cluth slave cylinder missing bleed hole

I just got in my new clutch slave cylinder. It was missing the bleed plug that my old one had, so I put the plug in the new slave cylinder.

I hooked everything up and went to bleed the air out of the line. I could not figure out why I did not get any fluid out of the bleed hole until I removed the slave cylinder and inspected the bleed hole only to find that it was not drilled through.

I decided to just push in the slave cylinder plunger a bunch of times to bleed out the air - which worked by the way. Question is, have they removed the bleed hole on the newer slave cylinders, or did they just forget to drill the hole??

I didn't open up the hole, but installed the bleed plug so I would not loose it. The clutch seems to work much better now and my shifting has improved. Funny thing, the bleed hole is threaded and the little side hole is there, it is just not drilled through to allow the air/fluid to escape.

Tom Dennis atriot:

Whose slave was it, OEM or aftermarket, internal or external ???

It was an aftermarket one from O'Rileys auto. I went for it since it was $44 instead of the $150 from the dealer for the whole kit (master/slave/hose) and the other parts store in town who wanted $99 for just the slave cylinder.

As far as I can tell, the only difference between the origional and this one was the missing hole through into the cylinder. After some thought, I am assuming that it was just missed in the manufacturing. I should call O'Rileys and have them take a look at another one.

I did think of drilling out the hole, but wanted to think about it since I did not want to leave a burr inside of the cylinder that could perhaps damage the seal on the piston.

Tom Dennis atriot: atriot: atriot:

edit:

the '96 use the external slave - else I would of had to pull the tranny to change it.

Reason I ask is because most here have discovered that there are certain things you don't go aftermarket on, slaves and fuel pumps are the two main ones, fan clutches are a close third along with water pumps.

Well if the slave goes bad, then O'Rileys gets to give my a new one. It is suppose to be lifetime warranty.

I did read about the clutch fans, but was not aware of the fuel pump and clutch cylinders. I will keep those in mind for future reference.

Tom Dennis

The external slave might not be too bad to have a lifetime warranty on. To have a fuel pump that goes bad and it's involved labor I'd rather have one that statistically lasts 5+ years than one that I have to replace yearly with a 'free' one

I completely agree on those hard to get to parts. It is far cheaper in time to get the best part first time. I did not know there was trouble with the aftermarket slave cylinders, but on the good side, they are pretty easy to change out. Perhaps that is why mine failed.

I am sure I am not alone in the giving of blood and skin sacrafices when doing auto repairs. Right now I am nursing a few cuts after installing my missing clutch fan shroud. Here I thought it was going to be easy - yea right LOL.

I should have replaced the clutch fan at the same time, but I need to replace my radiator so I will do that then. By the way, how much play should there be in the clutch fan pully and how hard is it to replace it?

Tom Dennis

Jeeps require some blood from time to time. I'm taking mine down after I run my daughter to work, time for the annual flush,backflush, tstat, pressure cap, refill and burping then comes plugs, wires, rotor and dist cap. Then it's check the fluids time.
I might even stick on the new serp belt I've had for a while, still running the original at 180,xxx + miles but no cracks for splits [knock on wood] so I have left mine alone.
There should be no play in the fan clutch, they either work or they don't, no real method to test them either. Low speed overheat, fan clutch is the first suspect.

I was wondering about the bearing assembly that is behind the clutch pully and not the clutch fan its self. I assume that one needs to pull the A/C out of the way and that the bearing assembly is the large block mouned right under the A/C. If that is the case, no wonder it is $80.

I ended up replacing my serpentine belt last year when I noticed a few cracks starting in the belt. It must be the extreme cold/hot temps we get in the mid-west that is a killer - winter can be -30 deg F. and summer can be 100 deg F.

When it comes radiator time, I am planning on all new iddler pullys (the one behind the clutch fan and the one under the power steering), also, new T-stat, temp sensor, and perhaps water pump, but I don't know if mine is even bad yet. I always stay right at 200 deg F. on the gauge.

I did notice a nice improvement of air flow around the clutch fan after I installed the shroud. Now I can hold my hand in front of the radiator and feel the air being pulled through the radiator by the clutch fan.

Tom D.