clutch slave won't fit

Im a long time lurker, first time poster. Be gentle.

300tdi disco, 1996, R380 gearbox.

Master cylinder went on my clutch so decided to change all hydraulics. Everythings gone well apart from I can't get the slave cylinder in place at all. It won't go within about an inch of the bellhousing.

I expected the fork to be quite easily moveable, but its fast - seems to be that is the problem.

Splitting the bellhousing from the engine is way beyond my skills, so really want to avoid that if possible.

Anyone had a similar issue and know a fix? Anyone got any ideas?

Any help would be really appreciated. Cheers.

Might be relevant:
Previous owner removed damper completely.
Old slave had plunger removed by previous owner, I assume to get round this same issue.
New clutch inc reinforced fork fitted 1000 miles ago.

Bump. Anyone any clues?

what plunger is being used if the original has been removed?
there wont be much movement on the fork as the pressure plate will be holding it and you wont be able to move this manually by pushing the plunger.
only guess i got atm is the clutch pedal has been pressed while the slave is off the box, and you now cant push fluid back to the master cylinder resovoir.
or are you trying to fit the slave prior to connecting pipework, in which case i have no idea. wrong length plunger?

New slave, new master, new damper n new pipework. Fluid's still in the bottle.
When the slave's pushrod is in place and fully compressed (no pipe, nipple in my pocket), there's a good inch between bellhousing n slave.

Just to clarify, its the fork that won't move, the slave is in good working order. I did manage to prise it with a screwdriver into moving up n down abit, but not in the right direction.

forwards / backwards would expect slight movement, up / down there shouldnt be any movement.
is it a new push rod as well?

Has the fork come off its pivot?


DD

Diesel Do said:

Has the fork come off its pivot?


DD

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would have expected it to rattle about a bit in all directions if that were the case, unless its proper wedged.
is the push rod central to the slave cylinder hole?

towards back of vehicle, no movement at all - slight movement towards front when I give it a prise.

New pushrod, yes. Although by "new" I mean everything's 2nd hand, stripped, cleaned n reconned.

Diesel Do said:

Has the fork come off its pivot?

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That's my biggest fear to be honest. Is there a way to be sure and get it back on without cracking the bellhousing from the engine?

ah, sounds better.
have you tried pushing the piston in the slave back manually, ie prior to crawling under the motor?

Yeah, moves freely with little effort, springs out again nicely.

Not sure how central the pushrod is to the hole. The clip broke (naturally) and I have a replacement, but was thinking of dispensing with it tbh. I imagine I'd have noticed if pushrod was too far off centre.

Having dabbled with 2wd versions of this gearbox, I was under the impression that the key to getting this right was the correct combination of release bearing, pivot and pushrod?

Could your original setup have been bodged when the clutch was fitted? Were you supplied the correct replacement slave?

hehe do you wear black driving gloves

is the push rod sitting in the indent of the fork correctly?. Saying that with the clip being snapped its goping to be fun trying keep it in there.

I've just done this and thought it would be a pig of a job but it was easy, I just poked push rod back through hole and gave it a wiggle till it felt like it was sat in the hole in the fork properly and then put slave back over it, it does get too within an inch of where it should be and then gets stiff in my case I found that the dust seal on the slave is a tight fit with the hole in the bellhousing, so I applied more pressure and it popped in place

jamesmartin said:

hehe do you wear black driving gloves

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:wtf:
am i missing summat jim, or were you replying to a fred in ag?

Are there several types of slave for the r380? The new slave's pushrod is identical to the old one...

I have no reason to believe that it was as it shouldve been, so if there are different combinations, please let me know what they could be and how I can figure out what I have. Cheers

Right, well, fixed it this weekend with the help of the best mate anyone could ever have...

Turned out the pivot post had come out of it's hole in the bellhousing still fully clipped to the fork. When I started this thread it mustve been jamming up next to it's hole. Later on it'd swivelled parallel to the fork as I ****ed about trying to get it back in blind.

Quick squirt of threadlock before I put it back in and I'm happy with it.

There's a story to go with the fix if you want it.

Struggled a bit to get the gearbox back in place so we mated it up by winding the bolts/nuts in. Props back on, exhaust done, slave refitted, interior rebuilt, started it up with clutch in, let clutch out gently in neutral....

....worst grinding noise I've ever heard.

Quick, engine off, head scratch for an hour. We'd been at it from 8.30am and it was now nearly midnight...

Next day, high on coffee, porridge and fags we took gearbox off again.

The input shaft was slightly worn at the start of the splines and it's female counterpart in the clutch friction plate was almost completely smooth! We all like a smooth female but....

Used a file to clean up the burrs on the splines on the input shaft and luckily my mate had some spare friction plates - it was a used Veleo but in plenty decent condition, more meat on it than the old Britpart one that was only 3 months old.

Made some locating bars by cutting the heads off some long bolts as per the Haynes and jiggled her back into place relatively easily. Had to have a jiggle on the output flange, but softly softly cagey chimp. Everything back together and it works as a clutch.

Although, there is a new unconnected or possibly connected issue, but that needs a new thread I think.

Thanks to everyone who chimed in with their ideas - really appreciate it.

is the new slave cylinder britpart perchance?

might be barking up the wrong tree mind, but I replaced mine earlier in the year with one out of a blue box and the bugger wouldn't go anywhere near it, despite supposedly being the correct part. I took out all the gubbins and swapped them into the original cylinder, fitted back together nicely.

JKx

EDIT:missed your last post wher you explained how you sorted it!

caffiene an fags :rofl:
glad yer got it sorted, an thanks for taking the time to give us an update!

Jay reKx said:

is the new slave cylinder britpart perchance?

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Nah, lockheed - defo correct part. It amazes me that Britpart are still going tbh, although I've heard theyve taken over a few top notch manufacturer's imports and rebagging them (my rear prop donut was in a Britpart bag but still stamped GKN, as is the LR original)

nrgserv said:

caffiene an fags :rofl:
glad yer got it sorted, an thanks for taking the time to give us an update!

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Has to be done and it's good karma for the future. The amount of times I've found loads of people with the same problems as me but never a bloody answer!