Clutch master cylinder, repair or replace?

[SteveA]

Has anyone had experience of repairing, eg fitting new seals, to their clutch master cylinder? I've got the obvious signs of clutch fluid going down and a damp patch on the carpet, but with my previous cars I've been able to fit new seals when the master cylinders fail. Is there any reason why I should not bother with the FAG one on my E21?

Thanks

[e21-Mark]

Depends on condition of the cylinder bores and how much you can get repair kit for? You can clean up dirty bores with a bit of fine grade emery cloth but if the bore is too badly scratched or corroded it'll just leak again plus you'll have wasted the cost of the repair kit.
I have some genuine M/cyls @ £45 plus p&p although there is a post that has some LHD items @ £16 plus. He reckons they're the same although they're totally different part numbers / listings on parts site. I'd fit a new one personally.

http://bmwfans.info/parts/catalog/E21/S ... ry/browse/

[SteveA]

Just to close this one off, I managed to get a master cylinder from my local independent motor store that they had down as being an alternative for my car.




As you can see, it is shorter and the outlet is on the side rather than the end. Unfortunately for me, it did not fit as the outlet goes straight onto the distributor. I have since put new seals in my old master cylinder as the bores still look good and it has not leaked yet.

[tommi_e21]

did you send the replacment back?