Is the rubber bladder in the clutch cylinder necessary?

[NoRangerDude]

What does this bladder do and is it necessary? For context, I'm changing the clutch on a 1998 ford ranger mod-5od.

 

[gw33gp]

It is not absolutely necessary, but it helps to reduce moisture absorption into the brake fluid.
This reduces the frequency of flushing the brake fluid. It may also reduced the sloshing of the brake fluid in the reservoir to keep it from leaking out of the cap vent.

 

[alwaysFlOoReD]

I would say it's something you need. Steel brake lines and moisture don't mix! Brake failure from lines rusted thru from inside would suck.

 

[Vindictus]

He's talking about the clutch reservoir not the brakes.
It stops the fluid from spraying out the bleeder hole when you push the clutch

 

[19Walt93]

I agree, The "bladder" seals the fluid from the air and prevents it leaking out the cap event on bumps, while still allowing for the fluid level drop when the pedal is depressed. There isn't much fluid volume so you don't want to lose any and the fluid will attack the paint it gets on.

 

[pjtoledo]

friendly FYI
when the clutch pedal is depressed the first thing to happen is the line to the reservoir is sealed off.
it stays sealed off until the pedal is almost fully released.

 

[alwaysFlOoReD]

He's talking about the clutch reservoir not the brakes.
It stops the fluid from spraying out the bleeder hole when you push the clutch

Oops. Still applies just not rust.

 

[Josh B]

I'd say it applies to both of them, if so equipped. My first Ranger was a freebie due to rusted out brake lines. The guy was in University and had a wife and baby. I truly feel he had a frightening encounter with "no pedal" with his family onboard. He wasn't asking a dime, he just wanted it gone.
It wouldn't start, I started looking for the problem and found the battery to the starter wasn't connecting, cranked it up and drove it home using the gears to brake with, and luckily not getting into any tight spots.

I put it up on blocks and took a chipping hammer to work on it. Pretty much everything was eat up from ND road salt. Found a brake line with a 4 foot rubber hose patched in with hose clamps

He told me he would get the title and I went by there a week before TGiving and he handed me the title, got it tagged and insured and drove it home for the holidays to OK from TN. Coming back I went through Eastern Oklahoma with some fair sized hills. Had a pickup behind me the whole time but couldn't tell much about it. Came up on a steep down slope at least a mile long and floored it. I don't know how fast we got but reaching the top on the other side I had slowed down to the 55 MPH speed limit again and slipped over into the slow lane they had near the top, and the truck behind me passed and had a very large Star of the county sherrif. Maybe he figured New Years Eve was no time to ticket an out of Stat'r

Had an almost new motor in it but I don't recall what size, at one time I had the receipt from when they had it replaced. It could not hold up to Over Drive unless it was going downhill

 

[dvdswan]

I thought the bladders were there so a suction effect didn't happen as parts wear down. Which would collapse the cover and let air into the system.

 

[Shran]

The cap has a vent hole in it. Without the bladder in place, the reservoir will leak when you go over bumps and the fluid inside will absorb water and degrade. IMO it is a necessary item for those reasons. Will your clutch function without it though... yes.