rubber it came with a small boot seal like at the end of the wheel cylinder, my tech said it will work fine, plus with the lifetime warranty, and my desire to just drive my car and have no leaks, I ran with it. It was in the neighborhood of $200.00 for the repair.

Probably many more ways to skin this cat, but this was how my journey went.

 

I don't have any pics of it apart. I don't know if mine was original or not, but there is little wear to be had at that end, if it was a known working part they should be able to sleeve it to size, put a new seal in and return it. It won't be ready for this weekend though.

The only options I can think of is contacting one of the bone yards or going with the factory sources. Ricambi.

 

Hi Wade,

I am experiencing the same issue that I do not have a genuine Slave Cylinder and my rod has been shortend as well. !!!Bunch of Babarians!!!

Did you measure your new one? I am interested in what the lenght is of this rod.

For the time being I am going to extend it until I have a new or used from somewhere.

Thx
MvT

 

Interesting discussion. I recall seeing a post where excessive clutch travel can cause damage to the clutch assembly. I am not an expert on this by any means but put it here as a heads up. Maybe one of the experts will comment.

 

I just had my clutch slave cylinder replaced 2 weeks ago on my 1987 3.2.

I bought it from Superformance for approx $150 USD and took it to Ferrari to fit it for me. Also the flexi hose number 43 in the diagram was changed as it was very old and cracked. Also a metal pipe that needed fabricating, part no. 44 in the diagram that runs along the length of the car to the fluid reservoir at the front which fell apart from corrosion when it was removed. Rather than completely changing this metal pipe which would have been a huge job it was cut and a new part joined with a union. It was done so well it was impressive to say the least. All this was $240 labour, total $390 including taxes and was worth every penny and the work is guaranteed and I also had a courtesy car. The flexi hose was $180 inc tax.

Ricambi charge $537 just for the clutch slave cylinder alone for some bizarre reason, but maybe that's another topic?

I don't have the knowledge or confidence to change the clutch slave cylinder myself but if you want to get your car back on the road quickly it may be worth getting it done in case you encounter any problems on the way like I did with the flexi hose and metal pipe.

Good luck.

 

One inch off the floor seems just fine to me. You only will have problems if it does not disengage before it is on the floor. Or if it engages near the top of travel. Otherwise there is plenty of room for variations, imho. You can easily test if it is disengaging too close to the floor. Does it creep forward in first gear with the clutch fully depressed? Or clunk hard into first? I have not looked up the specifications, but one inch sounds about perfect. Mine needs to go a bit further down, pretty much to the floor. I wouldn't mind another half inch or so. But either way I would push to the floor every time since it removes an un needed variable.

PS: There might actually be an advantage to a long clutch stroke. Specifically, it could lighten the running load on the throw-out bearing. Don't know how often they go bad anyway.

 

MvT: Nice! You have a very elegant solution.

As Wade mentioned, this opens up a wide range of adaptability. I think we Mondial owners will soon be the leaders in Ferrari hydraulic clutch retrofits

If I might say so, I'd also use a jam nut to ensure vibration-resistance. There's a very interesting description of jam nut performance here: The Use of Two Nuts to Prevent Self Loosening of Fasteners (The site also discusses the limitations of 'split', i.e. helical spring, lockwashers. Made me a believer.)

 

Thx guys!

My intention was to use a jam nut as well, but there simply is not enough space for the rubber bellow and looking at some other rods on internet they don't use a jam nut. So I fastend it quite a bit. Not sure if you want to use locktight though...

Adjusting was a piece of cake. I pushed the piston of the cylinder all the way up with the rod then put it on the clutch control lever and pushed in the pin. Manually adjusted until it was all tight up. One needs to play with it to get the right position with your pedal. Works like a charm!

I'll add some pics next week as I am revising the starter motor and it is easier to have this rod out of the way when taking the starter motor out.

 

So it was gorgeous today and I decide to take my wife to lunch in the Mondial. I drove my 87 3.2 cab a lot during Mondipalooza and had not a single problem, but just like after I came back from Palm Beach International Raceway, my clutch pedal is now to the floor and my fluid reservior is low and I'm dead in the water right in the garage. Could not drive her. This is the 3rd clutch/clutch slave to have gone bad in my 5 years of ownership!

 

Hi Jay,

That's very frustrating for you. Where did you buy all your slave cylinders from?

 

Jay:

Sorry to hear this. Are you able to determine if the present problem is due to a failed internal seal in the clutch slave or something else like the flex hose leading to it? A visual inspection should indicate the source of the leak. (I do realize you're disinclined to crawl around under your car.)

I wonder if you've got a new-old-stock part in there that had an already-deteriorated seal at the time of installation. As Peter asked, what's the source?

There's a multi-page discussion on the clutch slave itself as you're probably aware. If I can be of any help give me a shout. 3 failures in 5 years is unacceptable.

Best,
Charles

 

The parts were sourced through Ferrari/Algar each time

 

Hi Charles,
Actually I do like to crawl around under the car but I only like to handle projects I can without breaking my back. I was so frustrated yesterday that I just took out my wife's car And didn't have a chance to source whether the problem was coming from the clutch or the slave. I just looked and there's no fluid under the car and there's no fluid dripping in the front bonnet so I have no idea where the problem is.

 

How heavy is the clutch during operation? Worn fingers on the cover/worn plate can cause the seals to fail...

 

FWIW, I don't know if you know this but right before you purchased your car, the dealer replaced the clutch slave cylinder too.

It may be time to bring your car in and have the entire system looked over. The Mondial is known for going through clutch slave cylinders due to the horrible placement of the system that causes premature wear due to heat exposure IIRC, but your scenario seems really excessive. I am going to Algar today to pick up the TR and I will mention your situation to Tony. I will call you with any suggestions he may have

Sorry to hear buddy.

 

Assuming that the problem has been with the clutch slave seals each time, I wonder if they're just replacing the piston seal and a corroded or otherwise-damaged bore is causing them to fail.

This certainly seems to be true given the obvious heat exposure and the comparative longevity of the clutch master. I wonder of the exhaust heat shield in that area is intact.

 

I think you're referring to a concentric clutch slave (348, 't', etc). Jay's car is a 3.2 which has a clutch slave external to the transmission.

 

Charles is right, it could well be your flexi hose too.

When I took mine to Ferrari a couple of weeks ago they found that my flexi hose was leaking and that the metal pipe that supplies the clutch/brake fluid from the front of the car to the flexi hose literally fell apart as it's prone to corrosion. I had the slave cylinder changed at the same time. I kept all the parts and didn't look good. Therefore it could be what's connected to the slave cylinder that's causing the problem. 3 in 5 years is far too much

Let us know what you find.