Damn slave cylinders..

[MountainDew]

Are there ANY other DSM owners out there that are just having a hell of a time with clutch slave cylinders? Mine recently crapped out about a month and a half ago. I bled everything and it crapped out again so I just replaced it. Went out again a couple weeks later, so I took it back and got a new one. Well tonight I was out and I just pushed my clutch in to start it and it popped. No clutch pressure at all. Said screw it and left the car at the bowling alley and hopped in someone elses car. Let me tell you it's really embarassing that this happens when you're with your girlfriend.

Anyways, I went back around midnight and jacked the car up. All the internals in the cylinder were laying on the ground and it was hanging in midair by the line.

So basically.. I'm sick of this bullshit. This is the 3rd slave cylinder that has broken on me in the past month. Granted.. I have a TRE Transmission and a "stage 3 clutch" but I hardly ever launch it and I never drive it too hard. Most of it is just granny shifting..

Any suggestions? It's the cheap $28 replacement one with a lifetime warranty.. I'm thinking about complaining enough to get a more expensive one at no extra cost. Or just sucking it up and paying the difference.

They ranged from like $28 - $72.

 

[Got Rice Galant]

Man, sorry to hear about your troubles. Maybe its the cheap slave's you're using? What actually broke? I was just bleeding one on my talon 3 weeks ago. As I was trying to be careful not to strip the bleeder screw, I decided to use a stubby 10mm wrench. Its only about 4 inches long. I some how snapped the slave cylinder in half right at the bleeder screw. I'm thinking its a bad casting as I got the el cheapo from the local parts store for $16.

Hopefully someone else can chime in on their experiences.

 

[MountainDew]

The two threaded holes where the bolts go through. They break right there, then the cylinder ends up breaking off or becoming very crooked. The origional one on the car, as in before I bought a cheap autozone one, it just leaked like crazy. But the new ones don't leak, just the casting breaks.

The first replacement one broke after a 5k launch. It snapped one of the bolt holes, got crooked and the clutch became very difficult to press down. The second one just snapped both and fell out.

I noticed the other night that when I'd floor it in first, shift to second and let the clutch out, the RPMS would just skyrocket and basically slip.

 

[turboAWDfanatic]

Try a Mitsu slave. Don't use an extended slave rod (in case you are). Make sure your master cyl rod isn't extended too far. Torque slave bolts to spec. Is your fork/ball ok? That's all I can think of off the top of my head.

 

[Locke]

Try a Mitsu slave. Don't use an extended slave rod (in case you are). Make sure your master cyl rod isn't extended too far. Torque slave bolts to spec. Is your fork/ball ok? That's all I can think of off the top of my head.

Made it hard to run the stupid ricey honda that kept bugging me.

Take it to the track.

 

[MountainDew]

Anyways, I have no idea if its an extended one. I got a different one at O'Reilys and it's actually made in America. Hopefully it works out better.

 

[1LE]

Never a problem with a slave cylinder (still on the original), but the car's already on the third master cyl. Sigh.

 

[19Eclipse90]

It's a street car. It's on ebay. I'm tired of DSMs.. they are just pieces of junk. Or atleast this one is. I'm thinking about picking up a 1G.

Anyways, I have no idea if its an extended one. I got a different one at O'Reilys and it's actually made in America. Hopefully it works out better.

There are a couple things I have learned about these cars that I think everyone should know. 1) Obviously, they are old. Things are going to be worn out and need replacing. Expect it. Picking up a 1g can very well have more headaches than what you are dealing with now. I wouldn't suggest it if you are already this frustrated. 2) They are very picky. In more instances than not, OEM is the way to go for vitals. Sorry to everyone who thinks these cars can last buying cheap parts: in the few instances it does work - your lucky; more for the most par, it isn't happening.
So you know, JNZtuning.com has/can get a hold of a brand new OEM slave cylinder for <$50 w/o shipping for you - granted that is your problem. I don't want to repeat the old saying, but it is a good rule of thumb, "You get what you pay for".

Also know that some will tell you that generally the master and slave cylinder should be replaced together. Obviously you should narrow down the cause of the problem and go from there. Good luck and stay with it.

 

[MountainDew]

Dude the problem is that the stupid ears on the slave cylinder keep breaking! I know what's wrong with it. Also the Mitsubishi dealer around here closed (Gee, wonder why)

Most of them are just pieces of shit. I love the cars to death but they just aren't suitable for daily drivers and I learned that the hard way. I have taken absolutely no shortcuts and have done everything right and I'm still getting problems like none other. I'm just tired of dealing with it. If I picked up a 1g I'd still have atleast 3 grand to buy a DD, that way I'm not panicking and trying to get to school and work every day.

Reasons I'm not going OEM..

1) No dealership.
2) I need to get the car actually running. Don't have time to order anything.
3) The car is listed for sale and needs to be in running condition. Especially since it's on ebay.

I'm just going to take a loss and get out.

 

[turboAWDfanatic]

Dude the problem is that the stupid ears on the slave cylinder keep breaking! I know what's wrong with it. Also the Mitsubishi dealer around here closed (Gee, wonder why)

Most of them are just pieces of shit. I love the cars to death but they just aren't suitable for daily drivers and I learned that the hard way. I have taken absolutely no shortcuts and have done everything right and I'm still getting problems like none other. I'm just tired of dealing with it. If I picked up a 1g I'd still have atleast 3 grand to buy a DD, that way I'm not panicking and trying to get to school and work every day.

Reasons I'm not going OEM..

1) No dealership.
2) I need to get the car actually running. Don't have time to order anything.
3) The car is listed for sale and needs to be in running condition. Especially since it's on ebay.

I'm just going to take a loss and get out.

I can't believe you listed it w/o fixing it first. Hope you say it's not drivable in the listing.

Most modded DSMs that have non OEM stuff and are build by non-certified mechanics are just pieces of s***. I see DSMs everyday here in SoCal that are running just fine...stock. They're perfectly fine daily drivers. You can turn a Ferrari into a useless piece of s*** if you start changing things up and throwing knock-off parts at it.

Ordering from the dealership is WAY easier than you think. Find a dealership online that has a parts department. Call and tell them what you need, and they'll look up the p/n on CAPS. It's *that* easy. Out here, Norco Mits gives a discounted price for "clubDSM members". The few days you lose in shipping are far less than the weeks of headaches sitting under your car replacing crap parts. I learned this the hard way.

Cars are complex. You have to learn how to do things properly. Mistakes will be made along the way, just learn from them and go on. DSMs can be more picky than some other cars, but the 4g63 is a stout engine and we have the option of AWD. Not to mention the great community out there with tons of knowledge. Thats what makes these cars great.

Sorry you decided to get rid of the car. I'd suggest that if you plan on modifying a car as heavily as you have been that you have a reliable backup daily driver. I'd say keep your DSM and pick up a used Civic or a motorcycle to get around when the DSM is down.

Best of luck to you!

 

[MountainDew]

Thanks man but I'm just tired of it since it's my daily driver. If it weren't my DD I could care less, I'd be building a 6bolt right now. I listed it on ebay, then my slave cylinder snapped and alternator problems continued. I got the new slave in and I'm pretty sure I've got the alternator all fixed now. The mounting bracket on the block was ogred out so it sat about 20 degrees crooked and made the belt slip. I drilled out a bigger hole and used a bigger bolt and grinded off the surfaces and used shims. It sits pretty straight now so hopefully I'll have no more problems.

It's just been hell man. Rebuilt the whole head, then it took me 5 weeks to figure out why it wouldn't start and it was the cam sensor. Swapped out a 1g cam sensor and the car still smoked, so much for a head rebuild. Replaced the turbo and everything was fine. It had a brand new Garret T25 with less then 1000 miles on it, so I kind of ruled it out to begin with.

All in all it's a fun car, I just can't deal with it. I've owned it since July, and I've easily worked on it more then I've driven it.

 

[turboglenn]

Sounds to me like your clutch release arm is hitting the bellhousing and putting an extreme load on the hydro system for the clutch, forcing the pressure to go some where ( in this case out one of the seals)..It's probably a worn out or broken pivot ball and release arm. try and jiggle it around. f it moves at al ( more than a milimmeter or less) then the ball/arm are needing replaced.

The only "junk mitsubishis" are teh ones that weren't taken care of. Other than that they have one of the most bulletproof and capable engines out there. The transmissions aren't that great though

 

[MountainDew]

Which is why I'm assuming this car has a TRE in it.

So are you talking about the thing that the little rod on the slave cylinder goes into? Sorry I'm just not real knowledgeable on transmissions and drivetrain parts yet.

 

[1LE]

Other than that they have one of the most bulletproof and capable engines out there. The transmissions aren't that great though

Perhaps for a 1g, which have a junk trans... The 2g trans are incredibly strong. You have to do some really insane abuse to hurt them. The engines usually give out before the trans on a 2g! People say the 4g63 is real strong, but I can't fully agree. It's *good*, but it's no 4AGE or 3SGTE...

 

[turboAWDfanatic]

So are you talking about the thing that the little rod on the slave cylinder goes into? Sorry I'm just not real knowledgeable on transmissions and drivetrain parts yet.

Check out this link and scroll down to "more other stuff". Actually, read the whole page.

Also check out this link. I had to link to archive.org (wayback machine) b/c Taboo is down. Be warned, though. While that page has a good description of the clutch release mechanism, they argued that an extended slave cylinder rod is a good idea...which I wholeheartedly believe is wrong. Ignore the band aids, replace the worn parts (with Mitsu ones)

(sorry if I'm opening a can of worms here...)
With all parts replaced and in good condition, the hydraulics should be plenty enough to disengage a stock clutch. Sometimes with aftermarket clutches a little more pressure is needed which can be accomplished through clutch pedal adjustment, but you shouldn't need any of the band aids that people sell to cover up the problem.

Any further discussion on these topics are already on this forum. Search away, you'll be entertained for hours.

Back on topic - sorry you had so much trouble w/ your DSM. Hope everything is in good shape now and that you are successful in auctioning it off!

 

[MountainDew]

I think I'm trading it for a Prelude. After the kid test drove it, I was going to leave and couldn't get it to start. Clutch got pretty stiff and it wasn't going down all the way, allowing the switch to activate or whatever and let it start. I'm going to call the dealership and place an order for an OEM one tomorrow. I forgot theres a dealer about 15 minutes away.

 

[Got Rice Galant]

It really sounds like you've got some pressure plate bolts working their way out.

 

[MountainDew]

It really sounds like you've got some pressure plate bolts working their way out.

I doubt it. Everything worked perfect. The OEM one NEVER broke it just leaked due to old age. I should have just rebuilt the OEM one but I'm an idiot and threw it away.. oh well.

I'll look into it though. How would I check?

 

[Splitpi]

Ya, I agree It sounds like a clutch problem rather than the slave cylinder problem. I.e. The clutch is causing the cylinder to fail. It is a simple hydraulic device, you shouldn't be havening as much problems as you are with it. I would suspect the clutch... in my opinion.

 

[Got Rice Galant]

Take off the dust shield cover on the bottom of the tranny. Try and put a wrench on each pressure plate bolt and see if its tight. Put a half inch ratchet on the crank and spin the motor so you can check all the flywheel bolts. Did you put locktite on the flywheel bolts? Not that it matters cause I've had 2 work their way out even with locktite on them.

 

[MountainDew]

I've never been inside the transmission. Is it the same procedure for a TRE?

Basically the OEM cylinder leaked all the fluid. Replaced it with an Autozone one and I'm on my 4th one. They just keep breaking.