Clutch compression tool

[Nate]

The slave cylinder on my c900 blew this morning. I don't have the special tool to compress the pressure plate. To make matters worse, I'm running a 9k clutch now.

Does anymore have pictures of tools they've made to compress the clutch while it's in the car?

A quick Google search lead me to a Taiwanese company that would manufacture the tool. Interesting.. Too bad they don't have any distributors.

http://www.hcb-autotools.com/component/ ... Itemid,26/

[squaab99t]

I've used the pressure plate bolts and jack nut method. Time consuming but it works. The stack up is: bolt, pp, nut, flywheel. I used 3 places 120* apart. Rotate the flywheel so you get the best access because you will have limited rotation if any as you start jacking the pp out to compress the spring.
Process:
1) Remove all the pp bolts
2) Pry the pp out to slip in a nut with the same threads as the fw. 3pls
3) Carefully tread a longer bolt into the nut stopping short of hitting the fw. 3 pls
4) Pry the pp out to creating a gap, and thread the bolt into the fw. Let the nut float so the threads do not compete and bugger each other up. Thread in at least 3 full threads. 3 pls
5) Evenly jack out the nuts to compress the spring.

Good luck. My back aches just writing this up.

[DrewP]

You can pry outward against the three straps around the outside of the pressure plate and it'll compress the spring on that side. I hook my wire tool up against the fingers of the pressure plate and work around compressing the pressure plate spring and working the wire in a little at a time.

Not sure if this made sense, I'll try to come up with picture of some kind when I can get to a computer.

[99Super]

My method is similar to Drew's, but I use Vice-Grips to compress two of the tree springs at a time while I place a bit of copper wire under the fingers.

John

[Jon1]

http://www.nysocphotos.com/Jon-Williams-Garage/1991-900-Turbo-Convertible/5644621_fStkqh#!i=3288387107&k=nm9qdFd

[Geoff]

The easiest method without the factory tool is to remove the clutch line and attach a grease gun to the slave cylinder inlet. Pressurize with the grease gun and put the clutch ring in. If you lose pressure just pump a little more until you have time to get the ring all the way in. The grease is thick so it will hold the slave extended for a while even if you have a blown seal.

On a similar note, I recently had a slave fail in the extended position and wouldn't retract. The only solution was a sawzall straight through the slave...

[Jon1]

The easiest method without the factory tool is to remove the clutch line and attach a grease gun to the slave cylinder inlet. Pressurize with the grease gun and put the clutch ring in. If you lose pressure just pump a little more until you have time to get the ring all the way in. The grease is thick so it will hold the slave extended for a while even if you have a blown seal.

Geoff, what do you use for an adapter to connect the grease gun to the slave cylinder? I looked at doing this but the grease gun threads and the slave cylinder threads are different.

[Jordan]

Use the bleeder?

[Geoff]

I can't remember how we used to do it at the SAAB shop I worked at but it was either:
1) Pop the grease gun onto the bleeder or use a spare bleeder in the clutch line location
2) Use the end of an old clutch line (threaded into the slave) which had been cut and flared upstream to adapt to a SAE thread which attached to the grease gun.

I did it a few years ago at home but I don't remember what I did. It must have been simple though.

[gmreider]

My suggestion with using the grease gun setup is to take a Spare bleeder screw and face it off flat and tap a1/4 x 28 thread and screw in a regular high pressure grease fitting. Then hang the gun on and pump away. I 'll bet you can clean all the grease out and reseal the slave and use it again unless it is scored up. Remember you can't have the bleeder fully tightened or grease won't flow thru.

[Cark]

Wow, didn't you just replace/upgrade the clutch Nate? I guess I will make sure I put a new OEM slave in when I do mine...

[DrewP]

Last I checked the good OEM slave rebuild kits were still available from the GM dealers for under $20. The aftermarket slaves have good aluminum parts, just the seals are crap.

[Geoff]

I rebuilt a slave over the weekend using a ProParts rebuild kit (o-rings). The o-rings were green. Are these junk? The aftermarket slave that was in the car had black o-rings. The aftermarket slave exploded because the flywheel was too thin causing the slave to over-extend. I noticed the aftermarket slave had a steel piston and inner cylinder. Only the outer cylinder (main housing) was aluminum. The inner cylinder on OEM slaves are aluminum.

[Jordan]

There was a time when Scan-tech o rings were made out of the incorrect material and swelled and broke down after just a few days of brake fluid. I used a proparts kit 2 years ago and haven't had any issues with it so far. Green is usually HBNR.

[Chouan]

Thankfully I got one of these from a retired mechanic. I could not get the clutch to compress enough for the ring tool with the pedal. Maybe the slave was weak? Or the master? I'll be replacing both anyway.

Vice grip is a good idea.