Miata Mailing List: June 1998, Message #451

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Hi All,

I think Shirotora is jealous about me having a vacation in Orlando without
her. The clutch slave cylinder failed on me yesterday. I've noticed the
fluid level in the clutch reservoir dropped about 1/4" a couple of weeks
ago. I also noticed the pedal free-play sometimes greater than usual. 
Since I refilled the reservoir, I didn't notice any drop. Besides, it was
close to the departure date of our trip to Orlando, so I didn't really pay
much attention to the problem. Yesterday, I found that there was lots of
free-play in the pedal and the clutch started to engage with the pedal
just about 1/2" from the floor. Fortunately, I managed to shift into gears
and got home uneventfully. 

When I tried to remove the slave cylinder dust boot to inspect the
cylinder, brake fluid was like shooting out from the slit. I'm pretty sure
the slave cylinder is shot, as this seems to be a quite common problem
talked about on the list. 

I've checked with the dealer and they have in stock the cylinder for CDN
$85 and rebuilt kit for $33 (30 bucks for some plastic seals? maybe
including the piston?). The dealer says mine is a later model (after a VIN
check). Isn't the later model supposed to be less prone to failure? I also
checked with an auto part store and they can get a brand new cylinder (as
opposed to a re-built) for $50 in 2 hours. 

So now my question is: Which one should I go for? I've no problem doing
the job since I've changed my own clutch and done engine-rebuilt, etc. 
However, I'm leaning towards the $85 factory cylinder 'cause the cylinder
wall and/or the piston might have been rusted already. The $50 aftermarket
cylinder seemed to be a good deal but I'm worried 'cause the guy didn't
ask for my VIN. 

Any advice appreciated.
TIA

--
Chris Chu and Shirotora
'90 Crystal White
http://infomatch.com/~cchu/
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