bleed your hydraulic clutch by yourself

Original Poster: litaford24

Difficulty: 2 out of 10

Time to install: half hour ish


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Brief Explanation: bleed your hydraulic clutch using a hose and assuming that the system has new clutch fluid (old clutch fluid has been flushed out)



Tools Needed:
- 5/16 socket and ratchet (or equivalent) for slave cylinder bleeder valve

Parts Needed:
- 8-10' hose with same/slightly smaller i.d. as your bleeder valve's o.d. (home depot or ace carries it)
- duct tape (for one man bleeding)
-clutch fluid, check your chiltons manual (probably DOT 3 brake fluid)


Steps:
1. ensure clutch master cylinder reservoir is full of fluid . KEEP IT FULL AT ALL TIMES THROUGHOUT THIS PROCESS!

2. open the bleeder valve and attatch one end of the tube
3.immediately fill the reservoir as the hose fills up with fluid
4. place the hose below the reservoir to make sure the whole hose is filled with fluid and plug with finger. (while keeping the reservoir full)
5. place that end of hose in the reservoir and duct tape to truck fender
6. now pump the clutch in and out and the fluid should cycle throughout the system and back into the reservoir.
7. make sure you do not overfill the reservoir so you get brake fluid all over your truck (or be lazy like me and just place a bunch of rags under the reservoir). make sure the lower end of hose does not slip off of the slave cylinder while pumping. make sure the other end stays below the fluid in the reservoir.
8. you should get a few huge air bubbles fairly soon if theres air in the system but keep bleeding long after that to get the most air out of the system you can. if you buy clear tubing, you can see the air bubbles, which is helpfull in determining if your done.

another helpful hint is to slide your master cylinder by hand, i found when i did that, i got much more tiny bubbles out.

hope this helps

I'll be trying this soon. I don't understand this; 'another helpful hint is to slide your master cylinder by hand', please clarify. Thanks
Richard

or you can just open the bleeder and let gravity do it's thing. Of course you have to keep the master full, but i've done it this way 4 or five times with no problems.

Another method using motor vacuum


Jar with two fittings,the one on the right goes to motor vacuum,the one on the left goes to slave bleeder screw, the jar doesn't need fluid to start with, keep an eye on the master fluid level, the motor needs to be running.


Good luck,
Richard

A short video on clutch bleeding, link provided in a post by suneku 127;
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HgNTDGwcjZc

Good video for some, not sure about my '84

The slave cylinder on my '84 doesn't have a bleeder valve, how do I bleed the system??
Neighbor said to let gravity "do its thing", occaisionally tapping the line with screwdriver handle to help air bubbles work up the tube.

any ideas out there ??

For about $40 you can pick up a Mighty-Vac pump and bleed the brake/clutch masters. As well as a bunch of other useful things pertaining to engine diagnosis.

I understand how that vacuum device works but how it would work without a bleeder screw on the slave cylinder ?