it may simply be the adjustment procedure you are doing. after everything gets hooked up, and bled, loosen the bleeder screw and make sure the slave shaft is completely back in and seated. not doing this, as i have done in the past, will lead to a funny feel on the clutch and improper seal wear. makes the slave over extend in some cases causing premature failure. the rod should be adjusted to contact the fork, but not be a tight fit untill the spring is installed. basically no slack, touching if you will, but not be tight. about an inch of free travel at the pedal is all thats needed. as far as swapping the connection pipe/tube/line, i always just removed them and with carb cleaner and compressed air gave them a good cleaning. on one occaision i even used compressed air and a cotton ball soaked in brake fluid to "scrub" the inside of a line that had surface rust visable. blew it thru a couple time till the ball blew out clean. btw, the wife does not think its funny if a fluid soaked cotton ball is fired at her rear end...lol! if you use carb cleaner be sure to let it air dry for a while, dont want that in the fresh brake fluid.