For about a month now my clutch pedal has dropped about 3/4 of the way down to the floor before I get any resistance needed to shift. I read through the archives and figured it was the master/slave cylinder routine.

Now I'm trying bleed out my new master cylinder, slave cylinder and the hose that goes between them.

I've read through 944pete's method and a few others. I have a power bleeder (see attached photo), but I think it's the wrong kind. The one I have attaches to the bleeder screw on the end of the line and draws the fluid through the line by vacuum. The one 944pete describes seems to push the fluid from the master cyclinder.

Is the Motive Power Bleeder a Porsche specialty tool or are they available a normal parts stores. I haven't seen one around yet.

Thanks for your help!


P.S.
I hope I'm not the only one that listens to classic music while working on the car. My 18 year old son thinks I'm nuts.

 

http://boards.rennlist.com/upload/powerbleeder.jpg

the photo?

 

http://forums.rennlist.com/upload/powerbleeder.jpg

Thats the correct URL.

 

That is a Mity-Vac and they don't work so hot on the clutch. Air gets in around the threads of the nipple when it is unscrewed and even backflows from the suction jar.

What you want to do this easy is the Motive pressure bleeder. Go to http://www.paragon-products.com/

and type in "motive pressure bleeder" in the search function and you can take a look at one. You are right, it pushes fluid from the master cylinder down.

 

I made my own by buying a 1 gallon garden sprayer at ace hardware. I took 4 feet of poly line, master cylinder cap from a GM, yes a GM ( got it at Pep Boys) . Drilled a hole in the cap, and theaded a brass fitting with threads one on end and nipple on the other, and tighten it down with a brass nut. The nipple sticks out the top of the cap and the threaded end fits down through the hole you drilled in it. You will have to find something to make a gasket out of, becuase the gm cap is vented. Took some clamps and tighten it all down at the sprayer and cap. It worked just like the 50.00 power bleeder, but I only spent 14.00. I later added a guage for another 5.00 so I could make sure my wife wasn't pumping it up too far while I was under the car.

 

I used on of those, it wasn't easy, but got the job done. I read somewhere to put grease around the threads to help prevent the air from copming in around the threads.

 

An update on the clutch pedal issue:
I took the car to a local shop to see if they could "finish" the job I started.
Turns out the firewall had corroded away enough so that the master cyclinder had moved foward into the engine compartment. When I stepped on the pedal the push rod wasn't engaging into the cyclinder until it was halfway throught it's travel.

The shop removed the clutch and brake master cyclinders and welded in a new piece of metal. Works like new again.

Anyone else see this happen?

While they were in there, they also took care of a nasty wiring problem with the radiator fans.

 

I haven't seen that particular problem, but I did spend a week trying to bleed my clutch with a MityVac only to discover that the clutch pedal lock nut was out of adjustment and the system had been air free for a week.

jp