Alpine Clutch
12/12/03
Alpine Clutch
Trying to get my Sunbeam Alpine up to my new house I had to get the clutch hydraulics going again. I bought both clutch master, and slave cylinder rebuild kits, but figured I would start with rebuilding the clutch master cylinder since it was the one that was leaking and making gurgling noises when the clutch pedal was depressed. It came out of the car surprisingly easy, so I was able to find the problem quickly.
The rear rubber piston was worn, so fluid from the reservoir was leaking out. The main piston looked good, but since I had all the parts for the rebuild, I replaced everything. As I examined the bore of the cylinder, I found some pitting in one spot. This was in the same place that the rear seal failed, so it will probably wear out my new seal over time if this isn’t addressed. Unfortunately, these clutch master cylinders are not readily available, so I’ll have to send this one out for re-sleeving. For now, I’ll have to rebuild it to get the clutch working to move the car, but perhaps once I get the car to my house, I’ll send the master cylinder out.
Since I had the part out, I sand blasted it in François’ blasting cabinet, and put a fresh coat of paint on the part. It will at least look nice for the drive upstate before it comes out again for a re-sleeving.
Once I got everything installed, and bled, my clutch pedal came back with some pressure. Unfortunately, the clutch disc was still stuck to the flywheel! I failed at several attempts to get the clutch free by starting the car in gear with the clutch depressed. Eventually, the battery died from the strain, so I called it a day. I know I will some day get this car moving under its own power, but just not today!
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