Clutch issues

[insaneABOT]

Well I finished installing my clutch and tried bleeding it. I did the procedure from the write ups but no luck. The pedal does have some resistance to it but I have to press the pedal all the way to the floor in order to disengage the clutch. And when I release the pedal the clutch only engages when the pedal is all the way on top. I test drove the car and the clutch just kept slipping. Can any one tell me what can be wrong?

[cam98aro]

Re: Clutch issues

it needs bled.

how did you bleed it, with a mityvac, or manually?

it took me about 2-3 hours of bleeding manually before the car started to act normal again

[insaneABOT]

Re: Clutch issues

I bled it with a mityvac. the pedal feels really soft. I did it how skinny said

Make sure your reservior is filled with fluid (take the rubber insert out for this, if there is one there). Insert the end of the hose into the master cylinder reservior and push the cone down into the hole in the bottom of it and hold it there. Begin pumping the vacuum pump and you'll see fluid and air bubbles beginning to work it's way up the hose and towards the overflow cup on the vacuum pump. Pump until you see about 15-18in.Hg vacuum (do not exceed 20in.Hg, as it could damage the master cylinder). Hold it there for a minute then quickly pull the end of the hose out of the master cylinder reservior. Make sure you pull it completely out of the fluid, because it will suck your reservior dry if you leave it in there. Now make sure there's plenty of fluid in the reservior then check your pedal. It'll most likely be on the floor, so pull it up. By pulling it up you will suck the fluid in the reservior down into the master and slave cylinder, so make sure it's full before pulling the pedal up.

Repeat this process until you don't see any more bubbles coming up when you pull the vacuum on the system. This is also a good way to check for a leak in the system. If you continually see bubbles or have trouble maintaining a vacuum, then you have a leak somewhere. Since I read that you replaced the slave cylinder, the master cylinder would most likely be the culprit. Also keep in mind that a leak in the master cylinder may not actually leak fluid out. In fact it most likely won't. A leak in the master cylinder causes problems by leaking air IN. A leak in the slave cylinder on the other hand will usually leak fluid OUT.

[cam98aro]

Re: Clutch issues

how many times did you do it?

it took me probably 10 times of doing that method before the pedal started to feel good again. i believe in that writeup i posted some tips on how i did it, but when you pump the mityvac up, leave it in the resivore for about 15 min each time, and it should work

i would also suggest manually bleeding it first so you can at least get some fluid through the system

[insaneABOT]

Re: Clutch issues

I did it three times with the mity vac. And I only did it once by gravity bleeding don't have an assistant. So just pump the mityvac and leave it in there because the way I was doing it was by pumping the mityvac and then pressing the clutch pedal.

[cam98aro]

Re: Clutch issues

I did it three times with the mity vac. And I only did it once by gravity bleeding don't have an assistant. So just pump the mityvac and leave it in there because the way I was doing it was by pumping the mityvac and then pressing the clutch pedal.

i pressed the clutch pedal while i did it. i wouldnt worry much, its fairly hard to bleed our hydraulics

[insaneABOT]

Re: Clutch issues

Ok. So I put the mityvac hose in the master cylinder reservoir pump it up to 15-18 psi and then press on the clutch pedal? When I do that I can see some airpockets in the line but when I do that and then take the line out the reservoir the fluid seems to be going down to the slave but the pedal still feels really soft and only engages and disengages all the way on top.

[bigairboarder44]

Re: Clutch issues

I'd say you still need to bleed it more. I'll find another thread on the mityvac way that I used...

EDIT: http://performanceworks1.com/ls1_clutch_bleeding.htm

[insaneABOT]

Re: Clutch issues

Thanks I'm going to try that if I can't make it work I'm not sure what can it be. How many times should I keep bleeding it?

[cam98aro]

Re: Clutch issues

Ok. So I put the mityvac hose in the master cylinder reservoir pump it up to 15-18 psi and then press on the clutch pedal? When I do that I can see some airpockets in the line but when I do that and then take the line out the reservoir the fluid seems to be going down to the slave but the pedal still feels really soft and only engages and disengages all the way on top.

thats normal the fluid going down means that you are replacing the air in the system with fluid. its why i recommend manually bleeding it until you get a lot of fluid coming out, it makes vacuum bleeding the system a lot easier

Thanks I'm going to try that if I can't make it work I'm not sure what can it be. How many times should I keep bleeding it?

you keep bleeding it until your pedal feels normal again

[insaneABOT]

Re: Clutch issues

It must have alot of air because I see air pockets I'm not sure if I'm doing it right. Plus everytime I do this the pedal feels softer and softer but that just might be me.

[bigairboarder44]

Re: Clutch issues

Can't be sure without being there but for what it's worth, it took me a good hour to do it well.

[Bandit127]

Re: Clutch issues

The one time I had to bleed a clutch was on a celica, but it does take a long time and ended up using a vacuum bleeder in the end. But your best bet is to pedal bleed until you can't see bubbles and then vacuum bleed.

[insaneABOT]

Re: Clutch issues

It started to rain today so haven't done nothing to the car

[insaneABOT]

Re: Clutch issues

Bled the system today and the pedal feels stiffer and the clutch engages much lower now. But when I drove the car and hit the gas the clutch just slipped I'm not sure if there is still air in the system but the clutch only seems to slip under load I'm not sure if the clutch is defective I'm puzzled at the moment