We approached these style slave cylinders, and their known issues, the same way we did when we released the newer style billet bearing support back in 2014 -  and the results are just as fantastic! While these aren't noted as having nearly the catastrophic failures of the newer versions, they do suffer the issue of severe distortion during operation - especially in high heat/high abuse situations - which will lead to premature seal failure and a reduction in the overall lifespan of the slave cylinder. Just like their newer cousins, our billet bearing support for these style slave cylinders eliminate the premature failures that plague the factory cheap plastic internals. After installing this you will have the most robust OEM design/trouble free slave cylinder available for your 4th Gen Fbody, 2004-2006 GTO or C5 Corvette.

This installation guide will show you how to install our billet bearing support in your 2004-2006 GTO, 1998-2002 Fbody, or C5 Corvette style slave cylinder. It's been written to allow the average DIY customer the means to perform this install with ease.

Before we get started there is something to note - there are cheap aftermarket slave cylinders that use a very old style release bearing that our supports are not compatible with. As a matter of fact, if you find yourself with one of these kinds of slave cylinders we do not recommend using them - we recommend you return them and purchase a new genuine slave like the compatible one shown that we sell. The slave cylinders pictured above are the two styles in the market, the one on the right is NOT compatible with our supports and should not be used, the style on the left is the style that is recommended and compatible with our supports.

Here you can see the factory slave cylinder for a 1998-2002 Fbody on the left and our upgraded billet bearing support on the right. Don't worry, the overall design of the three different slave cylinders are all the same - the hydraulic fittings and bleeder ports are the only thing that differs between these models.

Start by removing the release bearing from the slave, they simply pull off.

Here you can see the "lip" that retains the release bearing on the slave and keeps the assembly from coming apart. You will grip the part like the image above, squeeze the sides and rotate counterclockwise, while pulling it apart simultaneously (squeeze, twist, pull) - this should "pop" apart very easily.

Once that pops off your setup should look like the image above - the next step will be to separate the housing from the release bearing support base.

The four "tabs" on the support base will align with the four "reliefs" on the new billet bearing support. These tabs are very easy to remove by hand - you don't need a screwdriver as that can break them. Start with one and work your way around, the housing is very flexible so it's easy to work the outer housing away from the tabs as you remove them.

When separated fully it should look like this. The only thing you're keeping from the old bearing support is the "outer housing" that is below - the rest you can discard as it will no longer be used.

Next up is putting the "outer housing" on the new billet bearing support. These are designed to fit tight - Start with one and work your way around, making sure that each part is firmly "locked" into place. All four clips should look like the image above and the support should be fully seated in the housing.

Now that those are done your part should look like the image above - make sure it's fully seated all the way around.

There are only two things left to do at this point, one is to smear moly grease (a good quality wheel bearing grease will do) inside the center of the bearing support so that it fills the cavities that we machine into the piece to "hold" grease - the other is to clip the release bearing back onto the part. When you're done it should look like the image above - except your should have grease!

From this point all you have to do is put the spring back onto the slave and then simply push this part back on and you're ready to go! Make sure that you wipe away any excess grease that is left over, you do not want that getting onto your clutch. Of course, we recommend that you leave the spring off so that you can measure the clutch gap setup without having to fight the spring, and to confirm you've fully compressed the slave cylinder - once all your measuring is done you're good to put that spring back in place.

There you have it! You've just installed the new billet bearing support for the older style GM slave cylinders and you can rest easy knowing your slave won't try and kill itself due to the subpar internals GM gave us from the factory.