Quality of aftermarket clutch slave cylinder?

[dwcains]

So, I'm looking for a slave cylinder for my 635, and the prices vary from $14.95 (metelli) to $26.98 (FTE) to ~$120 (OEM BMW). I know I'm not buying the Metelli, because I've used their crap on my Alfa's before, and the stuff is usually DOA. But what about the FTE parts - they have 2-year/24-month warranty. Any experiences with these? Thanks in advance.

[hornhospital]

I've had excellent service from FTE parts. Master and slave clutch cylinders on my 633, and clutch slave cylinder on my 325is. Several years in service with zero problems.

[dwcains]

Thanks, Ken. I just ordered the FTE part from FCP Euro, as I noticed they offer a lifetime warranty. $55 for the slave, a liter of ATE Typ 200 fluid, and Priority Mail shipping seemed like a great deal.

[dwcains]

Hi again, Ken - were the FTE hydraulics you bought made from plastic? The slave I bought from FCP Euro sure is, although it's a weird sort of plastic which is surely infused with some powdered meteal, like the PB Blaster epoxy. Semimonthly like a well-made part, though, so I installed it, and it feels fine. If anything, the cylinder won't be prone to corrosion, and it's got a slick feel to it, so maybe the seals will last longer, too.

[raykoke]

Dean was that slave in an FTE box and part labeled FTE?

I remember reading somewhere that one vendor had supplied non FTE when FTE was listed as the manufacturer on their website. I do not recall though, if it was FCP Euro.

I buy my schtuff from Blunttech. Steve won't supply lesser quality parts.

Cheers,

Ray

[dwcains]

It came in an FTE box. I'm not sure the plastic material is a bad thing, as the OEM slave in my 350Z is also plastic, and I know that's not uncommon. So far, 70K miles and it's still working. I've never had any issues dealing with FCP Euro, but when they offer several grades of a particular part, I so always avoid the cheapest, and everything they sell come with a lifetime replacement warranty.

[hornhospital]

All the FTE cylinders I got (two slaves and one master) were aluminum.

After thinking about the aluminum vs plastic, I believe you'll have less trouble with the engineering plastic version than a cast aluminum part. Zero chance of corrosion/pitting, the #1 cause of failed clutch and brake cylinders.

[dwcains]

Could be. It feels great, so for now I'm happy with it. The old one sure looked like hell, and AFAIK, it wasn't more than several years old. The fluid in it looked like rusty water, and I'm not sure why it was that bad. It was an ATE part, too, so not a piece of junk. Just to be safe, since I didn't know how old the fluid was, even though it was clean and clear, I hooked up the Motive pressure bleeder and flushed all the calipers with fresh ATE Typ 200.