Clutch reservoir bladder question

[navyX04]

I just replaced the tranny on my '91, and I am having a few problems bleeding the clutch hydraulics. The rubber bladder in the clutch reservoir wouldn't let any fluid through, so I took that sucker out and got fluid to flow and purge fairly well, but I still don't have full clutch disengagement. Question is, what the heck is that bladder for? You obviously shouldn't have to remove it, but when I put fluid in with that in place it just sat in that and didn't go into the system. Thanks for any hints.

 

[jnsnwt]

Been there and done this one LOL

The bladder is a seal between the brake fluid and the outside air. It is fluted to allow for expansion and contraction of the brake fluid in the reservoir. Brake fluid loves to absorb water outta the air and cause rust in the system. Read what it says on a can of brake fluid "KEEP TIGHTLY SEALED". When you read the how to on brake service it always says to use a new fresh sealed container of brake fluid.

Bad news about bleeding the clutch master cyl. You have to remove it from the truck and bench bleed it then reinstall and bleed the slave cyl. The way it's built there is a pocket of air that's trapped and will never bleed out as long as it is installed in the truck.

More bad news about this setup
I had replaced my master cyl then 2 months later had to replace the slave cyl. Being too old and too fat to be pulling trannies in the driveway any more I took that job to the local trans shop and paid them 150 labor to replace the slave cyl. The shop foreman said he sees a lot of cars that get a new master or slave and then 2-3 months later they need the other one replaced. His theory was that you disturbed a lot of crud in the system when the first one was replaced and that extra trash in the system killed the other half. Sounds resonable to me.