I just did this today, so I thought I would make a post for it. Basically to give any non-mechanic type guy like myself a heads-up on what to expect and just show what I found.
First, its an easy to do repair/maintenance item so no fear here. On my 7M-GTE I just needed a 10 mm wrench, 17mm wrench and pliers (to pull the clip off) Of course.. being this is the first time I did it, I removed 2 things I did not need to, 1. the rock gaurd/plate the protects the engine from rocks/water when driving and 2. the rock guard that protects the brake/clutch line beside the subframe.
NOTE: on the TSRM Manual go here to read up on what to do...
MK3 TSRM On-Line
Here's a picture/explanation:
This is the clutch line / brakeline guard (one piece that I removed but could have left on)
Remember if you take these off, they are plastic, so overtightening the bolts will rip em up a bit... it just protects the union from the metal line coming from the clutch master cylinder where you connect the flexible line. I could have actually done this without taking it off, but it was easier with it off.
This is a picture of the area with the cover on... (and the old messy hose that was leaking)
The replacement hose will have c-rings on it that you do not have to remove. The plate you remove is on the other side of the hose (you can't see it here) Simply pulling it down will release the old hose after you remove the steel line.
This is the old hose, the clips you have to remove using pliers (or the tool that your supposed to, which I did not have.. so pliers worked just fine). The hose was cracking on the outside and leaking enough that I had to fill my reservoir about once every 4 days.
The plates on the right are found on the same side as the steel line that goes into this hose.
This is the new hose on the car and the guard replaced.. you can see the clip on this pic.
All in all ... should take you about 15 min maximum to change once you got the car up on stands or a hoist (pictures would have been much easier if it was on a hoist... hard to do photos properly when the car is on stands)
This is comparison of old and new hoses. In retrospect if I would have read more prior to doing this, I would have used the steel braided line. It costs less for the better after market version than it does to pick this up at the dealership. (by about $10.00)
You just use the 17 mm wrench on the new hose (behind the c-clip) and use the 10 mm on the steel line fitting (shown below)
Remember to have something to catch the fluid that comes out... messy...
This is a very simple process and I hope the pictures just let you know what you'll be looking at. Basically, if your slowly losing fluid, this is the first and easiest place to look. If this hose isnt leaking, its usually the clutch master cylinder.
I will deal with Bleeding the system on the next post.