Slave cylinder fitting with gearbox in place

[Tractor Dave]

I've never had to remove the gearbox and have done several of these. Remove the little nut on the gear linkage and slide the linkage to one side to give more room. Also turn the steering full lock to the left ( from memory). Its not too difficult. Getting the new one in can be more of a challenge. You either need really strong hands to compress the piston enough to get the bolt in or you need to pre compress the piston and seal using a blanking p!ug. I'm sure I've posted how to on a previous thread.

[andyg plym]

Wow ! Old thread! Done this a couple of times now and If you really are struggling you could remove the passenger gearbox mount which makes access far easier. Also when installing the new one my advice is to undo the bleed nipple first then compress the spring and do up the nipple . This will then literally fall in the bell housing…
good luck

[Chris5044]

I can do this, but theres a plate on top on the gearbox, blocking the slave cylinder. Ie you cannot rotate the slave cylinder as the plate stops this... the end of the slave is held in place by a metal extrusion on the gearbox. Prob designed to hold the cylinder in place once it is slotted in.

This job is a pain in the ****... ill see if i can post some pics...

[Tractor Dave]

Have you removed the m8 bolt that holds the slave in?

[Chris5044]

Have you removed the m8 bolt that holds the slave in?

Yes, that was easy. All parts are removed. The cylinder is being held in place by a notch on the gearbox housing. So im trying to rotate the cylinder to release it from the notch. Or have i got this totally wrong?

[Tractor Dave]

If its a genuine sachs slave, it should just slide out.

[andyg plym]

Could be worth a knock with a hammer if it’s stuck tight just to see if it will free off, getting it out usually is relatively easy- how about some good old wd40 soaking around the housing ?

[Chris5044]

Could be worth a knock with a hammer if it’s stuck tight just to see if it will free off, getting it out usually is relatively easy- how about some good old wd40 soaking around the housing ?

Done this numerous times, hammered and hammered...... im at wits end.....

[andyg plym]

You need to also push to the side if you see where the bolt mounts on the rear imagine you need to push the clear so rotate first then push sideways with a lever it will crack off eventually

[Chris5044]

You need to also push to the side if you see where the bolt mounts on the rear imagine you need to push the clear so rotate first then push sideways with a lever it will crack off eventually

Massive thankyou!! I shall try this! Its hard to get to. But ill give it another go! Now that you've shown me this, i dont neccessary need to rotate all the way.

[Chris5044]

Guys!! Thankyou so much for your help and advice!! It popped straight off as you said!! Within 5mins!! I just had to know in my head what to do!! Thankyou!!

I had to modify the new part though.. i filed down part of it was hitting the gearbox plate. And i decided to make the bolt hole bigger to not take chances, on reading the previous comments on this job. The part was from "Borg and Beck" after market.

Had to use pure hand strength to pull it back and into place, as the retracting plunger method did not work. After many attempts i got it!! All from leaning over in the engine bay.

Got housemate to help bleed the clutch, didnt take long. Now a working clutch pedal again!! Yey!!

I couldnt have done this without your help! So thank you so much guys!

[Chris5044]

Another pic

[Nuvo]

Well done Chris,
the fact that you successfully installed from the engine bay is nothing short of miraculuous, I would never have thought that was even possible. Installing it from underneath the car isn't exactly a straightforward task, getting the mounting bolt fitted is f'ing torturous.

[andyg plym]

Well done mate glad it’s sorted!!

[Tractor Dave]

Well done. Your old one isn't original hence why it was a squeeze to remove. The original has the bleed nipple set back at an angle behind the line fitting.