Can not get slave cylinder off hose!

[AV325i]

I'm trying to replace the slave cylinder on my 88 325i and I have the cylinder free from the transmission, but I can't get the hose off. because I can't get leverage on the nut. Any trick to this? Looks like I can take the hose off farther up the line, but I would rather not take the chance of making another leak. Thanks for any advice!

[NC325iC]

try loosely bolting it back to the transmission so you can get more force through the wrench onto the retaining nut

[AV325i]

Thanks. I thought of doing that, but then you can't reach the nut. I ended up disconnecting the hose from the steel line. It was pretty easy. Then I could put the slave in a vise and get get leverage on the nut. And it connected by up just fine.

Putting the slave cylinder back in was a little tricky. Threading that back nut is impossible to do by hand 'cause you can't reach back there. I ended up putting on the front nut first and then put the back nut in a socket (with another 13mm nut in the socket to hold it forward) and then put the socket on an extension and thread it by hand.

Now I need to bleed the system. Anyone have tips on that? I can never remember that process. Is it 1) pump fluid through. 2) tighen bleed. 3) Pump 2-3 times and hold pedal to the floor. 4) losen the bleed for a second to let any air out. 5) repeat step (3) and (4) a few times to make sure all the air is out. Is that right?

I realize these are all really newbee questions, but you have to start somewhere!

[NC325iC]

you should bleed it before you mount it back up to the car, when you do that make sure you use somesort of rigid device to hold the punger IN

[AV325i]

I never head of that. Can I still do it now that it is mounted? I think I will try bleeding it mounted. I can't see why it would not work mounted, unless it's tipped up and an air bubble is trapped.

[accident]

when i did mine i used a pair of vice grips to hold the slave while i forced the nut.

[AV325i]

Thanks for the help everyone. Cluch works great now.

I ended up disconnecting the flexible hose where it attaches to the body. It was really easy. Then the slave and hose came out and I could put ithe slave in a vice and turn off the nut for the hose.

The hardest part of the whole operation was getting the back nut started on for the slave. There was no way to reach it with my fingers, so I put the nut in a socket (held forward by another 13mm nut put in underneath), put the socket on an extension, and then threaded it in by hand. It worked pretty slick.

Also, I did not have any trouble bleeding the clutch while installed, so I don’t think pre-bleeding the slave cylinder is necessary as suggested above. Maybe it is for the master cylinder, but not if you just do the slave.

[tonytony]

glad it worked out for you!