Sachs Internal Clutch Slave Cylinder Failure @60K miles

[E Showell]

My Sachs (OEM) clutch slave cylinder failed at 60,000 miles. FCP has advised they will warranty the full clutch kit. That's some solace, but cold comfort really when a clutch job is about 10 hours of labor and I won't be doing the replacement myself -- i.e., I'll be paying a shop to do it.

Has anyone else had a similar bad experience with the Sachs internal clutch slave cylinder? Just curious if this is a known-to-be-problematic part. I believe Sachs is the OEM supplier on the internal clutch slave cylinder.

[RussB]

Ouch!

At over 200k miles I'll be looking at a clutch replacement somewhere in the near future. I already have some chatter in first gear

[cn90]

Yeah,

This is a bummer b/c the Volvo engineers placed the slave inside the bell housing!
In the BMWs, replacing slave is very easy because it is mounted on the outside.

[tryingbe]

Early M56H, slave is on the outside of the bell housing, in the later ones, they were switched to the inside. Still call M56H.

I have three M56H with speedo sensor, (93-95), all slaves are on the outside.

[E Showell]

My original clutch went to 229.5 K miles. Mechanic said it was the second oldest original clutch he'd seen.

[JimBee]

If I needed a reason to stick with my 850's, which I don't really because they have been reliable and fun to drive and having brought them back from the brink I know them quite well (though still learning on some of the electrical aspects), it would be their externally mounted clutch cylinder. I have a couple that I've pulled from j.y. cars in inventory; so far haven't needed to change one. I would find it pretty discouraging if I had to pull the transmission to change a clutch cylinder.

Further rambling...
My '93 and 96 850 manuals have about 170k and 160k miles and the clutches feel good. Both have a bit of chatter if I engage them slowly at an idling rpm, but with a little rpm pulling through the friction zone they're smooth. Transmissions running on Amsoil shift smoothly and are quiet. The '93 that I drive through Minneapolis winters (now in its 7th) amazes me for its starting and general reliability and driveability. Walks through 4 or 5 inches of snow easily, stable on the road, etc.

I will acknowledge though the gas mileage I just checked on the '93 is pretty bad—around 16 mpg. Most of my driving is short distances, so cold starts and probably running rich for most of the short trips. I think it was rich even in warmer weather, which might be the coolant sensor which I haven't changed. Given this, I'm surprised it starts as well as it does (instantly!) and runs smoothly and reliably. I can round a tight corner at an intersection and accelerate gently up to 20 to 30 mph in third gear with no misfiring, hesitation, etc. It's doesn't speed up spiritedly, but does come up to speed without hesitation. At $1.75 per gallon, I'm not too concerned about the mpg's as long it's running well. Compared to what I'd otherwise spend on public transit without the freedom to go when and exactly where I want, the ~ ten cents per mile seems well worth it.

When the engine temp is warm, I do goose it up to 4k or 4500 a couple of times during most short trips to somewhat clear out residue from rich running.

Long live the 850s!

[oragex]

From reading european forums (http://volvoforums.org.uk/) where manual transmissions are more common, the slave cylinder is a well known issue. 60k miles is not unusual for the original part, I'm guessing Sachs is not much different.

[abscate]

We don't see that failure rate here, which I suspect is longer highway runs in the Colonoies plus we don't drive UK crazy.

[kranz]

I have a '98 V70 NA that is about to turn 200K. It has the original factory clutch and hydraulics. The only failure I've had was the hydraulic line between slave and master cylinders. I am also blessed with the "internal" slave cylinder.

[E Showell]

My original slave went to 229.5K and was only replaced because it was old, and the clutch was getting changed.