25 replies to this topic

[superhuhn]

First of all I hope you can forgive my "incorrect" English (and my very amateur questions), I'm not a native speaker and a complete beginner with Minis and cars in general .

 

I am the happy new owner of a 1996 Mini Sprite 1.3 SPI for 3 weeks now, and have started with some very basic maintenance with the help of a friend who knows much more about cars than I do (but specialized in Jaguars ). Unlike me, he is a complete do-it-yourself-with the lowest possible budget person and wouldn't go for any big repairs, let alone visit a garage unless absolutely necessary. (good man he is )

 

When replacing clutch fluid we found that the slave cylinder of my clutch seems to be leaking just a very little, so far there's no dripping, but some moist rubber you can feel when you touch the seals (?). My friend suggests replacing the rubber bits first and see if that stops the leaking, and he is very confident that this job is manageable for a beginner like myself.

 

Then I had my car waxoyled (well, they used some brilliant German stuff called "Mike Sanders anti corrosion fat") at my local Mini garage, I talked to the guy there about my clutch issue and he suggested exchanging both complete cylinders at once (or the second would go bust anyway immediately after replacing only one).

 

So, what would you guys suggest, being all Mini experts? Go for the repair kit first and give my friend a chance to teach me some more basics, or hand the car (and a big bundle of cash) over to the Mini garage and have the whole clutch cylinder bits exchanged?

Personally I'd go for the cheaper option and try first, but what are your experiences with leaking cylinders here in the forum? Does it usually work exchanging only the rubber bits?

 

Sorry for all the talk... ... well, that's me then.   and thanks for all answers!

 

p.s.: any suggestions where to buy a clutch cylinder repair kit at a reasonable price? I could use my English friend's shipping address to save me expensive postage to Germany.

Edited by superhuhn, 22 August 2013 - 12:45 PM.

[Barman]

There arev only two rubbers in it - get a repair kit from Minispares and see if it fixes your problem...

[KernowCooper]

Yes get a repair kit inspect the bore of the cylinder and fit a new repair seal kit and you should be sorted.

[ado15]

Slave cylinders are easy to fit seals in. Make sure the bore in perfectly clean and free from damage before installing new seals.

 

The issue your local garage refers to regarding the master cylinder failure is when you bleed the system, the seals move further than in normal use. This can damage them if there is wear in the bore at the end of normal travel.

 

Like Barman, I'd try the seal kit in the slave cylinder. They are cheap and easy to do. And the postage should not be too high to Germany from the UK.

Edited by ado15, 22 August 2013 - 02:52 PM.

[Dusky]

I got my repair kit, but somehow I cant push the slave cylinder piston back in with the new seal fitted?

[Gremlin]

It may require a sharp tap as the seal in it's correct orientation is not favoured for going into the bore

[Dusky]

Got it in.. Now when tightening the bleed nipple the thread inside the cylinder stripped.. Can I use a non verto cylinder on a verto? Have on laying around..

[tiger99]

No you can't, unfortunately. Apart from the shape, they are very different, the Verto has an internal spring which forms a rather important part of the self-adjusting system.

[Ethel]

They are the same bore, so I wonder if the verto internals can be swapped over? The Verto cylinder started life on Pre Verto Metros.

[Dusky]

No you can't, unfortunately. Apart from the shape, they are very different, the Verto has an internal spring which forms a rather important part of the self-adjusting system.

Non verto appears to have a spring too.. The only problem is the.bleed nippel that is not easy to use,otherwise they are interchangeable as some mini users told me yesterday.

[Gremlin]

Who?

[Dusky]

Who?

Some guy on the belgian mini forum, and here it is mentionned too that it's possible : http://www.dummett.n...ifferences.html

[tiger99]

If the pre-Verto has a spring, which I seriously doubt, as I had two pre-Verto Minis which definitely did not have one, it is not at all similar to the spring in the Verto, which is to allow self-adjusting, but is a much weaker spring intended only to keep the cup seal seated on the piston. So, from the point of view of the spring they are definitely NOT interchangeable. A Verto spring will cause the pre-Verto thrust bearing to wear quickly, as it was not designed to run in continuous contact, while a pre-Verto cylinder fitted to a Verto clutch will not work, because the self-adjustment will not work, and there is no place to fit the stop bolt and locknut used for manual adjustment.

 

I see that the repair kits for the Verto and pre-Verto are rather different, which suggests that the piston and/or cylinder are different, even if (as I don't doubt) the bore is the same diameter.

[surfblue]

Considering all a slave cylinder costs I wouldnt even bother with fitting a repair kit, just replace with new, unless youre on a very tight budget.

[Gremlin]

Considering all a slave cylinder costs I wouldnt even bother with fitting a repair kit, just replace with new, unless youre on a very tight budget.

I'd like to have your budget, £15-30 on a whole cylinder or a few quid on some new seals!