Clutch Master & Slave Assembly Replacement

After having the clutch failure a complete replacement of the clutch hydraulics was necessary. The clutch hydraulics in the 1.8 Freelander is a closed and sealed system. Meaning that if anything fails you have to replace both the slave and the master cylinders. A new clutch hydraulics kit consists of a single part filled with oil and is ready to go.














According to the Haynes manual it's an advanced job, all in all it's pretty simple just a few snags to watch out for. I started out with taking out the battery and air filter box, this gives good access to the working area. The slave cylinder had simply exploded, most parts where lying around in the engine bay. The master cylinder is a little trickier, you first need to release the pin fixed to the clutch pedal, this takes some fiddling around lying upside down in the car.

The real tricky part was to get the master cylinder itself out, you need to rotate it clockwise 45 degrees before you can pull it out. The problem is that on a LHD vehicle there is simply no extra clearance to do this. You need to keep it perfectly straight to be able to pull it out. This took me about 30 minutes of messing around before I got it out.

Putting the new kit in takes some caution. You need to guide the kit through the engine bay and put it roughly into place. Fitting the slave cylinder is simple, all you need to do is place it on the bracket and clip on the C-clip. I cut the plastic retainers and that was all, for now...

The second tricky part is refitting the master cylinder. The same problem applies, you need to keep it perfectly straight when inserting it through the bulkhead. My problem was that with all the pulling and twisting I noticed some oil coming out. The lid of the master cylinder is not firmly fixed, so whilst fitting be very careful not the undo the lid by accident. If you open the lid air will come in and you can start all over with a new kit. After all I managed to get it in and re-attach the pin to the clutch pedal.

During the test drive I did notice some play in the pedal, not sure if this was there before, the clutch also felt heavier to operate.

Maybe I let a bit of air into the system with all the twisting of the master cylinder...

I placed the wires, air filter and battery back where they belonged and took it for a test drive. All OK! It works once again!

Milage: 153229

12 comments:

  1. Just changed ours and had to break off the plastic holding clips around the clutch pedal pin, which doesnt matter as you dont use it again, and thankfully we found the retaining half circle clip that secures the slave cylinder as this didnt come in the new kit. All in all appears to be working fine. Thanks for writing up about it! Jools and "M"

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  2. Thanks for the brilliant write up and details. Is it really necessary to change both the master and slave at once, or could just one be replaced? I don't want to buy both parts if I can help it.

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    1. The reason why you need to replace both the slave and the master simultaneously is because they are sold as one assembled kit.

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  3. Hi, I have just had clutch problem with my freelander di. I think it is the master and slave. I had a look under where slave is and removed retaining pin the slave fell apart. Now i know i need the whole assembly but can some one tell me if there is a bigger problem. Where the plastic pin at the end of the slave hits the rod that goes into clutch housing should that spring out. Just that mine seems to be stuck in. If some one could tell me i would be greatfull.

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  4. its probably out its very hard to push in so more than likely its at its out point

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  5. Hi,i seem to be having the same problem.My clutch went really hard a few days ago and then went totally so i have purchased a new assembley but when i have looked there was a tie wrap holding the cylinder to the bracket on the gear box.Im just hoping its not the shaft that has siezed that goes into the gear box as i have read this can be another problem!!!?????

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    1. I also applied some WD40 to the shaft going into the gear box, then applied grease. That helped for me. Worst case you would indeed need to remove the gear box, a repair I have planned due to a leaking oil seal from the crankshaft. Fun :)

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  6. Just changed mine. Great write up thanks..

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  7. Dear Freelander Owner,

    Slightly off-topic, but...

    Can you advice where to look at if clutch pedal is at very high position hitting dashboard when released? Is the issue on engine room side or there somethign wrong next to pedal. Working space at pedal area is really limited and it is hard to see if some socket is loose etc.

    I am wondering should I start investigating the issue on engine room side or cabin side. Clutch itself works just fine.

    Thank you for your help in advance,
    Juho from Finland

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  8. there is another guide which only really provides more images to compliment this one
    http://www.jalopycars.co.uk/2015/08/10/replacing-a-clutch-master-cylinder/

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  9. I'm doing mine today,I found that this bracket which supports the clutch master cylinder failed and is very common among Freelander motorists, this bracket is dangerously under engineered, mine failed at the shopping center clutching and braking to stop to give way to pedestrians who were already on the crossing I had to push the gear stick to neutral quickly as it surprised me that all of a sudden I had no control of my freelander 1, my thought's were that if my wife was driving this Freelander this shopping center pedestrian crossing would have had some serious human injuries, my point is that Freelander motorist should be very conscious and alert at all times that this component can fail you without any warning, I personally feel that his master cylinder bracket should have been recalled and made stronger, if you remove this bracket you might see on yours that the C section that holds the cylinder might have top and bottom hair line cracks. https://freelanderowner.blogspot.com/logout?d=https://www.blogger.com/logout-redirect.g?blogID%3D573315954799183517%26postID%3D1741012088651815897

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  10. Hi... I was wondering if it's possible for us to use your step by step over on our website? (Full credits to you displayed with it)

    If it's possible, can you please email me at:

    admin@freelanderownersclub.org

    Many Thanks
    Chell

    www.freelanderownersclub.org

    ReplyDelete