Re: Really heavy clutch effort

[Igor Kessel <e6941tb@ix.netcom.com>]

Dwight Varnes wrote:
> 
> >>If you open up your clutch MC sys and see all the muddy gunk, that used to be rubber seals, you'll agree. I have rebuilt a number
> of them.<<
> So you are suggesting that I replace just the fluid, or it's likely that
> the system itself is shot?
> --

Dwight,

quite honestly, on your '86 I would replace all of the components (there are only 3!), 
if they are still original.

What happens is old fluid, that had never been replaced, pulls in a lot of water from 
atmosphere (it's highly hydroscopic). The MC inner cylinder walls become pitted. That 
starts to wear the tender inner rubber seal lips. The rubber flakes, escalating the 
process, since now seals are gliding inside the bore with the rubber particles between 
the wall and themselves. 

Meanwhile, the inner wall of the rubber pressure hose is flaking also. All of this 
sh*t precipitates in the buttom portion of the MC and in the whole volume of the Slave 
Cyl. You_will_not_believe the mud inside your MC, if you were to open up yours now (if 
it's still the original one)!

The last time I did it on my '89 200, it cost me:

MC-$75
Pressure hose - $51
Feed hose, MC to reservoir - $10/1m
Slave Cyl - $59
1L of Pentosin DOT4 brake fluid - $9
------------------------------------
total=$204, hardly an expence for the next 7 years of trouble-free clutch hydrolics 
(provided, you bleed the clutch/brakes once a year. The first owner of the car had 
never done that - hence the disasterous state of hydrolics, that I inherited).

The whole job takes hardly an hour (don't tell this to Phil);)

BTW, because of a sticky clutch MC I had to replace the broken clutch pedal twice(!), 
$80x2. And the only reason why I did not waste money on a tow truck both times was 
my ability to shift by ear. If it happened to my wife, she would've gotten 
stranded.  

All past '87 44 chassied Audis have these ridiculous alloy clutch pedals, a Stupidity 
with a capital *S*.


Igor Kessel
'89 200TQ
18psi-TAP