While changing the gearbox and clutch I thought that I should change the slave as it is an 04 car and it was most probably the original.

 

I sourced an OE slave and fitted it. One drip every 15-20 seconds from the connection.

 

I put the old slave on, exactly the same!

 

I ordered in a new O ring from my supplier and received a bag with an O ring and a little top hat rubber seal, hmm.

 

Fitted the O ring, there wasn't any space to fit the rubber top hat... Still leaking.

 

Looked through my box of metric O rings, picked the closest and of course that still dripped.

 

Looking on YouTube, some connections employ the little rubber top hat  that slipped over the end of the pipe connector but mine is different and hasn't the space.

 

I am at my wits end! Any help greatly received.

In the first photograph the union that pushes into the slave cylinder is one piece and the whole thing swivels on the pipe. It must be weeping from the joint inside the fitting which can’t be accessed by the look of it.

The top hat seal will leak unless its pushed very hard onto the pipe until you feel it "click" into position, once there its very hard to remove, your connector does look like its the O ring type but I would try forcing the top hat one on, there are a couple of youtube videos somewhere and maybe one of them will give a close up of the pipe end.

 

If yours is definitely the O ring type then it will be a 1.8mm cross section, they can leak where there has been movement, your new slave may be out of tolerance, a 2mm cross section O ring gives a much better fit & seal but you will have to measure with a vernier because all but one of my O ring sets has 1.8mm csa ones but the contents list describes them as 2.0mm.

 

Finally I had the same problem on my MK1 Octavia after main dealer geagbox warranty work, being in France and having bought it from the original UK owner there was no way of me getting them to sort it, in hindsight it may have been the top hat seal not clicked into place, took me 15 years to learn that!!!!

 

I resolved it by wrapping 2 pack epoxy putty around the joint, not to seal it, I knew that it could never do that but I had found that it didn't leak if pushed further in with hand pressure or it may have been pulling it back, I cant recall after 16 years but I rigged up something to either push or pull to stop the leak & then moulded the putty around it to maintain the position.

 

A bodge but I had no choice at the time, it never leaked again though!

 

Try a top hat seal properly fitted, if not compatible try a 2mm csa O ring and/or pushing/pulling to see if the leak stops & then do something like I did, alternatively another slave cylinder is cheap enougha nd easy enough to try.

 

Next week I have to remove the whole 4x4 transmission to replace my concentric slave cylinder which is drawing air into the system, the new plastic one has is made in 2 parts with the same O ring joint but inaccessible within the bellhousing, I think it is that which is the cause, be thankfull you can replace yours easily!

34 minutes ago, phazed said:

In the first photograph the union that pushes into the slave cylinder is one piece and the whole thing swivels on the pipe. It must be weeping from the joint inside the fitting which can’t be accessed by the look of it.

 

The union is solid with the pipe and does not rotate.

Ah! Mine rotates!!!!!

 

Decided to order a new pipe on Monday.

 

Lucky I don’t need the car.

 

happy frustrating days!

In which case I am wrong and it certainly sounds like it is the problem.

 

Given I cant recall what I did yesterday I was foolish to put forward a memory from 15 years ago that may well have been my imagination, it will be interesting to learn if the union on the new pipe rotates & if so how freely compared to the leaking one.

We have all been there!

 

I will order a new one from TPS on Monday. I checked today just before they closed and they haven’t one in stock, it has to be ordered in.

Just to close on this.

 

The problem was the plastic connector on the end of the pipe that fits in to the clutch slave.

 

As stated previously, it should be fixed and not swivel. By swivelling it allows fluid to seep through the internal joint on the plastic fitting.

 

New pipe fitted and all well! £68 + VAT from TPS!!!!!!!!!!

 

Whatever happened to the simple threaded nipple and splayed pipe end of old? I could have made one up in my garage for about £4.00. I think I answered that myself.......