Bleed New Master

A

anders

True Classic
Gents,

Just installed a new master clutch cylinder in the X I am selling, it has both master and slave now.

Just need to bleed the master, been trying, but not so successful.

Suggestions?

Thanks, for the sooner I can get this done, the sooner I can clean her up and post pics!

Chris
 
Hi Chris,

Clutches are a PITA to bleed because of their large bore lines, even the tiniest bit of air will allow the pedal to collapse.

First couple of suggestions:

Thread the adjuster arm nuts on the slave all the way in, remove the
banjo bolt, and push the piston out so that it does not occlude the bleeder screw.

Jack the rear end of the car up a bit, fill the reservoir, crack the bleeder on the master cylinder, and walk away for an hour, see if gravity will help you out.

Use a small hose and a soda bottle from the bleeder to the floor to
help get the siphon effect going once it starts flowing. After it flows for a bit, drop the rear end and lift the front end a bit. If you get some flow, you might see if you have any pedal feel. Once you get some pedal feel, then you can bleed by the pump-and-hold method.

If it doesn't flow, you will need to try a vacuum pump at the rear of the car. Seal the bleeder threads with teflon tape to prevent suction from
drawing around the threads instead of through the system.

Best solution is to pressure bleed it from the front but the cap can be a PITA to invent.

-Matt
 
Obviously I am doing something wrong...

... because I have NEVER had any trouble bleeding a clutch. (Why don't we have a knock-on-wood smiley?)

I use a pressure bleeder, and I unbolt the slave cylinder from its bracket and remove the arm from the clutch fork, just as if I were going to remove the transmission. Now I can lift the slave cylinder so that it is at a local high point, and rotate it so that the bleed screw is at the top. (This last bit is more important with the four-speed and its side-mounted bleed screw).

With only a few pounds of pressure in the pressure bleeder I won't force the piston out of the slave (and if I accidentally do, it's messy but nothing awful happens - gets all the air into the slave cylinder where it bleeds out when I replace the piston). Push the slave piston in a few times against the pressure from the pressure bleeder and let it work out again, and work the clutch pedal back and forth to help the flow along.
 
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I connected an air compressor to the fluid reservoir when I did this a couple of years ago. IIRC I inflated a bicycle inner tube between the air nozzle and the reservoir, and some tie wraps or hose clamps to get it air tight.
 
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