Club 80-90 Forums

Hi folks, i have an '85 water cooled diesel bus and i'm having a problem with the clutch which i only noticed yesterday. I'm pretty sure it's the clutch slave cylinder/seal, the clutch pedal has no resistance, the fluid in the reservoir was way down and i can see the clutch fluid dripping from what i'm assuming is the slave cylinder seal by the gearbox. We're due to take it out of the country in a few days on a camping trip so getting nervous at this stage. I tried refilling the reservoir and pumping the clutch for a few minutes but no change in the pressure of the clutch. The fluid in the reservoir did drop again while the flow from the seal increased. Overnight the reservoir fluid dropped some more but the reservoir is still half full. I understand that there is a bleeding nipple that i can open to bleed the system to get the clutch working again but not sure exactly where it is - the bus is very difficult to get in under because of fibreglass extentions that were added to the base of the body. Our regular mechanic is away on holidays. I'm wondering what the options are at this stage. Does anyone have any suggestions? Is it possible that we'd get away with just replacing the seal as opposed to a whole new cylinder and could generic parts be used? The main issue at this stage could be getting the parts in time, we're in the clare/limerick area of ireland. Any suggestions would be much appreciated. Many thanks in advance

In terms of time, it would take as long to replace seal as it would entire slave cylinder.

clutch slave is part number 251 721 263 A

diesel same as petrol, brickwerks out of stock, heritage too slow for you .
jk have it, but at your own risk if it is the right bit the actually send you
local motor factors should be able to get it , but how fast , ??
im not a diesel man, but you can get to the bleed nipple from the engine bay in a petrol

You really need to know if the leak is from the slave cylinder itself or the pipe has failed.

You could be lucky and find the bleed nipple or pipe connection have come undone, very lucky

You could try http://bandbcomponents.co.uk/page/parts.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; .I've had bits off them over the years.

Ok many thanks for all of that, i'm in ireland so uk suppliers wouldn't work at this stage. Our mechanic is back from his holidays and has ordered a replacement cylinder and will try to bleed the fluid thru to get the clutch working again so that he can get it over to his place to work on it. It's cutting it fine but if there are no hicups it should be ok. Has anyone any experience in bleeding the pipe to get the clutch pressure up again? Just wondering how long it should take and possible pitfalls in the process. Many thanks

Bleeding it is simple, as long as it is t actively leaking too much. I’ve driven ours to a garage in the middle of a holiday with a broken clutch pipe, in practice you don’t need much of a clutch once you are actually under way, as long as you can avoid traffic lights. And getting underway is easier if you’re facing downhill. I’d expect your mechanic will manage, as it’s a process that’s common to a lot of vehicles, not really T25 specific probs to be encountered.

Ok, many thanks for that - it's kinda hard to avoid traffic lights but i get your point The mechanic was round earlier and he has the new cylinder - he has to get a section of pipe before he can complete it - hopefully by tomorrow. Many thanks for all the helpful contributions.
Regards

Put a compression joint in the line where the break is.

Ian