Clutch Slave & Master Cylinder Replacement for 84-88 Corvettes
By Al Higgins
If you going to repair / replace any part of the, Master Clutch or Slave Cylinder or supply tube, it is highly recommended to replace ALL three components at the same time! If one component has failed, the others will not be far behind!
The following notes are in addition to the normal repair procedures as outlined in the GM or Childers repair manual, and will save you time as you are aware of these issues BEFORE you get half way through the repair process.
1st of all, any of the replacement slave or master cylinder are not made in the USA, and although they may look similar to the units being replaced, they have no markings on the parts and definitely look like after market parts. If you choose to go forward with “After Market” parts, you might want to keep the original parts and send them out at some point in time and have them rebuild by a professional re-builder.
Master Clutch Cylinder
The replacement master cylinder comes with a plain generic top for the fluid resivor, so you may want to clean your existing top and reuse it! Also, the replacement push rod comes without the bushing in the end of the push rod that connects to the clutch petal. You can either cob up something that will work, (or) you can remove the existing push rod from your current unit and install it on the new unit.
Slave Clutch Cylinder
Replacement slave cylinders does not come with a dust cap for the bleeder. So either purchase an after market dust cap, or clean and reuse the existing dust cap. When you remove the slave cylinder, you may find out that the existing rubber boot that covers the clutch fork and slave cylinder push rod has been ripped or deteriorated. This part is not available through after market corvette suppliers and will have to be obtained from either a transmission shop or salvage yards.
Clutch Hose Assy.
The Clutch hose assembly does not come with any copper crush washers. You will need to obtain two new crush washers from your local auto parts store. FYI – Corvette caliper crush washers can be used to connect the clutch hose assy to the slave clutch cylinder.
Under Hood Work
To allow easier access to remove the master clutch cylinder, remove the drivers side panel and battery to allow access to remove the two bolts securing the master clutch cylinder to the firewall, and one screw underneath the steering column that secures the clutch hose assy. To the firewall. Small hands and a lot of patience are required here!
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Transmission Work
Remove the cars oil filter to allow additional room to remove and install the slave clutch cylinder. When installing the slave cylinder, you can use a small “C” clamp to energize the clutch fork and move the clutch towards the rear of the transmission, allowing more room to bolt up the slave cylinder without having a lot of force against the slave cylinder push rod and the clutch fork. Second sets of hands are required here. One to hold the slave cylinder in place, and the second set to install the bolts!!
Suggested Additional Work
Since you have the battery removed, I would suggest spending an additional hour or so and do the following:
 Remove the battery tray, and clean the surrounding areas. Also, remove the two ground straps that are connected to the frame. Lightly sand the frame and terminal and screws and reassemble.
 To the right of the battery, there is a positive (12 VDC) terminal that is used to terminate all the cars fusible links. Remove all the fusible links and clean all the link connectors and reassemble.
