galek_98gt
07-06-2005, 05:35 PM
a post i saw on sccobymods that i thought was an excellent addition to this forum. not sure if the pics will show up.
This is a quick modifications page on how to change out your stock rubber clutch line for a braided stainless steel line on a 2000 Impreza RS- other models will be very similar. This will result in a more solid feel to your shifts and more positive clutch engagement. This page is also useful to those who wish to bleed their clutch line or lubricate the slave cylinder piston and clutch fork, as I cover those here as well. Tools required are very minimal, and include a pair of pliers, an 8mm socket, a 10mm socket, a 14mm socket, and a 10mm open ended wrench. Any questions or comments may be directed towards me here. I will answer any questions that I am able to.
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2005/07/1clutch-2.jpg
In order to access the clutch cable and master/slave cylinders, you have to remove the stock intake plenum from the throttle body. The yellow dot is the hose clamp holding the air box to the throttle body, and requires an 8mm socket (or a flat head screwdriver) to undo. The 2 red dots are simple bolts that can be removed with a 10mm socket. The 3 blue dots indicate the 3 breather lines attached to the stock airbox. Remove all these to gain access to the work area.
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2005/07/2clutch-2.jpg
This is what you will see with the airbox out of the way- I've labelled all the major points of interest that pertain to this little project.
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2005/07/3clutch-2.jpg
This is another "road map" photo- the big red dot marks the slave clutch cylinder, the blue dot is the banjo bolt holding the stock clutch line in, and the yellow dot marks the dust boot over the bleed nipple, which will be important later on. For reference, this picture was taken from the driver's side of the engine bay. You will need to undo the banjo bolt (requires a 14mm socket) so that you can drain the fluid in the clutch system.
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2005/07/4clutch-2.jpg
With that bolt removed, I stuck the clutch line into a soda can. I then proceeded to go and pump the fluid out using the clutch pedal. After one or two pumps, all the pressure in the system will be gone, and the pedal will go to the floor and stay there. Has a seat on the ground, and start pushing and pulling on the clutch pedal until you empty out the fluid. Dispose of this fluid wherever you dispose of oil or brake fluid in your area (most shops that sell oil will recycle old fluids for you).
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2005/07/5clutch-2.jpg
With the fluid drained, trace your way back along the clutch line towards the firewall. There is a bracket holding the far end, but it is very hard to see. If you remove the bracket holding the return coolant line from the cabin of the car (it's attached to the mount for the pitch stop bushing- I marked the pitch stopper with a red dot in this picture) you will have better access to it.
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2005/07/6clutch-2.jpg
This bracket comes off very easily- it is only held on by one 12mm bolt.
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2005/07/7clutch-2.jpg
With the bracket and coolant line out of the way, you will be greeted by the far end of the clutch cable. This is a VERY tight area to work in, so watch your knuckles. Remove the 10mm nut on the far end of the clutch cable first thing. Righty tighty, lefty loosely applies, so you will want to turn this nut towards the driver's side of the car. Be careful with this nut- it rounds off easily! With the nut off, you can then remove the clip holding the clutch line in with a pair of pliers. DO NOT remove this clip first, as it will keep the clutch line from turning while you are trying to undo the 10mm nut. If all else fails and you cannot get that nut to budge or if it starts to round off on you, there is a harder way to go at this so you do not ruin the nut. It became my only option when the 10mm nut rounded off on me. That proceedure is described below.
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2005/07/9clutch-2.jpg
This is another 10mm nut (that is much easier to get at) on the left side of the clutch master cylinder. Remove this nut by turning it back towards the firewall. Next, you are going to remove the whole bracket that is holding the far end of the clutch cable in place. It is held on by a single 12mm nut, located on the bottom of the mount that is on the firewall for the pitch stop bushing.
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2005/07/10clutch-2.jpg
This picture is very hard to get, but it is of the 12mm nut holding the aforementioned bracket on. With this nut removed, you should be able to very easily pull the whole clutch line assembly out of the engine bay and loosen the 10mm nut holding the stock rubber clutch line to the bent metal line. You can then return the metal line and the bracket to the engine bay in reverse order, making certain to tighten the 10mm nut connecting the metal line to the clutch master cylinder down.
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2005/07/11clutch-2.jpg
This is the stock rubber clutch line. It is protected by a spiral of plastic anti-abrasion material. You may wish to remove and reuse this. In my case, the stainless line has a clear abrasion coating, so this was not neccessary in my case.
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2005/07/12clutch-2.jpg
Now it gets easy. Just screw the 10mm bolt into the new clutch line, tightening it down well. Run the new line up towards the master cylinder. Run it UNDER the pitch stop bushing, so that the new line does not get crushed against the airbox when the engine is started. At this point, you can reattach the bracket for the coolant line to it's proper place on the pitch stop mount.
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2005/07/13clutch-2.jpg
The clutch line I purchased came with a new banjo bolt and two new washers. You can reuse the stock ones if your did not come with them. You place a washer on the banjo bolt, then put the clutch cable on, then the other washer. This is bolted down as a whole into the clutch slave cylinder.
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2005/07/14clutch-2.jpg
You are nearly done. This is where the bleed nipple comes into play. Attach a small piece of clear plastic tubing to the bleed nipple, and get your can to catch the fluid expelled from the slave cylinder. The tubing needs to be clear, so that you can see any air bubbles as they come out- you are not done bleeding until you get no more air out of the system.
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2005/07/15clutch-2.jpg
You can start the bleed process yourself by hand. Fill the clutch master cylinder to the fill mark (using your favorite brand of DOT 3 or 4 brake fluid, be it synthetic or organic) and cap it back off. Turn the bleed screw to open it, grab the top of the clutch fork, pull on it AND HOLD IT, then close the bleed screw. You should get a squish of fluid out of the slave cylinder, into the plastic tube, and then into the can. Repeat the process: open, pull and hold, close. You will see alot of air come out on the first few tries- you are basically priming the system and filling all the lines back up with fluid. You will be able to do this a few times before things start to firm up, at which point you need someone to pump the clutch pedal for you. The same process will apply- you will open the bleed screw, they will push and hold the clutch pedal (it will probably go straight to the floor anyway), and then you will close the screw. Repeat until you see no more air in your plastic tubing. Keep an eye on the clutch master cylinder, and make certain to keep it topped off with fluid. After you are certain there is no more air, close the bleed screw down tight, and dispose of the spent fluid- it is no good to reuse. You will have to pump the clutch several times after bleeding to build the pressure back up in the system, at which point the clutch pedal should return to it's normal position on its own, not rest on the floor. Replace the air filter box, tighten down the two bolts to the mounts, tighten the hose clamp back onto the throttle body, and reattach the breather lines. You are done!
This is a quick modifications page on how to change out your stock rubber clutch line for a braided stainless steel line on a 2000 Impreza RS- other models will be very similar. This will result in a more solid feel to your shifts and more positive clutch engagement. This page is also useful to those who wish to bleed their clutch line or lubricate the slave cylinder piston and clutch fork, as I cover those here as well. Tools required are very minimal, and include a pair of pliers, an 8mm socket, a 10mm socket, a 14mm socket, and a 10mm open ended wrench. Any questions or comments may be directed towards me here. I will answer any questions that I am able to.
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2005/07/1clutch-2.jpg
In order to access the clutch cable and master/slave cylinders, you have to remove the stock intake plenum from the throttle body. The yellow dot is the hose clamp holding the air box to the throttle body, and requires an 8mm socket (or a flat head screwdriver) to undo. The 2 red dots are simple bolts that can be removed with a 10mm socket. The 3 blue dots indicate the 3 breather lines attached to the stock airbox. Remove all these to gain access to the work area.
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2005/07/2clutch-2.jpg
This is what you will see with the airbox out of the way- I've labelled all the major points of interest that pertain to this little project.
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2005/07/3clutch-2.jpg
This is another "road map" photo- the big red dot marks the slave clutch cylinder, the blue dot is the banjo bolt holding the stock clutch line in, and the yellow dot marks the dust boot over the bleed nipple, which will be important later on. For reference, this picture was taken from the driver's side of the engine bay. You will need to undo the banjo bolt (requires a 14mm socket) so that you can drain the fluid in the clutch system.
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2005/07/4clutch-2.jpg
With that bolt removed, I stuck the clutch line into a soda can. I then proceeded to go and pump the fluid out using the clutch pedal. After one or two pumps, all the pressure in the system will be gone, and the pedal will go to the floor and stay there. Has a seat on the ground, and start pushing and pulling on the clutch pedal until you empty out the fluid. Dispose of this fluid wherever you dispose of oil or brake fluid in your area (most shops that sell oil will recycle old fluids for you).
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2005/07/5clutch-2.jpg
With the fluid drained, trace your way back along the clutch line towards the firewall. There is a bracket holding the far end, but it is very hard to see. If you remove the bracket holding the return coolant line from the cabin of the car (it's attached to the mount for the pitch stop bushing- I marked the pitch stopper with a red dot in this picture) you will have better access to it.
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2005/07/6clutch-2.jpg
This bracket comes off very easily- it is only held on by one 12mm bolt.
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2005/07/7clutch-2.jpg
With the bracket and coolant line out of the way, you will be greeted by the far end of the clutch cable. This is a VERY tight area to work in, so watch your knuckles. Remove the 10mm nut on the far end of the clutch cable first thing. Righty tighty, lefty loosely applies, so you will want to turn this nut towards the driver's side of the car. Be careful with this nut- it rounds off easily! With the nut off, you can then remove the clip holding the clutch line in with a pair of pliers. DO NOT remove this clip first, as it will keep the clutch line from turning while you are trying to undo the 10mm nut. If all else fails and you cannot get that nut to budge or if it starts to round off on you, there is a harder way to go at this so you do not ruin the nut. It became my only option when the 10mm nut rounded off on me. That proceedure is described below.
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2005/07/9clutch-2.jpg
This is another 10mm nut (that is much easier to get at) on the left side of the clutch master cylinder. Remove this nut by turning it back towards the firewall. Next, you are going to remove the whole bracket that is holding the far end of the clutch cable in place. It is held on by a single 12mm nut, located on the bottom of the mount that is on the firewall for the pitch stop bushing.
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2005/07/10clutch-2.jpg
This picture is very hard to get, but it is of the 12mm nut holding the aforementioned bracket on. With this nut removed, you should be able to very easily pull the whole clutch line assembly out of the engine bay and loosen the 10mm nut holding the stock rubber clutch line to the bent metal line. You can then return the metal line and the bracket to the engine bay in reverse order, making certain to tighten the 10mm nut connecting the metal line to the clutch master cylinder down.
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2005/07/11clutch-2.jpg
This is the stock rubber clutch line. It is protected by a spiral of plastic anti-abrasion material. You may wish to remove and reuse this. In my case, the stainless line has a clear abrasion coating, so this was not neccessary in my case.
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2005/07/12clutch-2.jpg
Now it gets easy. Just screw the 10mm bolt into the new clutch line, tightening it down well. Run the new line up towards the master cylinder. Run it UNDER the pitch stop bushing, so that the new line does not get crushed against the airbox when the engine is started. At this point, you can reattach the bracket for the coolant line to it's proper place on the pitch stop mount.
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2005/07/13clutch-2.jpg
The clutch line I purchased came with a new banjo bolt and two new washers. You can reuse the stock ones if your did not come with them. You place a washer on the banjo bolt, then put the clutch cable on, then the other washer. This is bolted down as a whole into the clutch slave cylinder.
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2005/07/14clutch-2.jpg
You are nearly done. This is where the bleed nipple comes into play. Attach a small piece of clear plastic tubing to the bleed nipple, and get your can to catch the fluid expelled from the slave cylinder. The tubing needs to be clear, so that you can see any air bubbles as they come out- you are not done bleeding until you get no more air out of the system.
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2005/07/15clutch-2.jpg
You can start the bleed process yourself by hand. Fill the clutch master cylinder to the fill mark (using your favorite brand of DOT 3 or 4 brake fluid, be it synthetic or organic) and cap it back off. Turn the bleed screw to open it, grab the top of the clutch fork, pull on it AND HOLD IT, then close the bleed screw. You should get a squish of fluid out of the slave cylinder, into the plastic tube, and then into the can. Repeat the process: open, pull and hold, close. You will see alot of air come out on the first few tries- you are basically priming the system and filling all the lines back up with fluid. You will be able to do this a few times before things start to firm up, at which point you need someone to pump the clutch pedal for you. The same process will apply- you will open the bleed screw, they will push and hold the clutch pedal (it will probably go straight to the floor anyway), and then you will close the screw. Repeat until you see no more air in your plastic tubing. Keep an eye on the clutch master cylinder, and make certain to keep it topped off with fluid. After you are certain there is no more air, close the bleed screw down tight, and dispose of the spent fluid- it is no good to reuse. You will have to pump the clutch several times after bleeding to build the pressure back up in the system, at which point the clutch pedal should return to it's normal position on its own, not rest on the floor. Replace the air filter box, tighten down the two bolts to the mounts, tighten the hose clamp back onto the throttle body, and reattach the breather lines. You are done!