Clutch Slave FUBAR or not?

[Gojira94]

I just went out to the garage to get started bleeding the clutch. Doing that would put me one good nut and bolt session from driving my project for the first time. But no. F no.

 

The bleeder did NOT want to come out. Not at all. I got it to crack loose and it was tight all the way off and I wanted to see why. The orifice end looks bad and there was some sort of residue on it. Cleaned it off and tried to screw it back in but it was still tight. So I thought "I'll go find another bleeder, and pull off the fitting it goes into and clean that out for peace of mind." That piece also did not want to budge with very heavy force. The bleed line bent and I heard the unmistakable sound of the retainer dropping off the roll pin that holds the slave in place and into the bottom of the bellhousing. See pic below of the bleeder screw and the (old) roll pin retainer to locate the slave:

 

 

 

My questions are: 1) how critical is that retainer being in place? 2) should I risk cleaning out what the bleeder goes into with solvent and a q-tip, cross my fingers and hope for the best?

 

Or, would I be better off yanking the drivetrain and putting a new slave in it? PITA but I'm not opposed to it.

 

Thanks

[Gojira94]

This is what I started with: