105/115 series clutch slave cylinder stuck

["Mark Battley" <m.battley@domain.elided>]

Warren Reid asked:

>The seals on my 86 spider clutch slave cylinder are weeping so its time to
>replace. However having removed the circlips I have since discovered that
>the  cast iron cylinder has corrosion bonded itself to the aluminium bell
>housing holder. So far liberal coatings of WD40, application of heat using a
>propane torch to the aluminium holder (not at the same time as the WD40!!!)
>have failed to budge it. I've also tried tapping a wooden block against the
>lip of the slave cylinder,although am reluctant to hit any harder for fear
>of fracturing the aluminium holder. All this has been combined with a pair
>of vice grips/spanner hanging on to the flats machined onto one end of the
>s/cylinder. 

>Apart from persistence, anyone have any more suggestions?

Clean it up as well as you can in situ, fit new seals and worry about it
another day....

Heat and a sharp whack are the best tools. You've tried the subtle methods,
perhaps a bit more heat (carefully applied) from an oxy-acetylene torch
might help. Have you tried giving the spanner a good whack to try to turn
the cylinder? I suspect that you're less likely to damage the aluminium by
turning the cylinder than pushing it out.

I had the opposite problem with mine: the circlip broke and the cylinder
pushed itself out and then dumped the piston onto the road...

Which gives me an idea: get a helper to push the clutch down while you heat
the aluminium and hit th cylinder: the added thrust from the clutch might
possibly make a slight difference????

Good luck!

Mark Battley
Auckland, New Zealand.

1974 Alfa Romeo 2000 GT Veloce
New clutch, reground flywheel, new giubo and crankseal sitting on my work
desk beside me... the Valeo clutch plate looks very pretty with its black,
green and yellow springs! 

Fitted the new gearbox mount last night, then took an hour (and a lot of
violence) to remove one of the bolts from the old giubo. Other 5 came out
easily. Beats me...

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