Hi all,

This is related to my most recent posting: https://honda-tech.com/forums/honda-.../#post52569647

This morning I removed the old clutch slave cylinder (worked from the top) and "attempted" to install the new one. An hour or 2 later I still hadn't gotten the new one installed. It was pretty much impossible to compress the actuator *and* insert the bolts for mounting at the same time. Can't see enough to know how close I was to even getting either of the mounting bolts started. So, this part of the job turned out to be more of a challenge than I expected (and I thought bleeding the clutch would be the bigger effort At this point I've set it aside for today and will get back to it tomorrow. I'm thinking raising the car and trying to do it from underneath might be the easier path.

I'm open to any ideas or hints from anyone else's experience that will make this a more reasonable (as in time and effort) process.

UPDATE (4/18/22):

I came across the following posting (from ~11 yrs. ago) which offered some insight...but left me confused It's for the same model as mine but 4 years older. However, I verified that it uses the same clutch slave cylinder.

It's not clear exactly how these instructions do what they claim to do. Maybe the poster left out a step or 2. The 1st zip tie makes some sense. However, the 2nd zip tie, where it goes ("other side of the piston"? Is that the clutch fork end (lengthwise)? Or just the other side (confusing because the piston is round)?) and how it connects to the 1st zip tie doesn't make sense (and I'm an engineer...or maybe that's the real problem here I can see how 3 or 4 zip ties might work, and Ima gonna try that this morning. Anyone who can clear this up for me would be my hero!

Thx in advance and cheers.....

 

OK. In my original post (below and above I mentioned that my being an engineer might be the problem. Turns out, I wasn't too far off .

I tried a combination of 4 zip ties (why think simple when being complicated can create more problems to solve...yaaaaay! and got close, but not close enough. Then I thought about what I read on a different forum (actually, an "ask and we'll have a technician answer" help forum) a bit more about the suggestion. Turns out it can be done with only 2 zip ties and it really made my task much easier. Took me ~30 mins to prepare the clutch slave cylinder AND get it installed (well, at least, get the bolts in, which has been my frustration). The solution is simple (certainly not my engineering way 1 zip tie (in my case 2 since my zip ties were shorter) goes around the cylinder lengthwise, from 1 end (nearest the fluid inlet and bleed valve) to the end of the piston. Zip tie no. 2 goes *around" the piston, *over* the 1st zip tie (so it's kept in place over the roundish end of the piston). Tighten the 2nd zip tie (around the piston), but not too tight so you can move the 1st zip tie (around the length) a bit to position it. Now compress the piston into the body of the cylinder (if you have a friend or workmate who can help, it does make it easier. However, I was able to compress it in my vise, which worked out well). Once the piston is all the way into the cylinder (if using a vise, don't over compress!), tighten the zip tie(s) that goes around the length of the cylinder. Carefully uncompress the piston and see how much play there is. If too much, recompress and tighten the length-wise zip tie(s) a bit more. Once the compression is done, tighten the 2nd zip tie (around the piston) to ensure the 1st zip tie remains in place. Voila'...the clutch slave cylinder is ready for installation

The only challenge that showed up using this technique was that it took a bit to get the zip ties off. The length-wise one is pretty easy to get to, but that should be the last one removed. The one around the piston was a bit more challenging. Trying to get a pair of cutters into the small space made me work a bit more (and can be especially problematic if the zip tie ends up in the channel where the rubber boot locks in....did not put this zip tie over the boot. I was afraid of damaging the boot either by the sharp edges on the piston or when I had to dig in to cut and remove this zip tie). Once the zip tie around the piston was removed, it was no hassle at all to get the length-wise zip tie off: cut and pull. The piston should pop into place and finish tightening the bolts.

The instructions were not very clear and, combined with my more technical focus, it took me a bit to figure it out (and the scratches and bruises on my hands and arms, along with a sore back, bear witness to my fruitless efforts

This method worked on my car and I suspect it's applicable for many other vehicles, as well.

Cheers.....