master cylinder faulty - your opinion?

[l.e.star]

took my car to a seat dealer to have a clutch master cylinder.
so got that done friday and the receipt said tested ok. come saturday morning the pedal is sticking and im having to pull the pedal up.come saturday night driving down the road and the clutch pedal stuck to the floor and now when i pull it back up and push it back in theres no resistance at all as if its not connected to anything. called out the recovery he tried to bleed it on the roadside and said the fluid is frothing as if there is loads of air in there but couldnt get it done. also found its leaking brake/hydraulic fluid. the master cylinder has a years waranty on it.
if i take it back to the dealer where i got it fitted do you think they will charge me to fix or do it for free because of there fault ?????

 

[ArosaRacer]

Thats the clutch slave cylinder, ive had two go on my x plate cupra, i took mine back within a year and had to pay 60 pounds for a new one fitted

 

[DPJ]

Whichever dealer it is should be shot at dawn for misdiagnosing a problem then sending you out in a dangerous car.

 

[sheffboy]

Yep. that sounds like the slave cylinder. I've had mine go as well.

If your still on the original clutch you may as well get that changed at the same time as the whole bell housing has to come off to change the slave

 

[l.e.star]

it was seat dealership in leicester for future ref. so how much you reckon im looking at for a new slave cylinder on its own including labour?
and do you reckon they will replace it for free as a goodwill gesture for letting monkeys work on it and get it wrong. or will i still have to pay a fraction of the price for a new slave because they charged me for replacing a part that may have been working fine.
sorry for all the q's lads just need to know what to expect before i go down there tommoz and give them a ear bashing.

 

[Markyboyt]

it was seat dealership in leicester for future ref. so how much you reckon im looking at for a new slave cylinder on its own including labour?
and do you reckon they will replace it for free as a goodwill gesture for letting monkeys work on it and get it wrong. or will i still have to pay a fraction of the price for a new slave because they charged me for replacing a part that may have been working fine.
sorry for all the q's lads just need to know what to expect before i go down there tommoz and give them a ear bashing.

What fault were you experiencing before having the master cylinder changed?

If its the same fault then take it back and they should be at least finding the real cause FOC, if its a different fault then still take it back as it stands a good chance it could be something related to what they have done for it to happen so soon after.

Obviously if they find it to be a different fault then you will probs have to pay out for that but they should be looking for free.

 

[l.e.star]

cool before i got the master cylinder changed the pedal was really spongy and had a bit of play. when i first got in the car in the morning i would put my foot on the pedal nad there would be no resistance but after i pump the pedal a few times it would go normal.
i told the guy this at the dealers because they couldnt diagnose a problem and he said from what i have told him it sounds like the master cylinder as its common. im just hoping if it is the slave cylinder its not gonna cost too much. any ideas on aprice???

 

[Markyboyt]

cool before i got the master cylinder changed the pedal was really spongy and had a bit of play. when i first got in the car in the morning i would put my foot on the pedal nad there would be no resistance but after i pump the pedal a few times it would go normal.
i told the guy this at the dealers because they couldnt diagnose a problem and he said from what i have told him it sounds like the master cylinder as its common. im just hoping if it is the slave cylinder its not gonna cost too much. any ideas on aprice???

sounds to me like they have let you decide to have the master cylinder changed, in which case theres not really much come back if its not. Obviously if its something they have done to cause the fault then they are liable to fix it, but if it is the slave id imagine you might be on your own.

Not a cheap job though as the gearbox has to comeout to get access to it, its advised that if your clutch hasnt recently been replaced then you get it done while the gearbox is out.

 

[l.e.star]

nice one cheers for the post really helpfull but have you any idea on the price as at the min i have about 200 until payday in two weeks. my recovery breakdown says that they will take it to the garage but cant pick it up from the garage. my only concern is that it gets checked over by seat in the next couple of days and it is the slave cylinder and they want more then what i can afford to repair it and then im stuck because i cant afford the repairs plus to top it all off ive then got to somehow get my car back home until ive got the cash to take it back again unless you know if seat will do the repair until i can pay them or if they will store the car once the repair has been done and release it once ive paid them. any veiws or experiance on this.

 

[Markyboyt]

nice one cheers for the post really helpfull but have you any idea on the price as at the min i have about 200 until payday in two weeks. my recovery breakdown says that they will take it to the garage but cant pick it up from the garage. my only concern is that it gets checked over by seat in the next couple of days and it is the slave cylinder and they want more then what i can afford to repair it and then im stuck because i cant afford the repairs plus to top it all off ive then got to somehow get my car back home until ive got the cash to take it back again unless you know if seat will do the repair until i can pay them or if they will store the car once the repair has been done and release it once ive paid them. any veiws or experiance on this.

To do the slave cylinder will cost more than £200.
I can only comment on how things are at my work, but I would imagine they will keep your car there until you can pay for it to be fixed.

Personally what I would do is call them first thing in the morning, don't mention what you think the fault is or anything. just tell them that you had work done on your clutch on friday, come saturday morning your having trouble with the pedal sticking and describe the fault to them. They might even fetch it, but either way they should look into it for free to ensure its not something they have done, but clarify this with them before leaving it. Tell them that they will need to contact you if its something that you need to pay for as you spent up on friday.

 

[l.e.star]

sound mate thanx for the tips will try that tommorow thanx for all the advice will post an update.

 

[vee_dub_modder]

That ones a bit of a pain when they roll into a dealer. The master is the cheaper repair and always tried first as everyone would rather spend 100-200 then 400-500 especially if it cures it.

The dealer will replace it and then a 3 mile or so road test... if it doesn't occure on the road test its "fixed" as the dealer cant test drive indefinately luck of the draw at the end of the day!! still a pain in the ass though.

they wont give you money back on last repair but worth haggling on a price for the slave replaced (say trade or something??) worth a shot

Good luck anyways chap!!

 

[l.e.star]

well cars finally managed to be towed to seat after bein pushed and driven in second gear to half a mile away in order theo get recoverd as my recovery cover dont include homestart.
just waiting for seats call to deliver the bad news. but going back to the first post i dont think the car is actually leaking any brake fluid ive checked the resevoir and its still full think it might b a neighbours car leaking and ive parked over the spot.

 

[DMC1987]

dont wish to upset you but when my slave cylinder went over christmas it was £700!!

 

[l.e.star]

sod that now im hoping its not the slave im bloody brass at the mo was that with new clutch or just the slave.

 

[DMC1987]

was just the slave pal. i can relate to absolutely everything you have written in the thread so far cos my LCR was exactly the same. the part isnt that expensive but it was something like 6 hours labour 2 get at it. fingers crossed for you.

 

[matt-drummer]

My slave cylinder had to be replaced before Christmas, the cost including a new clutch was £480.

I would always replace the clutch when splitting the engine and gearbox, partly as a precaution but also because my experience has been that they never last that long when not replaced. I don't know what happens but I suspect its because once taken apart it doesn't go back together in exactly the same way and wear is accelerated.

£700 to replace just the slave cylinder is a lot, the part is £70 and I have been told that its four hours labour. The garage I used took longer than four hours to do the job although only charged me four hours as thats how long its supposed to take.

 

[l.e.star]

not a bad price inc clutch. ive just got it back from seat they said there was a leak on the pipe from the master cylinder so they have sealed it all up and bled the system to get all the air out. it was all done free of charge because it was to do with the install of the master cylinder i had done on friday.
but when they pulled my car up front when i got there the mec said he wasnt to confident with the feel of the pedal still so hes basically told me to see how it goes over the next few days and if any probs to call in.

 

[vee_dub_modder]

I was quoted £450 for slave fitted @ Seat, 700 will be about right for clutch & slave at a main dealer.
did it myself in the end... few hours and Gsf parts = a bargain

Glad to hear your finally sorted and back on the road star!!!

 

[seremotors]

to be fair, its always difficult to diagnose which cylinder is causing a fault - they both do the same job and will have been there the same length of time. we always make customers aware that it could be either one, but obviously start with the cheaper (master) cylinder and if it doesnt fix it, the expensive (slave) cylinder will also have to be done. its not just a VAG thing, same issue with every car with hydraulic clutch . . . . worth noting every genuine VAG part comes with 2 year warranty, not 1, and includes labour to replace.