4th Generation F-body Slave Cylinder Replacement

Theme from The Dead Clutchmen, 1973

This is a quick page detailing how I replaced a leaking slave cylinder.
The procedure is identical for all 6 speed 1993 to 2002 F-body cars.

Click Images to Zoom in

The new slave cylinder comes with a new roll pin,
fitting seal and lot of instructions and notices.

The slave cylinder can not be bled (read: purged of
air) like brakes due to the lack of a bleeder screw.

You use the procedure here instead. I added some
extra steps to keep air out of the line as well.

Remove the slave cylinder from the transmission (two
13mm nuts) and remove the hose support clip (pry open
with a screw driver or whatever works for you).

Mouse the slave cylinder up into the
engine bay so it's easy to work on.

Grab a plastic cap off a can of brake cleaner or spray
paint or whatever.

Remove the lid from the clutch fluid reservoir next to
the brake master cylinder.

Suck out all the dead ugly fluid and replace it with
fresh fluid up near the top (ignore the Full line). Leave
the cap off.

One side of the roll pin hole is chamfered. Use a
small vice or whatever to just barely start the
roll pin in to about .100" of an inch to center it.

Fill the new slave cylinder with DOT 3 brake fluid
per the factory instructions. I used a piece of a
zip tie to vent the cylinder of all traces of air.
Just poke the (whatever) into the slave to allow
the air to bubble out as you fill it with fluid.

Remember, there must be NO air in the cylinder
or in the clutch line or the clutch may not release.

Remove the old cylinder from the line by using a drift pin
to tap the roll pin out of the slave. There is no need to
get medieval on the pin or the cylinder, the pin will tap out
rather easily. Be careful you don't put stress on the hose,
you risk pulling the fitting out of the end of it if you do.

Trick Install Procedure:

Grab the plastic can lid and hold it under the hose.
Now lower the hose and cap until it's below the level
of the reservoir by a couple of inches.
Fluid will begin to siphon out of the open end of the
line. Allow the fluid to drain until the reservoir is almost
empty.

Lift the hose above the level of the reservoir to stop the
flow of fluid. Top off the reservoir to the Full line this time,
and bleed until you get clean fluid out of the hose. Repeat
this step as necessary, just don't over fill the reservoir.

Now for the fun part. You have sucessfully replaced all the
old fluid with clean new fluid at this point. You now want to
install the new cylinder without getting any air trapped in
either the line or in the cylinder. Here's how to do that:

Install the new seal on the hose fitting after wiping a bit
of clean brake fluid on it. The split side goes towards the cylinder.

Verify the cylinder is filled, including the neck area.

Verify the fluid level in the reservoir is to the Full line.

The concept is to assemble the hose to the cylinder while
holding them both low enough so that fluid is dripping out of
the hose fitting.

Place a shop towel to catch the few drips that will happen.

Lower the hose and the cylinder (push rod down) into the engine
bay. When fluid begins to drip from the hose, plug the fitting into
the cylinder slowly. The dripping fluid will displace any air in the
line or the top of the cylinder. A few drips need to leak out here,
so let the shop towel catch the brake fluid for you.

Bring the entire assembly back up to the top carefully. Don't
allow the hose and the cylinder to part! Use either a small hammer
or your C clamp or whatever to push the roll pin all the way into
the cylinder to lock the fitting into the cylinder.

Remember, the roll pin goes "above" the metal shoulder the seal
is up against.

Re-install the slave cylinder onto the bell housing. Check the fluid level in the reservoir and put the cap back on. Now test it out before dropping the car back onto the ground.

Start the car with the tranny in neutral. Pump the clutch pedal a few times.

Push the clutch in and place the tranny in 1st but don't let up on the clutch! Look at the rear wheels to see if they are turning.

If they are turning with the clutch pedal all the way down, your not getting full release and you need to purge the air per the Helms procedure, or you have a bad master cylinder, or you have a bad clutch :)

You might have to perform the purging procedure in the Helms manual if the clutch won't release, however if you followed this procedure, that's going to be highly unlikely.

Your Done!

Roll Back 5/8/2002