What do you think of this guy's clutch bleeding tech?

[donlightbody]

I have NEVER had luck bleeding the clutch on my 88 BII, now I'm trying with my 95 EX and it's going about the same. What do you think about this guy's way? It seems to me that this would work well, especially with the master cylider off and tilted. Just curious what you might think. :exp: He talks about a BMW, but it seems like it would work the same. He doesn't really get into it until about 3:30

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wdf--suwqw0

 

[RangerX]

It's a valid trick, thay's been suggested several times on this site.
The way our master sits, it's an air trap. Tilting it eliminates that.
Give it a try.

 

[gijoecam]

That will only work provided that the line on the slave cylinder connects at the highest point of the slave cylinder. However, if the system is designed properly, the bleeder screw should be at the highest point of the slave cylinder. So, if you used that technique, you would trap a bubble between the bleeder screw and the hose that would still need to be bled out.

 

[RangerX]

gijoe, do you mean master cyl? Otherwise, I'm not following. :scratch:

 

[gijoecam]

No, I mean slave cylinder... If the system is oriented properly, the highest point on the slave cylinder would be the bleeder screw. Otherwise, when bleeding it the conventional way, there would be no way to get all the air out.

So, if you reverse the bleeding procedure as demonstrated in that video, how do you get the air out? In the system he has set up in the video, the highest point of the slave is the line where it comes in, not the bleeder. So, when he forces the fluid in through the bleeder, the air is able to escape back up the line... but if the bleeder is higher than the line coming in, how do you bleed it?

One would need to first fill the system as described in the video, then it might be possible to gravity bleed the rest of the air out of the slave... Worst case, a pump or two is all it would take to finish purging the system the 'old fashioned' way.

 

[RangerX]

Oh. I didn't watch the video till now, so my bad. The guy has a whole technique.
I was only trying to say, the master on my clutch is mounted at an upward angle, and creates what looks like an ideal pocket to trap a bubble. Unbolting and tilting the master will let any potential bubble pass.

 

[gijoecam]

Oh. I didn't watch the video till now, so my bad. The guy has a whole technique.
I was only trying to say, the master on my clutch is mounted at an upward angle, and creates what looks like an ideal pocket to trap a bubble. Unbolting and tilting the master will let any potential bubble pass.

I've seen that done on other things... boat trailers for one. Change out the coupler/master cylinder on the trailer, and rather than bleed the shole system, I gently pumped the brake master cylinder... YOu can kind of massage the bubble back out if you're gentle with it.

-Joe

 

[donlightbody]

Thanks for the replies guys. Going out to give it a shot now, and I guess I'll top it off with a bit of the traditional method to get that bit out of the slave. That was a great point I hadnt considered. :exp:

 

[donlightbody]

well I bled it from under like the video but am dissapointed to say it still sucks. I will finish with the normal way the morning when my "helper" is up in hopes that I can get some air out of the slave. Otherwise I guess I need to start looking at slave cylinder prices on the bright side, all that nasty black fluid is gone.

 

[poenix12]

just a suggestion but if your concerned about trapping air cause of the angle of the clutch master why not jack up the rear of the vehicle.this is actually the correct service procedure for g.m. cars from the early 80's to present because of the angle of their brake master doing just what your suggesting (trapping air).Might be worth a shot,no harder than jacking up the rear end

 

[donlightbody]

Ok, I put all these suggestions to use and the clutch is perfect now! I started with forcing new fluid from bottom up with the vehicle rear raised, until all the old black fluid was gone. Then I bled it the conventional way opening the bleed screw with the pedal pushed in, had to do this one a few times thruogh the day as the air worked its way down. I now have clutch the entire push of the pedal and it's nice and stiff the whole way. Thanks for the input everyone. The clutch is now the best I've ever driven! :exp:

 

[RangerX]

Good to hear!