Clutch bleed question
Thread Starter
Staging Lane
Joined: Jun 2012
Posts: 61
Likes: 0
From: TX
Clutch bleed question Hey guys, gotta quick question. I bled with mity vac but was hard to get into gears sometimes and clutch engagement was direct on floor. I cut a small access hole to bleed conven way but when i push pedal down and hold, then quickly open/close valve for a sec, the pedal afterwards stays on ground and i have to pump like 5 times to get it hard again. Is this suppose to happen? Or is it suppose to stay hard after a quick 1 sec open/close valve.
your gonna have to pump like 25 times to get pressure back up. Might have to do this 20-25 times and refill reservour a few times. As long as you have no leaks, it'll eventually build pressure.
Thread Starter
Staging Lane
Joined: Jun 2012
Posts: 61
Likes: 0
From: TX
Ok. I tried the mity vac and got good pedal feel but clutchengaged directly on floor and was hard to get into gear sometimes. Then i bled by the open/close method and pumped pedal after and it got way harder than the mity vac got it to. Took it for a test drive after about 5 open/closes and it felt great and engaged way higher and was smooth. Took another 30 min drive and noticed it was hard to get into gears again and it startedengaging on floor again and pedal was not as hard.
I was just wondering if it stayed hard after you open/close valve cause mine dont. Gotta pump 3 times to get a pedal feel and another 3 times to get hard. Happens after every push- hold pedal n open/close session.
I was just wondering if it stayed hard after you open/close valve cause mine dont. Gotta pump 3 times to get a pedal feel and another 3 times to get hard. Happens after every push- hold pedal n open/close session.
Thread Starter
Staging Lane
Joined: Jun 2012
Posts: 61
Likes: 0
From: TX
I cant remember but my clutch pedal is the same height as brake pedal or slightly lower. No air in system. I looked at master rod and it measures 6" at pedal rest height. Is that normal? It looks like a switch under there on pedal bracket doesnt even get pushed in.
Launching!
Joined: Oct 2009
Posts: 235
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The repetitive pumping makes tiny air bubbles. Try cracking the bleeder first then have someone push the pedal down and hold it there, you close the bleeder, have the helper pull the pedal back up and repeat several times. Make sure the master cylinder is bled, it can hold air.
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The repetitive pumping makes tiny air bubbles. Try cracking the bleeder first then have someone push the pedal down and hold it there, you close the bleeder, have the helper pull the pedal back up and repeat several times. Make sure the master cylinder is bled, it can hold air.
If you were to try and bleed it solely from the slave after a master install it would take way more than 5-6 open/close bleedings to get the residual air left and trapped in the system out. People tend to think, "ok I've bled this thing long enough", but in reality it's not enough.
Our master pushes 3x more fluid than a stock master and comparable masters on the market so it would make you think that it would also hold more air if not bled properly first before hooking to the slave at the transmission.
So guys, if you're installing a master or are having a hard time with your hydraulics bleed the master itself first THEN bleed from the slave!
This solves 8/10 problems I receive in regards to these issues.
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Verdad Gallardo When I bled mine, I had to open and close the bleed valve about 20 times before the pressure stayed up(whole lotta pumpin'). Be sure to open and close very quickly or your just gonna bleed out pressure. It takes about 30-40 minutes. My arms were tired when done. Good luck!
Thread Starter
Staging Lane
Joined: Jun 2012
Posts: 61
Likes: 0
From: TX
my first initial mess up was forgetting to bench bleed the master. I did the whole push/hold open/close valve with my wife before she got fed up to help me with the pedal. Then I tried the JMD method and had that pumping forever and recycling back into res but the pedal never got hard. Then I got fed up and bought a mity vac. I finally had a stiffer pedal with the mity vac. Bled quite a few times with the mity vac and i thought i was good but was hard to get into 1st and other gears sometimes. Then I access hole myself to bleed myself and the first inital push/hold and open/close valve i heard a loud gush of air come out. I immediately lost all pedal and began to pump. As I pumped it got way harder than the mity vac could get it. I did this like 5-8 times and took for a test drive. It shifted gears perfectly and was engaging higher up on pedal like its should. I later went for another cruise and it started to get harder to put into gears and engagement was back on floor again life before. I keep doing the push/hold and open/close sessions but hear no more air or any sounds. I've put the mity vac on it couple times and not one baby bubble. I was happy for that short 3 minute cruise of bliss. 
Only thing i can think is the master is not letting pedal come all the way up if thats possible. The clutch pedal height is same or slight lower to the brake pedal. Not sure if that the way its suppose to be. It be crazy if there was still air after so many bleed methods perform but this is my first hydraulics to mess with.
Only thing i can think is the master is not letting pedal come all the way up if thats possible. The clutch pedal height is same or slight lower to the brake pedal. Not sure if that the way its suppose to be. It be crazy if there was still air after so many bleed methods perform but this is my first hydraulics to mess with.
my first initial mess up was forgetting to bench bleed the master. I did the whole push/hold open/close valve with my wife before she got fed up to help me with the pedal. Then I tried the JMD method and had that pumping forever and recycling back into res but the pedal never got hard. Then I got fed up and bought a mity vac. I finally had a stiffer pedal with the mity vac. Bled quite a few times with the mity vac and i thought i was good but was hard to get into 1st and other gears sometimes. Then I access hole myself to bleed myself and the first inital push/hold and open/close valve i heard a loud gush of air come out. I immediately lost all pedal and began to pump. As I pumped it got way harder than the mity vac could get it. I did this like 5-8 times and took for a test drive. It shifted gears perfectly and was engaging higher up on pedal like its should. I later went for another cruise and it started to get harder to put into gears and engagement was back on floor again life before. I keep doing the push/hold and open/close sessions but hear no more air or any sounds. I've put the mity vac on it couple times and not one baby bubble. I was happy for that short 3 minute cruise of bliss.
Only thing i can think is the master is not letting pedal come all the way up if thats possible. The clutch pedal height is same or slight lower to the brake pedal. Not sure if that the way its suppose to be. It be crazy if there was still air after so many bleed methods perform but this is my first hydraulics to mess with.
Only thing i can think is the master is not letting pedal come all the way up if thats possible. The clutch pedal height is same or slight lower to the brake pedal. Not sure if that the way its suppose to be. It be crazy if there was still air after so many bleed methods perform but this is my first hydraulics to mess with.
Thread Starter
Staging Lane
Joined: Jun 2012
Posts: 61
Likes: 0
From: TX
Hey Martin, I swap the master just in case and bench bled the crap out of it. Installed and bled quite few times and it seems to be ok for now. When I push pedal and hold, and open/close valve, my pedal still stays on floor and soft after. I have to pump pedal like 5 times to get hard again. Not sure if that normal.
Put a new slave in mine when first done n bleed it felt good for while but would go soft and do the same problem u have and came to find out my new slave was leaking fluid around the seal had to pull all back out and put new oem in....hope its not wat u have
On The Tree
Joined: Mar 2011
Posts: 134
Likes: 0
I seriously don't understand why people have a problem with this. I put all new stock everything in my car when I made it a 6 speed and the line and reservoir were off a car that had 240k on it and pitch black fluid. I pumped about 300 times when I first put it all together with no fluid in anything then I had the wife come out and help me bleed it the old fashioned way and we did that about 6-7 times then all was well. I've been driving the car for 5 months since the 6 speed swap and never had an issue with pedal height or any other problem that would make me want to bleed my clutch again. Maybe I'm just lucky but then again, I put all new hydraulics in my old 6 speed car and put it all together dry with no fluid in anything and it still went just as smoothly as my current car did......
Hey Martin, I swap the master just in case and bench bled the crap out of it. Installed and bled quite few times and it seems to be ok for now. When I push pedal and hold, and open/close valve, my pedal still stays on floor and soft after. I have to pump pedal like 5 times to get hard again. Not sure if that normal.
Thread Starter
Staging Lane
Joined: Jun 2012
Posts: 61
Likes: 0
From: TX
Drove around for running errands and little by little pedal got softer. My wife n I went walking later and while parked for hr n half and got ready to leave, it would not go into reverse or 1st gear. I kept pumpin pedal and nothing. I had to force it in and got it to go and every gear had to be slighlu force in.
Drove around for running errands and little by little pedal got softer. My wife n I went walking later and while parked for hr n half and got ready to leave, it would not go into reverse or 1st gear. I kept pumpin pedal and nothing. I had to force it in and got it to go and every gear had to be slighlu force in.
If anyone hasn't seen the members thread on the first page of this forum about how to properly bleed a hydraulic clutch system check it out, it's a good read and really solves a lot of these headaches.
