Saturn Vue Clutch Slave Cyl Problem

You say you "almost completed the bleeding" Does this mean the hard pedal occurred while the bleed port was open? If so, this may be a clue to what is happening.

with the slave bleed closed, ipumped tge pedal. it started to stiffen the pedal then it just went completely to the floor .all efforts after that to bleed the system just spilled more hydraulic fluid out of the bell housing

We are used and tossed aside on a regular basis here.

"nothing further from engineering superman (or 99% of the people who come here asking for help) about if any suggestions worked".

Have you tried any Saturn forums?

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My worst fear is that this clutch design was borrowed from the Chevy Cavalier.
I can offer no meaningful assistance, but that doesn't deter many of us here, either.

True, we don't know the history here.

My biggest concern is that a slave cylinder should NEVER fail from just depressing the clutch pedal.

We need to know where and why the other units failed. I don't think it's pressure buildup, but rather mechanical puncture/tearing/ripping?

Or by unrestrained over-extension.

i have been looking at a number of saturn forums. cr4 had the discussion of blowing out a number of slave cylinders which led me to trying to find what fixed "engineeringsuperman"s problem. i am currently removing the transaxle to confirm that theslave is ruptured and anything else i can diagnose. but i am reluctant to go through this all over again unless someone can tell me what fixed this problem for them. am i buying weak parts. is there some design problem as lyn mentioned. am i doing a poor job of bleeding.. a slave cylinder should not rupture during a bleed process.

We had this problem on a mercury cougar the best thing in my opinion is to have a shop replace the slave cylinder with one they obtain so that if it blows out again it is under warranty it took us three times to get a good one.

Can the plastic line that connects to the slave cylinder have been damaged during the flywheel issue? Did you actually see the damage to the second slave? If you pull it apart, can you let the slave remain connected hydraulically, but removed from the transmission shaft? Limit the travel with a few screw worm hose clamps, and try to bleed it that way. Does it leak? From where? Can you get a boroscope to look inside the bell-housing? Harbor Freight sells them for about $70.

to bob c....i will try your leak test to the slave that lasted 2000 miles. if it passes, it would look like the over-extension problem is definitely a possibility.

It may simply be an adjustment problem assuming that all parts are the correct ones.

The slave cylinder is basically a piston that is pushed back by the pressure of the hydraulic fluid acting on it, that releases the clutch. If that piston can travel too far, it could come completely out of its housing. That sounds like your problem.

I suspect that it was from day 1 of the "repair", it was too close to "exiting" the housing/cylinder, maybe the 2000 miles of wear allowed it to move a tiny fraction further and finally let the fluid out. It will be a tiny adjustment.

Maybe some small "Packing piece" was forgotten or the wrong size or the wrong way round - just guessing...

Its probable that unless the dust bellows got damaged, after a good clean up with fresh hydraulic fluid ans reassembly, it will still be good to go....good enough for testing at any rate till you get everything correct.

There is also maybe a mechanism that should be taking up wear as it happens and restricting the distance moved to within safety limits, but that is pure guesswork on my part....that "adjuster" may need to be "set up" at install time, or even simply cleaned and lubricated properly.

All guesses I am afraid....but I hope it helps further....

By the way, unless you compared the old slave cylinder with the new, the replacement may simply be wrong and intended for another vehicle. The piston could simply be too short for your car....bolt holes wrongly drilled, too much "play" with the bolts and and and...

Put your best thinking cap on and have a go!!!

Best of luck.

The clutch slave cylinder as you have it is an all in one package with cylinder and throw out bearing together. If there is a bearing problem it could over heat the cylinder and blow the seals or even twist it off. Not sure i like the design. I'm use to the the slave being outside with fork and yolk.

Not only does the cylinder blow they will want you to replace the clutch plate and pressure plate. For one the clutch plate will be contaminated with oil.

They did make the Vue with an external slave cylinder in 2005. I would look to see it it can be replaced like that.

Look for something in the "stack-up" that could allow over-travel, such as a damaged or incorrectly installed pressure plate/diaphragm spring.

6ys85nkvto unreduntant...bare with me... does stack-up mean all the possible solutions given in this discusion.

Sorry, I meant the clutch assembly and all associated parts by order of assembly as it would appear in a drawing.

today i found the original leaking slave cylinder that failed at 2000 miles...i c-clamped it to half actuated and patched it into the clutch hydraulics on the vue.tried to bleed it...it started leaking fluid from the slave before i could get pedal pressure...tomorrow when my help arrives, we will remove the transaxle and get at the slave cylinder and check out the clutch assy. it seems like the 2000 mile slave has over-extended its outer limit, but i am not sure. i plan to compare it with a new one at the gmc dealer if they will let me.

If the pressure plate has a different installed height, it may be the problem. The slave cylinder is designed to be idiot proof. If it is installed correctly, it can never over travel. It installs on the nose of the transmission. By design, it must rest securely against the transmission so that it can expand, and hit the diaphragm spring fingers, and cause a release.

So, from my seat thousands of miles away. I think you need to make two measurements. ... The first is the distance between the surface of the throw-out bearing that touches the pressure plate, and a machined surface on the transmission. That should be taken with the slave cylinder fully seated against the transmission, and fully retracted.

The second measurement should be from the fingers of the diaphragm spring that will touch the throw-out bearing, to a machined surface on the flywheel, or a machined surface of the engine block.

From there, you may be able to determine if one of those two dimensions are wrong. The Saturn forums, a service manual, or the dealer may be needed for that answer.

If you can not get that info from anyone, it should be possible to take those heights relative to the bell-housing mating surface, and then determine how far apart the two will be when assembled. From that, we will be able to determine if it is over-traveling. Is there any way to look inside the bell-housing before disassembly?

Do a test,the distance between the surface of the throw-out bearing that touches the pressure plate, and a machined surface on the transmission 192.168.0.1