Club 80-90 Forums

Ok, cheers. After reading a bit more and from what you say I don't think its the master because theres no sign of leaking at the footwell. I can't fill up and press to see it coming out underneith because even though I've filled it up there is absolutely no pressure when pumping the pedal and the level stays the same. This suggests there must be air in the clutch system eh? The thing is how much air would have to be in for there to be absolutely no pressure when the pedal goes right down? If its a lot then I'm guessing it must be a leak underneath in a pipe or the slave? If a small amount could do it then I guess it could have sucked some in (perhaps due to contraction in the cold) as I haven't check the levels for at least 3000km.... I'm going to have to wait until Sunday I think until I can get some new fluid and try the bleed. Any advice on the best and safest way to get to the slave valve would be appreciated. I know its at the back but I've heard I need axel stands and I've only just got the jack with the van.....

ps. there' no snow and its dry under the van by the way and I can't see anything on the floor.

if it is the same setup as a 1.9 w/c then you can get to the bleed screw from the rear of the engine, although there is a good chance it will be seized. if you read around to the underside of the slave and feel the rubber it maybe wet with fluid. you need to jack up the rear if you need to undo it all.

right....I had something similar. No pressure on clutch,but brakes were ok. Paniced....topped up fluid and still nothing!! paniced some more.....then got some good advice from harryman, along the lines of what Mark said. You will need a 7mm (i think) ring spanner to release the bleed nipple.....just release it and leave it a few mins, check level in front, top up if nec....Some penetrating fluid may be necessary too

oh, when you pump the clutch, don't do what I did and pump rapidly - apparently this is all wrong....firmly and steadily down......then slowly release....repeat.

Didn't have to replace any parts....never understood why it did it in the first place, and it never did it again. Was truly weird.

Em
x

cheers. Hopefully the bleed will do the trick then Em. Even if that does work though I'm going to keep a careful check on it because I guess a leak from the brake system may be draining the system which gets air into the clutch lines..... Although I guess I would still expect to see fluid under the van, especially now since I've topped up and the brakes still have pressure on them...

Cheers for all the help everyone. I think I found the problem, just checked the slave cylinder and when I feel underneath the metal I can feel the rubber housing going into it and thats all got fluid on it. There's also some drips of fluid underneath that on the ground. I'm going to order a new slave today but can anybody tell me if I could manage to replace this myself with only one wheel jack? It needs a service anyway so I could just take it to the garage and get it fitted along with the service...?

The other thing is the reservoir has gone down very slightly so if I keep it topped up while the slave arrives then it should bleed itself slowly right? Its just that the bleed nipple doesn't look in a good state and if I can't get it open then I won't be able to get enough pressure to even get the van to the garage?

Thanks for all the help again, its only through having these problem that I'm getting chance to learn (and it kind of makes the problems fun to learn how to fix them.)

Unless your van has been lowered, you should be able to get to everything you need to without jacking up at all. If you do though, remember to use some other form of support ie. axle stands.
You should also be able to access some areas from the engine bay.
Use penetrating fluid for the bleed screw before you try to undo it.
It can be done yourself but there may be a rusted bolt or two that may cause a problem!

this was the first job I did when I got dylan, there are lots of thread regarding removing the old one and the best way of putting the new slave in, eg getting the nuts onto the bolts through the tiny gap. I had to cut through a "plastic pipe" not rubber hose or metal brakes pipe in order to undo the slave from the pipes. make sure you find out which clutch setup you have either a 2 foot plastic pipe from the chassis to slave or a rubber hose, bracket and metal brakes pipe. in case you need to replace anything


a new bleed screw will obviously come with the slave cylinder and you can do most of the work through the near side wheel arch. for obvious reasons dont go under the vehicle just on the single jack.

Cheers, I may give it a crack myself if I don't have to jack..

I saw two sellers on ebay offering the slave and they look a bit different

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/VW-CAMPER-TRANSPO ... 2ea8f1baad" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

http://shop.ebay.co.uk/?_from=R40&_trks ... Categories" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

has anyone used either of these two sellers before?? Or can anyone recomment someone else that will post to the netherlands...

They are both the same, just look slightly different. Both going to do the same job. I get my parts from B&B but they are close to me! Never had any problems with what they have supplied.