Clutch slave cylinder releasing differently?

Tiny
TJMOWBRAY
  • MEMBER
  • 1988 CHEVROLET CAVALIER
  • 2.0L
  • 4 CYL
  • 2WD
  • MANUAL
  • 165,000 MILES
My clutch is releasing differently and after inspection slave cylinder is leaking seeking advice on what to do. Part is cheap and doesn't look very hard to change any help would be appreciated
Thursday, January 8th, 2026 AT 5:59 PM

5 Replies

Tiny
KEN L
  • MASTER CERTIFIED MECHANIC
  • 55,030 POSTS
Did you get this car running? It sounds like it :) So you replace the slave cylinder and just pump the clutch about 50 times and it will self bleed out, make sure the fluid reservoir stays full. Here is what the part looks like so we can be one the same page. The hydraulic line will have a small clip that will need to be pulled out to release the line. Also, this system is self adjusting as well. Check out the images (below). Please upload an image or a short video in your response, so I can see what's going on. Ken
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Friday, January 9th, 2026 AT 10:26 AM
Tiny
TJMOWBRAY
  • MEMBER
  • 83 POSTS
My Haynes manual says to slide the pushrod off the clutch pedal and remove the slave cylinder hydraulic hose and master cylinder as a unit. Is this necessary? Can I not just change slave cylinder
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Wednesday, January 14th, 2026 AT 9:03 PM
Tiny
KEN L
  • MASTER CERTIFIED MECHANIC
  • 55,030 POSTS
It looks like the clutch line attaches to the slave cylinder by removing the roll pin, please look at the image above. Also, I am sure the master and slave will come as one piece for some replacement jobs so it can be done more way than one. If you upload images I can help walk you through the job.
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Thursday, January 15th, 2026 AT 11:12 AM
Tiny
TJMOWBRAY
  • MEMBER
  • 83 POSTS
I think it can be done without removing master cylinder and yes it's held in place with a roll pin
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Thursday, January 15th, 2026 AT 4:27 PM
Tiny
KEN L
  • MASTER CERTIFIED MECHANIC
  • 55,030 POSTS
Nice, you got this!
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Friday, January 16th, 2026 AT 8:03 AM

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