Clutch Bleeding

[SargeRX8]

Hey all,

Before I started the job, I was having clutch issues. The master cyl was dead. I found a guide on removing and replacing. This went nice and smoothly. I found another guide on bleeding the system.

To this point, I still have no pressure at all on the clutch.

What I done: I completely drained the all the old fluid out of the system. I changed the cylinder. Replaced the fluid. Left the bleeder on the slave open and the cap off the master cyl and pumped and filled and pumped and filled. I still have no pressure. I followed a guide on here which told me to bleed the master, disconnect the hose from the master. Disconnect the hose from the master to the little box thing, bleed the box thing, disconnect the out hose from that thing, bleed the slave. Still nothing. There is a weird ass pipe which is like a big U and it has a bleeder on the end of it. What the fruck is that?

Can someone tell me what I need to do. I done all this by my self(one person) so it might be the reason. Is it necessary to disconnect all these pipes and fittings? Isnt the purple of the bleeders to let the air out not ripping the whole system apart?

Advice info etc would be great.

My main question though, do I do all this with the lid OFF or ON the master cylinder. I was told off to allow the system to suck the fluid through.

R33 GTST Series 2.

[89CAL]

Its a two person job bleeding it, its very similar to bleeding your brakes...

You need to make sure theres fluid in the resivor and when ur bleeding the circuit

the circuit should be closed

-- pedal pumped

then held down

then Bleed nipple cracked while pedal is continued to be pressed down

Bleed nipple tightened and then the process repeated from where the -- is above

keep doing this till there is no air coming out of the bleed nipple and just a stream of fluid. You should have pedal pressure then

i get the impression that you werent doing it that way

Edited August 12, 2010 by 89CAL

[SargeRX8]

When the clutch is held down and the bleeder is open, do I let it run the fluid then close it or do I pump the pedal then hold it down then shut the bleeder.

And when you refer to the bleeder, is it all the bleeder points or just the slave? If it's all of them, do I start from the master and work down?

[89CAL]

pretty sure u start from the master and work down (if you have had fluid out of the whole system

The bleed nipple should be opened ONLY after the pedal has been pumped and while it is being held down. So pump pump pump.. hold... crack nipple.... Tighten nipple, release clutch

and repeat

Keep an eye on your fluid level so it doent get to low and start sucking in air

[The Dan]

+1 need to bleed the master first if you started with a dry system

[SargeRX8]

Tried it again today, no luck. Called lube mobile. No luck. The guy said that the problem might actually be the clutch fork, because there is pressure only when the clutch is like 2" from the firewall. He said there is absolutely no air in the system and that the slave and master look to be working fine.

I still cant get into any gears. This is frustrating.

[The Dan]

Lube mobile won't know what they are doing. Take it somewhere that does.

If you fit a new master cylinder you probably don't have the adjustment correct on the pushrod.

[SargeRX8]

The guy from lub asked if the push rod on the master was the same as the original. When I pulled the original out, I made sure I lined them up and put the U connector in the same position on the new master. I asked him if I was doing something wrong with my bleeding process. He said it sounded good. He sat there and bled the system over and over and told me there was not even a single bubble in the system. He said from what he can see, the circuit is working fine. The slave and master look to be operating. He told me he replaced the fork on his WRX, which he claimed makes 338kw at all 4 lol, as he was having a similar issue. Ive got another mechanic coming tomorrow to look at it. I'm not gonna say what Ive done, I want to see what they say.

I really don't want to have it towed and get the box pulled out of its not a internal issue

[sh@un]

at the risk of sounding silly- has anyone actually put a vacuum bleeder on the slave nipple to make sure the system IS free of air?

[The Dan]

Why did you replace the master and slave in the first place?

Have you checked the pivot ball and throwout fork to make sure either one is not broken.

And just because the U bracket on the master is in the similar position you will still need to adjust it. One full turn on the pushrod can take it from not getting into gear, to getting into gear.

There are so many things you could have done wrong but it's hard to diagnose over the internet

[SargeRX8]

Initially i my clutch would get stuck on the floor. It was impossible to get I to gear as it would not disengage. It was intermittent and that's what originally lead me to believe it was the master or slave. I took it to crd and they said the fluid in the master is full of metal residue and junk which is a sign of a failing master.

They done a full inspection of the outside of the box and they said everything looked fine from the outside and the best bet would be to change the master as the slave appeared to be in normal working order.

The car was driveable until I replaced the master. If the fork was bent, would the problem be intermittent? I doubt it... I have a feeling it's something to do with the master. Does rotating the rod from the master clock wise and counter clock wise affect the way it works? Is there a limit to how much it can be turned? Trial and error? Or is there a proper approach?

If i had a broken or bent fork or broken pivot, would they be intermittent or consistent problems?

[The Dan]

Initially i my clutch would get stuck on the floor. It was impossible to get I to gear as it would not disengage. It was intermittent and that's what originally lead me to believe it was the master or slave. I took it to crd and they said the fluid in the master is full of metal residue and junk which is a sign of a failing master.

They done a full inspection of the outside of the box and they said everything looked fine from the outside and the best bet would be to change the master as the slave appeared to be in normal working order.

The car was driveable until I replaced the master. If the fork was bent, would the problem be intermittent? I doubt it... I have a feeling it's something to do with the master. Does rotating the rod from the master clock wise and counter clock wise affect the way it works? Is there a limit to how much it can be turned? Trial and error? Or is there a proper approach?

If i had a broken or bent fork or broken pivot, would they be intermittent or consistent problems?

No, they would be more constant unless the fork hung up the ball in it's position, then slipped off again but that would be an extreme long shot.

The master cylinder pushrod adjustment can sometimes be tricky and you've gotta do it in small increments. Only one full rotation at a time.

If the pressure feels low in the travel then you need to increase the distance between the pedal and the master. This means you need to wind the pushrod out of the U bracket - towards the firewall. There is a way to perfectly adjust them but I can't really explain it in text. It's something you learn from years doing it.

Goodluck

[The Dan]

And why didn't you just get CRD to fit the master cylinder? It's about 1hr labour

[SargeRX8]

I got quoted 600 and they were charging 240 for the part which I got for 160 from Nissan.

[jeffworld2]

Just went through a bit of clutch drama, check my other thread and see if thats your issue.

I found during bleeding that if i had the nipple closed i couldnt get the slave to move with someone pressing the pedal.

I was bleeding it to nothing the first time and was getting nowhere... finally with a clear hose sunk in brake fluid i was able to get it flowing and with the nipple shut i could see the slave start travelling. It seems impossible to do it without sucking it back through that way.

On my road car i have kept the U, which is the air seperator, however on my race car i have the slave fed straight from the master output line. Much easier to bleed lol.

[Wikigod]

Hey man did you figure out what it was yet? Im trying to bleed with two guys and a one man bleeding kit and still cant get it to work its a bastard lol maybe it isnt priming because the mount might be broken so im not getting a full pump when i use the pedal lol i dont have a clue how to fix it =(

[Wikigod]

hey man i dunno if im still replying to a dead thread but i spent all day bleeding the clutch but it was the F*&king spot welds on the pedal box those m*%R F*%KERS man have a check of your too so i guess i was right with my last post =) YAY mines almost back on the road =) =) =)