Slave Cylinder Rebuild
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Slave Cylinder Rebuild
Hi all, first post here. I was doing some intense google-fu as to how to rebuild a slave cylinder and came up with nothing so I figured I'd make a post on how to rebuild an 82-97 slave cylinder in case you made the wise choice to pump your clutch pedal with the slave cylinder push rod not correctly seated 
To start I'll explain all the parts within the slave cylinder before I show how to put it all together.
To disassemble the slave cylinder first take the rubber boot (7) off of the housing along with the push rod (8). The entire slave cylinder is then held together by a spring steel ring (6) seated in a lip near the top of the slave cylinder housing. Once this is removed everything falls out easily. Beneath that is a metal retainer (5) to center the piston tube. Beneath the retainer is a washer that is bent in 4 places (4), not sure why exactly. And beneath that is the piston assembly (3) which is housed in the piston sleeve (2) and lastly the housing itself (1). ALSO there is an o-ring (9) that seats at the very bottom of the slave cylinder that keeps the whole thing from leaking. This doesn't always come out when you disassemble the slave cylinder. I used a long 45 degree pick to get mine out.
So now I'll explain how it all goes back together! First thing I did was take the piston assembly and put it back in the piston sleeve. I don't show it in the picture but place the o-ring (9) in the bottom of the piston sleeve before you reinsert it into the housing.
Once the piston and the o-ring are in the sleeve push the sleeve/piston assembly into the housing. From there place the bent washer on top of the piston.
Then place the metal retainer on top of the washer and piston.
Next push the piston and sleeve into the housing far enough that you can get a c-clamp over the housing. Once the c-clamp is in place compress the piston and housing far enough that you can get the spring steel retainer back in place. After that just put the boot and push rod back in place and you are ready to re-install it on your transmission
To start I'll explain all the parts within the slave cylinder before I show how to put it all together.
To disassemble the slave cylinder first take the rubber boot (7) off of the housing along with the push rod (8). The entire slave cylinder is then held together by a spring steel ring (6) seated in a lip near the top of the slave cylinder housing. Once this is removed everything falls out easily. Beneath that is a metal retainer (5) to center the piston tube. Beneath the retainer is a washer that is bent in 4 places (4), not sure why exactly. And beneath that is the piston assembly (3) which is housed in the piston sleeve (2) and lastly the housing itself (1). ALSO there is an o-ring (9) that seats at the very bottom of the slave cylinder that keeps the whole thing from leaking. This doesn't always come out when you disassemble the slave cylinder. I used a long 45 degree pick to get mine out.
So now I'll explain how it all goes back together! First thing I did was take the piston assembly and put it back in the piston sleeve. I don't show it in the picture but place the o-ring (9) in the bottom of the piston sleeve before you reinsert it into the housing.
Once the piston and the o-ring are in the sleeve push the sleeve/piston assembly into the housing. From there place the bent washer on top of the piston.
Then place the metal retainer on top of the washer and piston.
Next push the piston and sleeve into the housing far enough that you can get a c-clamp over the housing. Once the c-clamp is in place compress the piston and housing far enough that you can get the spring steel retainer back in place. After that just put the boot and push rod back in place and you are ready to re-install it on your transmission
Supreme Member
Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 4,528
Likes: 240
From: Henrietta NY
Car: 1984 Trans Am L69
Engine: Sniper EFI Powered 355
Transmission: WC T5 w/ Steel Support Plate
Axle/Gears: 3.42 10 Bolt Posi
Re: Slave Cylinder Rebuild
Nice, where did you buy the rebuild kit? I never thought about looking because they are so cheap.
Supreme Member
Joined: Jan 2000
Posts: 3,178
Likes: 48
From: Tracy, CA
Car: '87 IROC
Engine: LB9
Transmission: TH700R4
Re: Slave Cylinder Rebuild
Before putting in all the new parts, did you polish/hone the bore of the cylinder?
Is the cylinder aluminum or cast iron?
Is the cylinder aluminum or cast iron?