SS Clutch Line

Red Hose Replacement

If you believe in reincarnation, I recommend that you pray to your God that you don't come back as a red hose. This long, thin, red fella has been blamed for lots of things from crunching gears to the inability to even select gears.

Whilst this has some truth to it, I would always recommend that you bleed the clutch system and adjust the gear linkages before blaming the red hose.

Saying that, a stainless steel hose flexes much less than the red, plastic original and is thus able to transfer the clutch pedal movement to the clutch mechanism in a more efficient manner. This is especially true in hot climates.

The Kit

This kit was purchased from http://www.sjsportscars.co.uk in the UK. I received very good, prompt service from them and the kit was very reasonably priced ~£38.00.

Points to Note

The old red hose should be removed from the slave cylinder and pulled through to the front of the car. Expect to spend about 2 hours replacing the hose.

Disconnect the hose from the slave cylinder:

Then remove the red-hose from its clips. You also need to prise out the grommets from the front box section:

Disconnect the red hose from the master cylinder:

Now you are ready to pull the hose out. Because it runs through the front box section, it's best to tie a piece of string to the end of the hose:

Carefully pull the hose out, guiding the end of the hose through the box section. When you are done, you should have the end of the hose in your hand next to the master cylinder:

Fitting of the new stainless steel pipe is just the reverse of the above. In fact it's really easy, especially now that you've got a piece of string to pull the new hose through the chassis.

Connect the hose to the master cylinder:

You now need to bleed the installation.

Bleeding

I recommend that you let the slave cylinder dangle vertically then open the bleed nipple. Fill up the master cylinder reservoir and press the clutch pedal twice, re-fill the master cylinder reservoir and then go and put the kettle on and make a cup of tea.

The fluid will slowly fill up the slave cylinder until it flows out of the nipple.

Tighten up the nipple and re-fit the slave cylinder to the engine. 

Adjust the clutch until the slave cylinder is fully compressed. As a rule of thumb, back off the adjuster for about 5mm; this will allow the clutch to wear.

Make sure the master cylinder is topped up to its level. You should not need to do any more bleeding of the system.

Obviously, try the clutch pedal and wonder over how much better it is....