The 2G’s came with a very weird orifice bolted to the bottom of the transmission in factory form. This is called the clutch accumulator. A hydraulic accumulator is a pressure storage reservoir in which a non-compressible hydraulic fluid is held under pressure that is applied by an external source. An accumulator enables a hydraulic system to cope with extremes of demand using a less powerful pump, to respond more quickly to a temporary demand, and to smooth out pulsations. It is a type of energy storage device.
In simple terms, the accumulator on our 2G transmission is to reduce vibrations you may feel from the pedal. With that said, deleting the clutch accumulator doesn’t improve shifting or anything of that nature. But, it gets rid of about 5lbs of weight and allows you to run a SS Braided clutch line. With that said, you shouldn’t remove the accumulator until you have purchased the correct SS Braided clutch line and are ready to install it. Otherwise, you will essentially end up doing double the work and it makes things a bit more organized in the process.
Text by AJ Hunsinger // Photos by matta
Removing the Accumulator:
Before we get started, you will need the following:
- 10mm line wrench (must be a line wrench)
- Dot 4 brake fluid (small jar is fine), this is what the clutch system uses for fluid
- 14mm boxed-end wrench
- Shop manual
- Long flathead screwdriver
- Pliers
- Clear plastic tubing 3/8 OD x 1/4 ID (for bleeding the air from the line afterwards)
- Catch can for the brake fluid you bleed out
- CLEAN rags (important, make sure they are clean)
- 1 or 2 friends to help bleeding the air out of the system (I did it by myself but it took a lot longer)
- 12mm socket and ratchet
-Look at the clutch line section in the shop manual and notice where there is a accumulator in the middle of the hydraulic line. The line bends around in a circle. This is what you are going to take out.
-Pop your hood and get a visual on this little sucker. It will be bolted to the front passenger side of your transaxle and have a rubber hose and a steel line going into the top of it. These lines are just like the brake lines on your car so, once you think you have found the accumulator make sure and follow the lines down to the clutch on the bottom of the transaxle. For those of you who have large hands like me, you might want to remove the large air hose that goes from your MAS to the turbo (this will make the job easier but it is not necessary). The accumulator itself is about 4″-5″ tall and 3″ wide and is on a bracket that is bolted to the front of the transaxle.
-Get out that 10mm LINE wrench. (Do not try this with a 10mm boxed-end wrench as you WILL strip the nut) Loosen the line that comes up from your clutch (not the clutch pedal, but the clutch itself) and goes to the top of the accumulator.
-Jack up the car (using standard safety practices, braces, etc.) and get under it. Loosen the nut on the line that goes into the rubber line which is mounted on the accumulator bracket.
-The rubber line that goes into your accumulator has a clip that holds it in place, this clip is on the underside of the bracket. Remove this clip with the pliers and the long screwdriver.
-Completely unscrew both of the lines. Do not worry about air getting into the system, as you will bleed that out later. Just make sure that no dirt gets in at all. One little grit can still be dangerous to any hydraulic system.
-Unbolt the four 12mm bolts that hold the accumulator to the transaxle, and remove the accumulator. Put this in a plastic zip-lock bag or something because it is full of brake fluid and will make an awful mess otherwise.
-Now, the object is to connect the line that comes up from your clutch and went to the accumulator, to the rubber line that went into the accumulator, just without the accumulator in between. This will take some VERY CAREFUL bending of the steel line to mate it up with the rubber line. This is one of the reasons that I suggested waiting to delete the accumulator until after you buy your SS Braided clutch line.
-Double check to make sure that there is no dirt or contaminates on the flare, the flare seat, the male threads or the female threads. Connect the two lines, using your 10mm line wrench and the 14mm boxed-end wrench. Check your manual for the proper torque spec if necessary.
Once the accumulator is off and the stock hard lines are connected, you will now need to bleed your clutch system. Click here to see how to bleed your clutch.
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