Re: Clutch Hydraulic Troubles

["Dean W. Cains" <dwc@xxxxxx>]

Hi Graham:

Thanks for the advice, but in this case the MC was definitely the 
culprit.  I should have known better than to waste more than a few minutes 
bleeding, and just admitted/accepted there was a problem upstream.  After 
sitting overnight, there was an obvious fluid leak from the pushrod end of 
the cylinder.  While the unbranded slave appears to be equal in quality to 
any I've seen, the MC was nowhere near close to anything I'd normally bolt 
onto one of my Alfa's.  It was junk, plain and simple.  Poor materials, bad 
finish, and bad design, too, as the reservoir had to be pulled to allow 
access to the top mounting nut/bolt.  To their credit, Linea Rossa 
graciously accepted the return and credited my VISA card even before I 
mailed them the MC.  I'll be happy to try them again.

Interesting that you mentioned the pushrod length spec from the manual.  I 
don't have the manual handy, but the spec mentioned was way off, by about 
20mm.  I think it said 154mm, but your measure of 135mm (you mistyped 
13.5mm) is close to correct.  I just set the length to match the cylinder I 
removed, since that worked fine, and that's what my left foot is used 
to.  Your step-by-step reinstall instructions were perfect, though, and are 
the same as mine.  Good advice for those doing the job for the first time.

I'll be driving the Spider again by the weekend, but in the interim I'm 
conditioning the seats with Leatherique, sold by AlfaBill.  Good stuff, and 
well worth the $ and minimal effort to use.  I've painted the seats 3 times 
so far with the conditioning oil, and the leather is drinking it up and 
getting softer.  Between applications the seats are covered in large trash 
bags, while the car sits under its cover in the sun.  The heat really helps 
it work.

Regards,

Dean
Lutz, FL
'74 & '87 Spider Veloce's

At 02:54 PM 8/26/2003, you wrote:

> Date: Tue, 26 Aug 2003 13:50:39 -0500
> From: "Graham Davis" <grahamldavis@domain.elided>
> Subject: Clutch Hydraulic Troubles
>
> I believe that while your parts are non-branded, they are equally well
> made.  The spider shares it's clutch MC with the Gtv-6 and you have the
> earlier pattern.  This last weekend I installed one from Bruce's Parts
> Bin on my bride's spider but I bench-bled all the air out prior to
> installation.  MC works just fine.  If you own a repair manual, you know
> to preset the piston shaft link - machined end of cylinder to back end of
> clevis eye @ 13.5mm.  Other inst. tips are: first, fit the piston through
> the mounting bracket hole then screw in the hydraulic line 12mm nut
> finger tight.  Next couple the piston to the actuator lever.  I prefer to
> use a hitch pin instead of a cotter; makes life easier.  Put star washers
> under the 8mm bolt heads and anti-sieze on the threads.  The lockwashers
> and nuts will spin on with your fingers.  The box end of a good
> (Craftsman, etc.) 13mm stubby wrench will fit on the top nut underneath
> the reservoir and swing clear of the brake reservoir.
>
> Graham L. Davis'91 164 L'89 Milano Verde'89 Spider Grad
--
to be removed from alfa, see /bin/digest-subs.cgi
or email "unsubscribe alfa" to majordomo@domain.elided