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Not just another bleeding clutch thread!

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Lawrence0485

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So after searching for an easy sure fire way to bleed the clutch and coming up short i just got my hands dirty..

Its very important that your slave cylinder is in good shape otherwise when u let off the pedal and the master extends, it will pull air in around the piston on the slave..Figured that one out the hard way..

I first tried the pump the pedal and hold/bleed technique..This takes all day and have to have a very nice buddy/wife to help. Even then it is at best a shot in the dark because the air you are trying to force down to the slave to bleed out wants to rise. You may get the pedal feeling "pretty" good for a while but sooner or later there will probably be an air bubble come up from the slave and lodge in the master..then you get the soggy pedal or may not have enough pedal left to actually disengage the clutch.. Then you get to drive around like an 18-wheeler and rev-match the gears and take off from a stop on the starter while the trans is in gear. Hope you have a low gear like my sm465:)

I also have a power bleeder were you force fluid through the resivoir down to the slave..same problem and possible outcome as the pump method

After spending way too much of my outside shop time on this issue, i decided to pull the whole system off the truck and do it on the bench so that i can get the slave higher than the master. Here is a pic of how i did it. Excuse the mess, havent had time to clean...lol

2012-12-18192212.jpg


As you can see i have the resivoir clamped up high..It doesnt really matter as long as its above the inlet on the master.

I have made a little jig out of scrap to hold and clamp the master to in a way so that the fitting for the hard line is facing up and is the highest pt on the master.

Then i held the slave so that the bleeder screw was the highest pt in the whole sytem. Watch the fluid line and make sure that the air can float up through it and make it to the bleeder screw. Since the pushrod on the master has a nice round end, i used my hip to push in on the push rod.

step 1: while holding the slave so that the bleeder is the highest in the system. Open the bleeder

Step 2: slowly push the rod all the way in with my hip. hold at bottom of stroke

Step 3: close the bleeder and let off the master pushrod. Once ALL the way off the pushrod you will notice the fluid in the resivoir drop (Assuming that you have a good slave cylinder..If not it WILL pull air in around the piston)

Step 4: Go back to step 2 lol

I did this till i got all the air out and kept goin prob 3-4 more pumps for good measure..(dont wanna have to do this again)

Now im back to the perfectly bled clutch. Gotta raise that boot way up to push them pedal. Clutch is rock solid and i dont expect to have issues for a long time..

Im not saying that the pump/bleed method is bad or wont work, same with the power bleeder. What im saying is that it takes 10min to take the whole system off the truck. Another 15min (after you get everything setup to hold the master/slave/res) to get the perfect bleed that results in a rock solid pedal. This the the only way i will EVER bleed a clutch on these trucks for now on. By the way my truck is an 86' K10 with the sm465 trans

The reason im posting this is because ive been screwing with this D#%N clutch issue for a few weeks with just "good enough" results and this morning i go to leave for work and had NO-NONE-ZILCH pedal. So i got to drive to work and back and pick up dinner with no pedal..Thats starting off from a start on the starter.. Not only is it dangerous, its hard on the starter, the whole truck lurches and makes you look like an idiot who cant drive..

Anyhow im done ranting now.. Im aware that some of my spelling is a little off..it will be ok lol. Time for a beer and good luck to anyone who happens to read this thread
 
so did you copy my bleading info or not find it in a search ? ? ? :haha:

i posted up how easy to blead when all out and master upside down for the plastic nipple to resivor holds air bubble and = no clutch at times.

glad you got it and hope all goes good for you. :thumb:
 
I don't remember your thread specificly but I do remember reading about turning the master upside down. I was mainly ranting and most likely restating alot of the same info in other threads. But if this thread helps out a few ppl I think its worth it lol.
 
I was looking at the slave setup the other night as I was bleeding it (slow leak on the slave, needed to add fluid) and as far as I can tell, if the slave is removed from the bellhousing, bleeding is easy.

If I'm wrong, correct me. They have a bleeder on the slave, so GM must have though it necessary, but if the slave is unbolted, turned sideways and angled so the hydraulic line is positioned as the bleeder, won't the air run into the clutch master cylinder? And wouldn't that air find it's way to the reservoir?

I am not sitting here looking at the setup, I know the master is angled, isn't the reservoir situated so that any air in the master cylinder escapes into the reservoir?

I do know that you can compress the slave by hand, there is no reason I can see that pumping the pedal is a necessary step no matter how you try and bleed. SweetK30, if you already covered this, no I haven't read your post on it. :)
 
dyeager535 said:
I was looking at the slave setup the other night as I was bleeding it (slow leak on the slave, needed to add fluid) and as far as I can tell, if the slave is removed from the bellhousing, bleeding is easy.

If I'm wrong, correct me. They have a bleeder on the slave, so GM must have though it necessary, but if the slave is unbolted, turned sideways and angled so the hydraulic line is positioned as the bleeder, won't the air run into the clutch master cylinder? And wouldn't that air find it's way to the reservoir?

I am not sitting here looking at the setup, I know the master is angled, isn't the reservoir situated so that any air in the master cylinder escapes into the reservoir?

I do know that you can compress the slave by hand, there is no reason I can see that pumping the pedal is a necessary step no matter how you try and bleed. SweetK30, if you already covered this, no I haven't read your post on it. :)
Click to expand...

I see what your saying..with the slave loose from the trans, you could pump it and the air would rise and eventually make it to the resivour. I was tired of screwing with mine and I knew taking the whole system out and doing my way would work 100%. Not to mention I was in a hurry with it dark and cold outside lol. Obviously there is more than one way to skin this darn cat. I figured since there is always someone asking on here how do it, I would post what worked for me

Curious how does it say to bleed these in the chiltons/haynes ect.. manuals?
 
I've got the factory manual, I'll have to look. I suspect it's to simply leave it in place and use the bleeder?

I agree with bleeding however works for you...the design seems flawed to me, why the hose didn't come out the top in the first place seems...dumb. If it were, the air would never have a chance to form a pocket. I'm just not absolutely certain my theory is correct on the air finding its way out by itself, since I'm not looking at the setup on the truck.

I was in a hurry when I had to do mine last, thus trying to find a quick way to do it. Pedal wasn't disengaging the clutch until it hit the floor, so I definitely had to fix it. Slave leaking is the real problem, but luckily by removing the reservoir cap, filling with fluid, removing slave from bell, and working the slave by hand a few times with the hose "up", I got some pedal back. It really isn't tough to compress the slave cylinder by hand, I think people get caught up thinking it is.

Sitting is really hard on these setups. Less than 40,000 miles on the slave, and it's leaking. Not fast, but it shouldn't be at all obviously.
 
i wish i could remove the whole system on my 03 s10 zr2... it needs to be bled properly.. but on the s10's the slave is inside the transmission. you gotta drop the whole tranny to get to the slave cylinder. sucks.
 
Good video.

If starting from scratch looks like a pretty easy way to bleed them.

I think on the vehicle, you can bleed the slave as I mentioned previously, pretty much what he was doing later on. Not sure about the master but even if it points downward, piston will push the air into the reservoir.
 
if you read my thread you will find that some masters at the nipple to the hose at resivor hold air inside in a dome molded in the plastic nipple. only way i could get it out was spin the master 180* around as i blead it to force air threw it and out slave .
 
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