Bleeding clutch, have question..

Sears · 11-23-2001, 10:06 PM

Is there a way to bledd the clutch by myself. The only way I know of doing it is with two people, one pumping the pedal the other on the valve. Is ther any kind of tool so I can do it myself?

Thanks
Justin

SC 98 Mecham · 11-23-2001, 11:22 PM

have heard of guys drilling a hole in there floor pan.. Not for me though.. Jason

[ November 23, 2001: Message edited by: SC 98 Mecham ]

CMNTMXR57 · 11-23-2001, 11:52 PM

On our 98's and up (with LS1 power), there is a bleeder valve on the driver's side of the bellhousing (it's part of the slave assembly). Off the top of my head, I can't remember whether it's 5/16's or a 7/16's deep well socket. But you can do it either by having someone pump, use a hand held bleeder OR you can just gravity bleed it.

I've done both the hand held bleeder as well as gravity bleeding it. Both work.

You can't disconnect the hydraulic line and expect to bleed it that way since it's like a quick connect fitting for an air hose. It's that way so that you don't need to bleed it each time you disconnect it.

[ November 23, 2001: Message edited by: CMNTMXR57 ]

project9sec · 11-25-2001, 02:52 PM

i did not have to bleed mine. mine is perfect. i had too much in there as it was. so when i was putting my tranny back on i connected it when it was still under pressure a little just enough to allow the fitting to go on. but mine was a prefilled one. when i was done i just opened the clutch master and the excess came out.

FigsZ28 · 11-25-2001, 07:28 PM

Justin, your probably gonna think this is odd, but its worked for me several times. I havent heard of any body else doing it this was. Anyway what i do/done is leave the master cylinder reservoir cap off. Then I get back into the car and pump the clutch for about 5 to 10 min. VERY SLOWLY if you do it fast brake fluid will gush out from the master cylinder reservoir. After you done take her out for a spin, If it still feels spongy go do it again. Hope this helps

Sears · 11-25-2001, 07:44 PM

I gravity bled it today and the fluid was BLACK, and I don't think it had ever been bled in 40k miles. I did it with the tranny out so the t/o bearing wasn't pushing the pedal back up, I guess thats ok. <img src="images/icons/smile.gif" border="0"> Figs thats an interesting idea, I may try that if I need to bleed it again.

Justin

[ November 25, 2001: Message edited by: Jsears8 ]

CMNTMXR57 · 11-26-2001, 10:15 AM

[quote]Originally posted by Torquepimp:
i did not have to bleed mine. mine is perfect. i had too much in there as it was. so when i was putting my tranny back on i connected it when it was still under pressure a little just enough to allow the fitting to go on. but mine was a prefilled one. when i was done i just opened the clutch master and the excess came out.<hr></blockquote>

That's due to the fitting I described above. It's a "quick-connect" style that allows the line to be disconnected without injecting air into the line.

CMNTMXR57 · 11-26-2001, 10:17 AM

[quote]Originally posted by FigsZ28:
Justin, your probably gonna think this is odd, but its worked for me several times. I havent heard of any body else doing it this was. Anyway what i do/done is leave the master cylinder reservoir cap off. Then I get back into the car and pump the clutch for about 5 to 10 min. VERY SLOWLY if you do it fast brake fluid will gush out from the master cylinder reservoir. After you done take her out for a spin, If it still feels spongy go do it again. Hope this helps<hr></blockquote>

This is standard operating procedure whenever you replace the slave. Although I do it a bit differently. By that I get on my hands and knees, push the pedal (it'll subsequently stick to the floor), pull the pedal back up by hand and repeat this process until pressure comes back. No need to take the resevior cap off.