Clutch Slave Cylinder Replacement

Well I have a 2003 ST1300 with 25,000 miles on it and noticed that over a period of time I was loosing clutch fluid but could not figure where. Well I figured where unfortunately, it is coming from the weep hole at the slave clutch cylinder. "Clutch works fine" just the annoying leak as I have to refill clutch reservoir from time to time.

This might be a silly question but is it a problem to just apply a RTV sealant over the weep hole? I know the inner oil seal and or piston seal needs to be replaced but since the clutch works fine would it cause and issue with the slave cylinder piston to not work properly and or other issues? The cost to pull engine and replace slave clutch cylinder is about $90.00 and hour, Honda indicates seven hours labor= $630.00, so your looking at about $900.00 for the job after taxes and parts. Lets just round it off at $1000.00

It won't last. The silicone that is.

You don't have to pull the engine to replace the slave cylinder. The manual is incorrect. It's a fairly simple swap. Just unbolt the old and bolt up the new. Bleed and your good to go.

Meeting with another shop "Not Honda" today to have them take a look. Its in a difficult area for sure and would require a lift to properly do the job in my opinion and small hands.

Honda shop manual states to pull the engine to change it out.
Other threads talked about the one dreaded bolt to get at.
See if you can take some pictures on how to get to that one bolt.

Bluesrider just had his slave cylinder replaced and the experienced Honda tech at his dealer did not have to drop the engine to do it. It was just a couple hours labor IIRC.

Its easier if you have it up on a tabletop lift so you can see what your doing....and no, you do not need to drop the engine! 1/4 inch drive tools will help give you the clearance you need.

Do it your self and save the money.

Yea I did not think so on having to pull engine, going to try and contact "Rick" Bluesrider he lives in Tampa Florida and I live in Orlando FL and get some info from him as he had his slave clutch replaced and they did not remove engine.

Contacted Rick"Bluesrider" and he gave me the name of the shop to have it done over in Sarasota Fl. which is about 100 miles from where I live but its worth it in cost savings. Three hours labor $75.00 for the slave cylinder. Thanks a bunch.

Russ WIlson said:

Contacted Rick"Bluesrider" and he gave me the name of the shop to have it done over in Sarasota Fl. which is about 100 miles from where I live but its worth it in cost savings. Three hours labor $75.00 for the slave cylinder. Thanks a bunch.

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If no one else will do it I'll give Hap's Cycle Sales in Sarasota, FL their props.

Well I called a couple Honda places near where I lived but they want to follow what the book says in pulling the engine just so they can charge $90.00 and hour. Even when I told them the engine does not need to be removed and they know that. So to make a long story short they lost my business and I will never buy a single part from them or ever bring my bike to them as I feel they are trying to rip me off. I could probably get another shop to do it other than Honda but I would rather have somebody that is familiar with the ST if you know what I mean.

Glad you found someone to help you out with this repair, keep us posted on the final outcome.

Russ,
Are you taking it to the shop that Rick took his too.
If you do, it sure would be nice if you can take a few pictures on how they do it without pulling the engine.
Al

Yes going to take it where Rick took his. Going to try and set up and appointment for next week. I will try and take pictures if they don't mind of them installing slave cylinder. Cost is about three hours labor.

Yea me to. They have been in business for 60 years.

With nearly 70 thousand miles on the odo and with the help of my riding buddy we installed the new slave cylinder i have had on the shelf a while. This was not as hard as i thought it was going to be. I would not have been able to do this without my friend Ken's help. He is a top notch wrench spinner, plus with the size of my hands i would not have been able to get up in there to take everything apart. We did this on my HF bench and it made the job a lot easier than crawling around on the floor. Stella was tipped over on her side stand and with a MC tie down wrapped around a nearby post and to the tip over bar she did not go anywhere. After 2 hours and a few choice words aimed at mother Honda the job was complete. The only thing we did not do was change out the gasket. Yea Larry I Go Far i know it should have been changed out, but it was still in good shape. We cleaned it up with a good fast drying cleaner, let it dry for awhile and used a high quality high temp silicone put on the cylinder side and installed it with 3 new crush washers on the banjo bolt. No leaks. So far. Without the aide of of vacuum pump it took almost an hour to bleed the system out. I'm going to have to invest in one of those. Any one have a particular brand they like? So i all i have left to do is make sure she is still dry, clean up my mess and button her back up today. Later!

peterz said:

[...] Without the aide of of vacuum pump it took almost an hour to bleed the system out. I'm going to have to invest in one of those. Any one have a particular brand they like? [...]

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Mighty Vac - any auto parts store.

OkieRider said:

Mighty Vac - any auto parts store.

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Thanks!!