Cut to the chase.. I believe the RodneyDickman.com Clutch Slave to be better quality then the Fiero Store or Delco/other auto parts store slaves. If you want to know how/why I came to that conclusion, here is my longwinded explanation:
The OEM Original Getrag slave was a steel cylinder, welded up, and painted black. They were very good quality, and seemesd to last for years. Now, the majority of aftermarket ones are seemingly all cast iron, while the Rodney Dickman one is aluminum. Based on some Pennocks experiences, II believe the Delco one is just a re-branded Wagner (or similar) Cast iron one and just like the Fiero Store.
Before Rodney came up with the Aluminum ones he sells, I installed a "Fiero Store" Slave cylinder into my Formula. Due to some problems with my swap, I only got 100 miles on it over the course of a year or 2. It was garaged in between breakdowns.
Unfortunately, it seemed like I had to re-bleed the clutch about 3-4 times over those (whopping) 100 miles of drive time. Because of this, I got frustrated, and purchased a RodneyDickman.com Aluminum, dual seal slave.
When physically comparing the two slaves, there is quite a difference. The Fierostore one only has a single seal (which looks to have begun breaking down after 100 miles), and the push rod comes to a semi-sharp point. The Rodney Dickman one has two seals, and the push rod is rounded, just like the original was. Why does the push rod point matter to me? On the Getrags, the shift arm seems to wear down over time. If you compare the contact area of a brand new one, to the contact area of a high mile used one, you will see a lot of material missing. Mine was about 1/4 inch worn into the clutch arm. Our clutch hydraulics already have tight tolerances, so adding a good 1/4 inch less to the clutch arm throw kinda blows. I feel the pointy rod would wear/damage this area more then a nice, rounded rod, and possibly wear down quicker too.
Below is the wear of old clutch arm, to new. Notice how deep the wear becomes:
Below is a 100 mile FieroStore slave next to Rodney's aluminum slave. Note the corrosion on the FS model, and that was AFTER I'd painted it silver (cheap engine paint, no primer). The Aluminum slave will never rust.
Here are the Slave piston rods. Note the Fiero store one comes to a sharpish point, which will wear on the already fragile tranny lever. The Dickman one is rounded, like the original was:
Here is the single seal piston on the FieroStore one:
Here is a closer area of the Single Seal Fiero Store. Note the rubber-goop that was making its way past the seal:
Here is the Rodney Dickman one. Note the two rubber seals.. double protection.
This is all just my opinion. I am not a mechanic, just an avid Fiero enthusiast! Unfortunately, as of this post, I haven't put any miles on the Rodney slave yet, so I will chime in after 100 miles to compare if I had to re-bleed, or had any issues. As of now, though, I'd definitely say the Rodney slave is superior in build quality.
[This message has been edited by smartaxel (edited 06-08-2010).]
