LUK Clutch Master Cylinder now different product?

[jpsuli]

Recently had an issue with my clutch master cylinder I ordered back in June where the clutch became spongy at the top end, I contacted rockauto and ordered a replacement.

The following is what I had, a LUK part, and similar to the one I got 2 years ago on my 97:
luk_1.jpg
luk_2.jpg

This is what I received in a LUK box:
dif_1.jpg
dif_2.jpg

The original LUK design seems to be of plastic and made in the USA, the new one is made in China and is all metal.

It seems to be a rebranded variant of this product on ebay. I can't find anything that looks the same on RockAuto.

Not sure how I feel about it, the car doesn't have the spongy feeling, but the actuation of the clutch definitely doesn't feel as smooth and has a slight squeak to it.

[me.theuser]

TBH I think I like the metal one better (quality control might be questionable)
other than that I doubt there is much difference, I wish they had switched over to metal lines too...

Is that a bleeder I see at the top of your new metal one?
I don't remember there being one on the plastic cylinders..

[hholbein]

I replaced my clutch master & slave cylinder this summer after too much hot weather squeaking. Mine was a Luk purchased on Amazon, and it looked exactly like the original. Much quieter and shifts better too, although installing it with the ABS system was a royal PITA.

America's trade deficit with China has grown hugely in the past four years.... Oh well.....

[SlayZombi]

This is an improvement. I actually had the LUK plastic master cylinder and within the day it wouldn't even let me put the car in gear... junk.

[jpsuli]

Welp looks like it has the squeaking problem. I thought it was the clutch pedal squeaking against the pivoting point of the rod, but grease didn't assist with that.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/FRDWraK5WtH1wbiW7

[jpsuli]

Schaeffler has responded to my email regarding the quality:

"According to what I see we only have the plastic hydraulic release system. I would suggest contacting Rock Auto and seeing if they got a wrong part in the box shipped out to you."

I forwarded it to RockAuto who said I should just return it for a full refund, and re-order it if I want another - but they couldn't confirm if this is the new norm for these clutches.

The return reason after the rep sent me that email is 'misboxed', so this may have been a one-off but I am curious as to how it got there (possibly someone returned a cheap unit for the LuK one(?) and I just got the 'unopened' return). Speculation, but glad RockAuto responded quickly and covering all costs for me.

[macbox]

The one I got from Rock Auto about a year ago that went into my rebuild squeaks, same kind of squeak too. Have not made it a priority to look at it, but if it's not the pivot, it's where the rod goes into the master cylinder. It doesn't have the tan master/slave cylinders, and looked very much like OEM.

[hholbein]

Originally Posted by macbox

The one I got from Rock Auto about a year ago that went into my rebuild squeaks, same kind of squeak too. Have not made it a priority to look at it, but if it's not the pivot, it's where the rod goes into the master cylinder. It doesn't have the tan master/slave cylinders, and looked very much like OEM.

Well that's annoying! Mine used to squeak when it got >85F. I quieted down my clutch cylinder by injecting Sylglyde into the pushrod/boot on the drivers side of the firewall. Worked for 3 years or so, then the squeak started coming back, so I replaced it. Car shifts better too.

[Dbad]

Originally Posted by hholbein

Well that's annoying! Mine used to squeak when it got >85F. I quieted down my clutch cylinder by injecting Sylglyde into the pushrod/boot on the drivers side of the firewall. Worked for 3 years or so, then the squeak started coming back, so I replaced it. Car shifts better too.

How did you do this injection? Squeeze it from the tube or use some kind of tool?

[hholbein]

Originally Posted by Dbad

How did you do this injection? Squeeze it from the tube or use some kind of tool?

I used one of those plastic oral syringes with a 2 inch skinny nozzle to squirt the Sylglide behind the dust seal, then worked the clutch pedal in & out to distribute it around.

It's a bit awkward getting under the dash, but not too bad.

[Dbad]

Originally Posted by hholbein

I used one of those plastic oral syringes with a 2 inch skinny nozzle to squirt the Sylglide behind the dust seal, then worked the clutch pedal in & out to distribute it around.

It's a bit awkward getting under the dash, but not too bad.

Great, thanks for the tip. Mine's not installed yet so I'm thinking of doing this proactively.

[jpsuli]

Quick update to this, the LUK Amazon unit I got as a replacement is the black plastic-type as you would expect; installed it without any issue and have been operating as normal.

If you get the metal one, I recommend you contact the seller as LUK has confirmed that they are not selling this, at least from the person I was in contact with.

[Dbad]

Originally Posted by jpsuli

Quick update to this, the LUK Amazon unit I got as a replacement is the black plastic-type as you would expect; installed it without any issue and have been operating as normal.

If you get the metal one, I recommend you contact the seller as LUK has confirmed that they are not selling this, at least from the person I was in contact with.

Can you link to the Amazon page? I also ordered from Amazon in January and received the metal unit:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[jpsuli]

Originally Posted by Dbad

Can you link to the Amazon page? I also ordered from Amazon in January and received the metal unit:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

This is the exact unit I purchased.

[Dbad]

Originally Posted by jpsuli

This is the exact unit I purchased.

Two different LuK reps told me the units are supposed to be plastic, but I can't help but wonder if LuK corporate didn't source units from China at some point. The first rep responded to me on Amazon and the second one was a guy from Schaeffler's techline who basically had the part pulled from their warehouse, looked at it and said, "Yep, plastic."

I dunno. If it's a fake, it's a good one.






I sent it back today. Hope I did the right thing.

[Dbad]

Just got notified that Amazon will not post my review in which I quoted the responses from LuK saying that what I received is not their product. So if you buy from Amazon, just know that there is a chance you'll get the Chinese metal version—which may or may not be OK.