[Alfablack]

Hello,

I am loosing my clutch oil , if I look under the car , is look like the oil leave from the transmision....can someone help me on this?

Thx
Regards

Alfablack

by the way excuse my English

 

[Tifosi]

What year spider?

Is the clutch master cylinder resevoir fluid level constantly in need of topping up?

 

[lowmileage]

Follow the hosing from the Clutch master down to the bellhousing. There you will see the infamous "Slave Cylinder" that eventially goes away and starts leaking. Not a big deal to R/R - about $65 with a replacement hose if you do it yourself.

 

[Alfablack]

Spider 88 Tifosi.

Lowmileage, do you change the Slave Cylinder from under the car!! I cant see it??

 

[lowmileage]

Spider 88 Tifosi.

Lowmileage, do you change the Slave Cylinder from under the car!! I cant see it??

Sure did. It conked out on me 5 miles from home and left me without a clutch


The thingy with the rubber bellows. You have to jack the car up and USE JACKSTANDS. Don't get under the car with just a floor jack unless you want to risk killing yourself.

 

[ghnl]

Hey! your english is just fine! (I was gonna make a joke about checking the blinker fluid but decided against it...)

The clutch slave cylinder is held to the bell housing by a pair of circlips. You'll need a good quality circlip tool to get them off. And probably some light 'penetrating' oil to loosen the bonds of any rust in those circlips.

I also suggest you replace the flexable hose while you are replacing the slave cylinder. They deteriorate too - and this'd be the ideal time to replace it.

Here is a picture I took lying under our '84 Spider - looking up. This is on the right side of the transmission.

 

[Alfablack]

Wow with a picture!! ,... thx a lot Lowmileage.

Alfablack

 

[Alfablack]

OH !!by the way, I loosing the oil only when I run the car...

Thx
Alfablanck

 

[ghnl]

Do you know if it is really oil (which would indicate lubricationg oil is leaking somewhere) or if it is hydraulic fluid - brake fluid (which would indicate the slave cylinder is the likely source?

Brake fluid is usually nearly clear, oil is usually darker. Gear oil (as is used in the transmission) has a distinct odor to it. Engine oil would tend to look like what is on the dipstick.

Has the fluid level in any of these places been changing?

 

[mikerwilson]

My car (prior to ripping the engine out and apart) leaked a large quantity of oil from the back of the engine between the head and the block. It soaked the transmission and made it look like it was losing fluid (rather than a major oil leak). As it turns out, the transmission is fine, just oily:

Is your clutch misbehaving at all? If it's fine, and you're not losing fluid in the resevoir, then I'd say it's probably an engine oil leak, IMHO.

 

[Alfablack]

Yes excuse me Eric, because in French we call it Brake OIL...but is Brake Fluid I lost , because my little plastic Brake fluid come empty after a 30 minutes ride.

Alfablack

 

[ghnl]

OK, that confirms it is most likely the slave cylinder is leaking. As previously stated, a new/rebuilt slave cylinder (plus a new flex hose) should solve the problem. You may want to consider replacing or rebuilding the clutch master cylinder too. It'll cost a bit more but then you'd know the whole system is as good as new.

Here's a sketch of the circlips that hold the slave cylinder to the bell housing:

 

[mikerwilson]

I 2nd doing them as a pair. When one goes out, the other generally follows soon after. Lots of times, disintegrated seals and/or sludge ends up in the lines after one fails, causing failure of one, and eventually both.

/my $0.02

 

[backfeeder]

who sells the rubber bellows ?
mine is shredded.
ARDEN

 

[Tifosi]

It should come with the new slave cylinder.

 

[lowmileage]

I 2nd doing them as a pair. When one goes out, the other generally follows soon after. Lots of times, disintegrated seals and/or sludge ends up in the lines after one fails, causing failure of one, and eventually both.

/my $0.02

3rd here - did both even thought just the slave went bad. One less thing to worry about down the line - 99 more to go.

 

[grizzly]

Man I love this board. I have exactly the same issue with my clutch fluid - I need to top it off about once a month. Now I have all the info at my fingertips!

 

[Tifosi]

Small side note in regard to leaking slave cylinders:

If the clutch actuation rod is set a bit too much on the long side, the stroke of the slave can allow for just a bit of leakage at the seal. (as in it's worth checking as a new slave won't cure that kind of leak)

If it's set more than a bit too long, you'll end up with a leak and having to pump the clutch pedal at least once before the clutch will actually operate.

 

[ghnl]

Here's a sketch of the adjustable rod on the clutch master cylinder that Tifosi mentions:

 

[new2alpha]

After reading this thread I adjusted my cluch extention to the reccomended 5.28 inches. Now my pedal is a good 1/2 inch lower thasn the brake pedel. Normal? They had been even before the adjustment.