Terrible Quality Duralast Clutch Master

mspaintexe · Mar 11, 2023

The original master cylinder finally died out on my 92 eagle Talon TSI. I was able to limp it home with the clutch always engaged and found that the original master was leaking fluid. So I figured I would just buy one from autozone, one about 20 minutes from my house had it in stock. Installed it, tried to bleed the system, instant leak comping out of the seal. So, returned it, waited 3 days for a replacement. Same part, Duralast brand new. Put that one in, now this one doesn't leak, but after bleeding the system countless times, it just doesn't disengage all the way. I have to stomp it to the carpet just to be able to get it into 1st. The adjustment screw is all the way out, the system is bled, the slave cylinder is only 6 months old and worked fine before the master failed. Is there anyone else experiencing the same terrible quality with the Duralast masters? Ruined what was supposed to be a nice weekend trip for me. All the other auto parts stores don't have one in stock, and all the other parts I see on the internet appear to come from the same factory, or the OEM Nabco part which is like $180.

idkiliketurbos · Mar 11, 2023

It is pretty much not worth using anything but OEM for anything like this. Many auto parts store products are known to prematurely fail such as hydraulic tensioners, master cylinders , etc.

pauleyman · Mar 11, 2023

If you still have the original you might consider a rebuild if the bore is good.

92AWDHX40 · Mar 11, 2023

Oem im using now but ive used store stuff for ever,until now.

Adam · Mar 11, 2023

I'm running one and it's been fine but I've noticed it's luck of the draw with parts store stuff. I've used parts house stuff most of my life on everything from daily drivers to race engines and most of the time it's junk but once in a while you get something that lasts. One winter I went through .. no joke .. seven starters from O'Reilly's. Thank God for a warranty. They gave me a hard time about it but thankfully warrantied them. Now days even the name brand high dollar stuff is junk sadly. Brought a brand new Weiand tunnel ram that leaked coolant through the aluminum .. had a porous casting.

As Pauleyman mentioned .. if you have the original, keep it and rebuild it. I've come to the conclusion myself. The rebuilt in Mexico or Taiwan stuff from the parts houses are a waste.

TheDude236 · Mar 11, 2023

I had great luck (heh) with a LUK branded master cylinder after my OEM one died on me.
OEM is always the better answer, but this unit has held up for 2 years now. Got it at O'Reiley's for like 30-40$.

Edit: Just saw you have a 1g. Not sure if LUK makes one for the 1g or if there are many differences between the 1g and 2g master so take all of that with a grain of salt.

luv2rallye · Mar 12, 2023

You get what you pay for except for some things which you should never ever ever ever get from an auto store like a reman starter (a new name brand is ok). What good is a lifetime warranty when YOU (not them) have to replace it over and over and over? Master cyl and slaves can be iffy too but I've had good luck if you stay with a name brand (hint: If you don't know the name brand just buy their most expensive one).

However another possibility of your clutch problem is: Did you end your bleeding technique with squeezing the slave cylinder shut? This pushes the air out of the slave cylinder itself. Without this step, the air will just sit in the cylinder no matter how many times you bleed the master. Read "Step Two" here: https://www.dsmtuners.com/threads/clutch-will-not-disengage.460266/#post-153268772

chrysler kid · Mar 12, 2023

Havent had a problem with the autozone brand for the 2 g stuff

I did have a problem with the master bleeding as well, the slave had a small puncture and the car would always have a different pedal feels ever time I pressed it

After replacing the slave no problems

mspaintexe · Mar 12, 2023

I ended up ordering one from rockauto, the brand was platinum driveline. Most of the other ones had different names, but were the identical casting as the duralast, so many places just get them from the same factory, china in this case, and rebrand them as their own. The platinum driveline had a different casting, and I put it in and it worked fine, even too good I had to adjust the rod in about an inch to get some freeplay in the pedal. Only time will tell. Easy enough of a fix where I'm willing to gamble with aftermarket. For stuff thats a pain in the ass to swap or could cause damage if it fails, I would definitely not risk it with aftermarket stuff. I have found there is a lot more quality aftermarket for 2g's than 1g's. I am keeping the original, I can't find a place to source a rebuild kit for the 1G's. If anyone finds a reasonably price rebuild kit, let me know. Also, I checked the date on the Duralast that failed, and it is from 2015, so maybe the seals dried out? Thanks for all the replies.

The Top DSM Community on the Web

Terrible Quality Duralast Clutch Master

mspaintexe

idkiliketurbos

pauleyman

92AWDHX40

Adam

TheDude236

luv2rallye

chrysler kid

mspaintexe

Similar threads

Latest posts

Build Thread Updates

Vendor Updates

Latest Classifieds