[new alfa75 owne]

Hi All

Ive managed to diagnose a leaking clutch master cylinder from a ruined pair of leather shoes. If only the shoes i was wearing were my own...

Does anyone have a master cylinder i could buy in melbourne?

is the job as simple as a few bolts, some clamps and a clutch bleed? how much fluid does the clutch take when bleeding?

Thanks,

Brian

 

[italiansedanman]

Marc at Milano Spares will have what you need, but you might find that it only needs to be rebuilt...

 

[new alfa75 owne]

Yeah, i know i could get it rebuilt but they quoted me about $60 difference between a rebuild and a replacement so i thought if i could buy a replacement part for cheap from here i could just get it done myself. But i think my clutch may be suffering from the pressure loss, and being my only car i better get the job done quick as not driving is not an option

 

[Craig]

G'Day Brian,

I'm currently in a similar boat, I have the dreaded 'clutch pedal goes to floor' syndrome. But I have the 164 as backup.

On the brighter side, I have a plug lead thingy for you.

 

[new alfa75 owne]

shall i come and collect it after work?

 

[Craig]

That would be fine.

 

[new alfa75 owne]

I bought a minor rebuild kit from autobarn, but as i mentioned, not driving is not an option for me. does anyone have any hints or advice on the rebuild or removal and the clutch bleed? i want to get it out and back in in one afternoon if possible. I have now been driving for nearly 2 months with the leak and it appears to be staying at a steady rate. hopefully that suggests a simple worn o-ring.

On another topic, the rear sway bar. I have a total of about half a bush between the two sway bar mounts. anyone replaced these themselves and want to share their experience? the mechanic told me it can be quite a task with possible grinding to suite an available off he shelf bush?? was he just trying to justify the outrageous price he quoted to do it?

As a student on a tight budget, im really looking for the cheapest options (if you hadnt already guessed) but at the end of the year when i graduate the car will be being treated to a nice upgrade.

The current thinking is-

option 1- full suspension replacement, reco gearbox.
option 2- reco gearbox, new/2nd hand wheels(have stock 14s), new shocks.
I guess id be looking at $3-4K

just looking for comfort really. does this sound reasonable or stupid?

 

[scott.venables]

Hi Brian. How's it going? Removing the clutch master can be a little tricky. The best wasy is to remove the steering cloumn shroud and possibly the column as well. (Can't remember what I did). The 2 screws are M8 and have socket heads. Once the master is off, you'll need some circlip pliers to pull it apart. The clevis on the clutch master pushrod and the pin that goes through it will most probably be worn out(probably the hole in the clutch pedal too). I'm pretty sure the pin is 10mm dia so you might want to get one in advance. The other worst case possible is that the master cylinder is beyond just putting a kit in. If the bore is scored, pitted, (oversize?) it will leak again. There is a place Dad uses that bores out old cylinders and presses in a stainless sleeve, which lasts forever. When he gets home I'll ask him who it is. Maybe any old brake specialist can do this??

I've got the air filter here if you still need it.

Cheers, Scott

 

[kid808]

lmao

sorry guys just did all this after replacing my gearbox in my 33 best option is a rebuild however tha guys @ milano r really cool n do great deals
then if its anything like tha 33 it needs 2 b power bled abs r good @ thiss n tha rebuild as for tha struts should b able 2 get a rebuild 4 them as well

 

[kid808]

sorry guys just did all this after replacing my gearbox in my 33 best option is a rebuild however tha guys @ milano r really cool n do great deals
then if its anything like tha 33 it needs 2 b power bled abs r good @ thiss n tha rebuild as for tha struts should b able 2 get a rebuild 4 them as well

alfa's worth the effort

 

[scott.venables]

Hi Brian. I almost forgot about this thread, the place that does sleeving is Hydraulic and General in Brunswick West.

Scott

 

[alfahaka]

if its anything like tha 33 it needs 2 b power bled abs r good @ this

ymmmv with ABS... Had a less than great experience there and ended up giving up and doing the job myself.

 

[new alfa75 owne]

so, back on the topic of the master cylinder.

The car is at the mechanic at he moment. he quoted a two o hree hour job. I made the mistake of going o pick it up at the aranged time three hours later (silly me, expecting a mechanic to be true to his word and running on time). the car was on a jack when i walked in....

"im having trouble bleeding the clutch, it just wont work" he said, i shot him a disapproving look, " you could have called" i said, explaining that i had to arrange a lift there to pick it up and could not return later. "sorry, i think the NEW master cylinder that i put in is faulty, ill try another one, can you come bach in another two hours. Uhhh... did he not hear me, cannot return later....: mad:

I said fine, i'll get a taxi back later.

having learned from my experience, i called two hours later to see how it was going, "ive just put in the new master cylinder, ill bleed it and call you in half an hour."

now, a further two hours later, still waiting. this guy is an idiot.

so, any speculation on how he is stuffing up the bleed???
forgot to remove the bleed screw perhaps??
pushing the brake pedal instead of the clutch...???

 

[new alfa75 owne]

just spoke to the mechanic. says he just keeps getting air through the line. any ideas i can call him and let him know?? he is replacing the feed line now, (was fine before..)

 

[Craig]

G'Day Brian,

Sorry about that, it may be that the master cylinder need to be bench bled (or primed) , not sure though as I haven't done this (yet).

 

[scott.venables]

So how did it go? Dad and I had trouble bleeding the clutch on mine but we got it eventually, just had to persist with it. If I were you I would have got a Giulietta/Alfetta MC with the reservoir on top. Sorry, I should have mentioned it earlier. I couldn't find any hose that didn't weep brake fluid. Does your mechanic work on Alfas normally?

 

[new alfa75 owne]

hey, yeah, he does alfas, fiats and of all things, Niki...

he finally got it done yesterday. he claims that the 2 new MC's he had in stock for less than 6 months were faulty and that he had to wait for delivery of a new one.

he did a pressure test on them at the bench. not sure but i guess they leaked.

Being his suppliers fault, he didnt charge me any extra. just the inconvenience was annoying.