Two weeks ago, I posted asking for advice on jackstand location for my 325e (Helga), and received great advice... Last week, the parts arrived in the mail and I had a day free to get dirty with the car, so I walked out to the garage to replace a BADLY leaking, but functioning clutch slave cylinder.

I decided to move the car into the center of the two-car garage to give myself a little bit more working space, until I discovered that the clutch pedal was resting on the floor with no pressure. Luckily, I had ordered a clutch master at the same time...

The removal of the slave was easier than I expected, but the master was a real PITA. Primary problem was the threaded fitting in the engine bay (far end of the unit). It is (um, to say the least) difficult to get a wrench on that puppy.

I noticed that the Bentley manual cautioned against pressing the clutch pedal with the slave removed from the car, so naturally that is exactly what I did in a moment of utter stupidity... After disassembling the (new) slave cylinder, I realized that I'd need a another one to continue.

Installation of the master cylinder was a utter nightmare, with the exact same threaded fitting refusing to line up correctly. I loosened everything in reach, begged, swore, screamed, took long breaks to calm down, etc. After roughly 2.5 hours of futile labor, I was finally able to out-wit twenty grams of metal and it spun into place with no problem.

Someone on the list suggested disconnecting this exact line from the other end (looks much easier) and I tried that first. The easy end of the line is now horribly stripped from my efforts (frown).

Next day, a quick trip down to Clearwater, FL and site of EuroProducts, and I had another clutch slave in hand. I had no idea that Europroducts didn't expect to do any over-the-counter sales, and I must say that they looked shocked when I wandered in the (front/back?) door. After explaining what I needed, they were happy to help me, though. Maybe next time I'll just go to a dealer (~20 miles closer) when I need parts in a hurry. (Famous last words) "The dealer can't be THAT much more expensive, can they?"

The new slave cylinder practically popped right into place, and I proceeded to change over to ATE blue brake fluid and bleed the system. Remembering the advice of the net, I tried to avoid pressing the brake pedal all the way to the floor while manually bleeding the lines, but I still heard an occasional grinding noise... It's probably a bad sign, and I expect to be replacing the brake master cylinder soon...

I think everything works right now, but my clutch still engages a little bit 'too far from the bottom' for my tastes. I assume that it's just a personality thing with the car, previous owner claims that the clutch is less than 30k miles old, no slippage yet, etc.

Rick