Real Fiero Tech

Rodney Dickman invested in a production run of cast aluminum slave cylinders for the Fiero Getrag 282. This is the first aluminum slave cylinder available for the Getrag, and the first aftermarket slave to have a proper piston that doesn't leak all the time. I received one yesterday and installed it today to replace my aging aftermarket iron slave cylinder, which I've been using with an OEM piston so it works most of the time.

I took apart Rodney's slave cylinder to inspect the construction. It's top quality.

The aluminum is absolutely top notch quality. It looks like the casting on a good Holset compressor housing. Smooth, no voids, no obvious parting line, etc. The machining is also top notch. No tool marks whatsoever. It definitely looks like it was CNC machined with all new tooling.

The piston seems to be coated steel; it feels too heavy to be aluminum. It too is machined very well. There are two stiff seals on the piston, they are just like the factory GM seals, not like the flimsy aftermarket slave cylinder umbrellas.

The threads are very cleanly cut; no grit was felt while turning the bleeder screw in and out, and while installing the fluid line. I gravity bled it once, pumped the pedal a few times, then gravity bled it again. No more bubbles, nice solid pedal, and it looks great compared to the old rusty iron slave, and even compared to the factory steel slave.

The best part is they cost about the same amount as the useless aftermarket iron slaves.

They aren't on Rodney's web site yet, but you can email him to order them. I think he's working on a site redesign right now.

-Steven

Well I'm loosing fluid in my hydraulic system again, if I narrow it down to the slave I'll go this route. Thanks for the review man.

I recomend it for replacing the stock slave cylinder. I installed one of rodney's into my fiero and it has worked great.

wilwood with the name ground off?

p8ntman442 wrote:wilwood with the name ground off?

No, it's definitely a new casting and custom for the Fiero.. it has all the factory fitting styles and dimensions, and the quality is amazing. These are being made on brand new tooling.

Only problem i had with mine was when i was installing it into the car one of the tabs on the side of the mounting area got knicked aganst somthing pretty hard in the instalation process and it left a pretty big gouge where it hit but other than that the product is great.

pontiackid86 wrote:Only problem i had with mine was when i was installing it into the car one of the tabs on the side of the mounting area got knicked aganst somthing pretty hard in the instalation process and it left a pretty big gouge where it hit but other than that the product is great.

You fucked up the install, that has any relevance in the quality of Rodney's products how?

This is exactly why he is fussy on giving out parts to be tested, can't blame him there though.

In other news, my Rodney Dickman clutch pedal bushing disintegrated and took the cotter pin with it, so the pushrod fell off the pedal while I was getting onto the freeway. It almost left me stranded but I was able to make it to a gas station by shifting without the clutch and starting in first at stops, and had a spare pin with me to at least get the pedal connected again.

I emailed Rodney about it and he said he used to make them from sintered brass, but now makes them from solid brass so they don't disintegrate like mine did.

jelly2m81 wrote:

pontiackid86 wrote:Only problem i had with mine was when i was installing it into the car one of the tabs on the side of the mounting area got knicked aganst somthing pretty hard in the instalation process and it left a pretty big gouge where it hit but other than that the product is great.

You fucked up the install, that has any relevance in the quality of Rodney's products how?

This is exactly why he is fussy on giving out parts to be tested, can't blame him there though.

Did I say I was bitching about it? No, The product works fine. I was just stating that that happend and it was completley my fault. And I bought mine it wasent givin to me.

Great review. I'll keep this in mind if I have any problems with my slaves in the future.

Just ordered one. Pulled my car out of storage and had nothing but problems with engagement points and it feeling weak. I'm hoping its the slave cuz it has been the last 3 times.

Update:

The slave cylinder is still working GREAT! I wonder if Rodney plans to make a new aluminum master cyl too?

The only issue I've had so far is the bleeder likes to stick very badly. Might be worth putting a tiny bit of antisieze on the threads. The taper is what seals the liquid, so it shouldn't cause any harm.
The steel bleeder and aluminum slave do not get along, I guess.

When ever I do work on tubing, I always put anti-seize between the tube and the fitting and on the threads of the fitting. I've had enough old flare nuts seize to the tube and twist the tube off.

I installed one of Rodney's Getrag slave cylinders on a customer's car a couple weeks ago. It is a very good product. The outer surface is smoother than one would expect from a cast part. And the mounting flanges are precisely machined. Overall, it looks very "clean". It was also very easy to bleed, and performed flawlessly.

When my aftermarket slave cyl goes bad, I'm going to buy one of these.

I noticed the boot on my Rodney Dickman slave cylinder is cracking and about to fall apart. It looks like the material doesn't hold up very well in an engine bay. I have contacted him about getting a replacement.

In other news, Rodney has aluminum master cylinders now too, and they're only $70.

I have both on the Storm Trooper and the combo is an SOB to bleed. He doesn't make extra reservoir caps to use for pressure bleeding. He recommends vacuum bleeding, but you have to grease the threads of the bleeder screw in order not to suck air in around them.

I've never had a problem with gravity bleeding.

Didn't work for me on these units... dunno why.