tripingeorge3

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HOW TO PROPERLY BLEED A HYDRAULIC CLUTCH


MAKE CERTAIN TO FOLLOW THIS PROCEDURE BEFORE TEST DRIVING THE CAR. 1. Inspect and fill clutch master cylinder reservoir with appropriate hydraulic oil. You will want to check this during the bleeding process making sure it doesn't run out or you will get air into the system again. Leave cap off of reservoir.
2. Have your friend camp in the drivers seat to push in and let out the clutch pedal when you tell him to.
3. During this procedure DO NOT allow your friend to "pump" the clutch pedal.
4. You will be opening and closing the bleed screw on the slave cylinder as instructed below. CAUTION: During this procedure protect your eyes from squirting brake fluid by using a small hose and a soda bottle. Brake fluid is nasty stuff so wear gloves.
5. (Helper) Press clutch pedal in fully and hold.
6. (You) Open the bleed screw to allow fluid to escape.
7. (You) Close bleed screw quickly.
8. (Helper) Release pedal completely
9. (You) Top off fluid in reservoir. Leave cap off of reservoir.
10. Repeat steps #6 - #9 no less than 10 times before going to #12 below. NO PUMPING!
11. Now you will want to purge the slave cylinder of any air bubbles that might be trapped inside of it.
12. Grab the clutch fork and push towards the slave cylinder pushing the rod all of the way into the slave cylinder as far as it will go AND HOLD it in.
13. (You) open bleed valve and command helper to push the clutch down slowly purging any air that was trapped in the slave cylinder
14. (Helper) As soon as the pedal hits the floor command your bleeder monkey to close the valve before you let the pedal return from the floor.
15. Repeat steps #6 - #9 one last time and proceed to the clutch reality check.

The easiest way to do the reality check of the clutch is to get all four tires in the air by placing the car on a hoist.
1. Start the engine and put the car into 1st gear.
2. Slowly let the clutch out until the wheels start to turn round and round.
3. Now slowly push the clutch in until the wheel stop turning. Hold the clutch at this position.
4. At this point the clutch pedal should be at least 2-3 inches off the carpet. If not then the clutch needs adjustment and/or the clutch needs to be inspected for issues that are causing it not to release fully.
The reason why the clutch should be this far off the floor at the engagement point is to allow enough room for movement of the clutch disc so it finds a nice center position between the flywheel and pressure plate. While this may be a tedious method to make sure clutch is functioning properly but this is the preferred method and the true reality check for where the clutch releases.

SbFormula

In case you do a complete hydraulic clutch linkage change (master and slave), no need to follow the procedure above. It's way too complicated.

The procedure above is when all components are bolted to their location. It is difficult to get rid of the air through the bleeder due to its location. It's problematic to try pushing the air trapped in the master because the master is angled upward and is way above the bleeder. Air goes UP not down. That's why they instruct to repeat ("no less than 10 times"). With the procedure below, you are pushing air upward. It's like a bench bleeding procedure.

This can be done on your own.

1) Install all component loose in the engine bay where they are supposed to go, making sure the master cylinder is not bolted to the firewall yet. Exception: bolt the reservoir to its location. Also, make sure the slave has its plastic retainer on that came with it.
2) Fill the reservoir with fluid and let gravity do its trick. You will hear the air bubbles coming to the surface as the fluid goes down. You might have to refill the reservoir.
3) Once it stops bubbling, go under the car and open the slave bleeder to let the fluid come out for a few seconds, then close the bleeder.
4) Top up the reservoir with fluid.
5) Go under the car and gently pump the slave by pushing and releasing the rod. Make sure the slave is pointing downward as you push (rod down, bleeder up). Don't push too far has the reservoir might overspill. You will hear the bubbles again and the slave's rod will become harder to push. Monitor the reservoir during this step and refill if needed.
6) Do step 5 again but making sure the master is leveled and not pointing up like OEM installation. You should hear more bubbles coming out. I used one hand to level and move the master and one hand to pump the slave (plastic retainer still on).
7) Once no more air bubbles are coming out, top up the reservoir and you are done.

KCG

iTrader: (1)

Found this thread after asking a question in another but, I followed this procedure on the bench of bleeding with the master facing down, then level while cycling the slave. After installation, my pedal is hardly off the floor before engagement. Still sound like air in the system? This is stock replacement clutch in an 89' IROC.

SbFormula

Weird! I did bench bleed first but realized I could not install the whole unit as one (sealed). There was a clearance issue. So I had to disassemble and reassemble in the engine bay one part at the time. I ended up kindda bench bleeding in the engine bay really. Just like my described procedure. Everything worked out great. You could have some air left or something is not put back together the way it should be creating a gap. That would not take much of a gap to screw things up. Please check my video. You'll see it's a very short travel distance. Maybe you want to try bleeding again with an assistant to monitor if any air is still coming out. I did mine alone and could hear the air bubbling. You might want to shake the master cylinder while cycling (facedown and level). Also the other video shows a bench bleed procedure. Good luck!

KCG

iTrader: (1)

Thanks for posting the videos. Thats pretty much what I did. Its worth getting under there and cycling a few more times tho.

The "clutch reality check" in the original post states the pedal should be 2-3' off the floor or it needs adjustment. What adjustment is there?

SbFormula

There is no adjustment. The only adjustment would be shims behind the throw out bearing. There is no shims on OE setting. Adding shims would help the pedal go higher but could create other problems. There is a minimum gap to keep between the pressure plate fingers and throw out bearing. So I don't know what kind of adjustment they are talking about. If the clutch was fine before changing the master cylinder clutch than most likely the culprit is in the reinstallation process or wrong parts.