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:

 

[pizzaman09]

Have you been having issues with your clutch actution?  I'm guessing there was a reason you wanted to bleed it.  

[Gojira94]

9 hours ago, pizzaman09 said:

Have you been having issues with your clutch actution?  I'm guessing there was a reason you wanted to bleed it.  

 

I was finally getting ready to actually use the clutch for the first time. This was the last thing it needed to run and drive. It hasn't moved under its own power since 2017, according to the NC Emissions Inspection Unit. I can't get the bleeder/ fitting off the bleed line, and it's bending and very not happy. Slave is trash, I'm calling it and yanking the drivetrain. Looking for another slave now.

[pizzaman09]

I personally recommend converting it to external slave of your willing/able to spend the money.  I was very frustrated with my internal slave AX-15 and just went and did the Novac conversion.  It was a great upgrade and I haven't had any clutch issues since doing so.  

[Gojira94]

10 hours ago, pizzaman09 said:

willing/able to spend the money.

 

Not right now. I can replace an internal slave on one of these in about 1.5 hrs, with the most of that being fiddling with the transfer case nuts. I'd very much like to do the conversion but another $800 on the MJ just isn't doable any time soon. My wife's XC70 just took $900 with another $300 coming soon.

[pizzaman09]

I understand and am really impressed if you can swap out an internal slave in 1.5 hours.  When I did mine it took me 4.5 hours to get the pilot bearing realigned when putting it back together.  

[GonzoTheGreat]

59 minutes ago, pizzaman09 said:

it took me 4.5 hours to get the pilot bearing realigned

Worst part of the entire job.

[Gojira94]

On 11/20/2025 at 10:57 AM, pizzaman09 said:

it took me 4.5 hours to get the pilot bearing realigned

 

You were changing it while you were replacing the slave, or doing the whole clutch job? I had the luxury of installing mine (3/4") on the floor of my garage before stabbing in the engine/ trans together.

 

The real shame is I gave away a complete clutch setup including flywheel and slave to a local wheeler to get it all out of my way. It was a 93 YJ setup with all new LuK parts (<1000 miles). I could have robbed the bleed line off of that slave. Oh well. At least I'll have a spare. If I eventually need to replace the one inbound now, I can swap the line from that one over to the bad one I have now, with new EPDM o-rings for good measure.

 

I had 15 minutes during my lunch break to get started pulling everything (WFH job 1 most days). I got both shafts out, shifter and exhaust head pipe pulled. Almost not fair, this rig doesn't have anything that's damaged, jacked up or have rusted fasteners anymore. 

[pizzaman09]

On 11/20/2025 at 12:01 PM, GonzoTheGreat said:

Worst part of the entire job.

 

7 hours ago, Gojira94 said:

 

You were changing it while you were replacing the slave, or doing the whole clutch job? I had the luxury of installing mine (3/4") on the floor of my garage before stabbing in the engine/ trans together.

 

The real shame is I gave away a complete clutch setup including flywheel and slave to a local wheeler to get it all out of my way. It was a 93 YJ setup with all new LuK parts (<1000 miles). I could have robbed the bleed line off of that slave. Oh well. At least I'll have a spare. If I eventually need to replace the one inbound now, I can swap the line from that one over to the bad one I have now, with new EPDM o-rings for good measure.

 

I had 15 minutes during my lunch break to get started pulling everything (WFH job 1 most days). I got both shafts out, shifter and exhaust head pipe pulled. Almost not fair, this rig doesn't have anything that's damaged, jacked up or have rusted fasteners anymore. 

I was exclusively replacing the throw out bearing that kept sucking in air through the bleeder.  I was lucky enough to do it on a two post lift but we didn't have a lift height transmission jack so we had the truck about 30 inches off the ground.  The clutch didn't need to be changed, it had been replaced shortly before I purchased the truck by the Jeep dealership that owned my truck for years.  Unfortunately, I suspect the new internal slave they put in must have been low quality.  

 

I didn't care if the internal slave was the simpler cheaper swap, I wanted mine fixed in a way that I would not have to worry about.  The Novak kit and an all metal external slave from Oriley has worked flawlessly.  Though I will say my clutch pedal weight about doubled after doing the conversion, I think I need a different master cylinder.

 

I wish you the best on your repair, it's certainly a lot simpler and less expensive to maintain the internal slave cylinder.  

[Gojira94]

Ahhh, ok. You meant during your conversion. Understood.

 

I had some success yesterday. I’ve got more than enough clearance underneath and a trans attachment for my 3-ton jack.

 

i separated the trans just enough to get the slave out. I popped off the bleed line with an old fork/ wrench clutch tool. I got the bleed fitting off, cleaned the threads up and dug out a brake bleeder of suitable size from my toolbox. I’m satisfied enough with it to give it an go and try to bleed it before I put it all back together or look for another slave. All i need from this one is to last until next summer. By then I should be in a position to do the conversion like you did. 

[Gojira94]

One tip I'll share (not at all new to the world) is when pulling the trans (any trans/ any car), is once you have the transmission supported and pull the crossmember, droop the trans about 3" vertical from where it would be on the crossmember. This eases access to the upper bellhousing bolts. I use a string of wobble extensions at the socket end and an 18" 1/2" extension at the ratchet/ breaker bar end for about 3 - 3 1/2 feet of curved reach. Here's the important part - before you try to separate the trans with the driveline drooped a bit, support the engine at this temporary angle at the front of the oil pan or crank pulley so it doesn't rock forward and up when you separate the trans and push the bellhousing up into the tunnel. That's a moment when you may have somewhat tenuous control over a heavy mass of metal in motion, so keeping still things still saves some headaches.

 

If you're doing something quick, you can leave things where they are. If you're going to need more than an hour or so, relieve the tension on the engine mounts by moving the engine back to its normal angle and support it while you do trans work. And then put the tilt back on it when you're ready to reinstall the trans.