Smokin

Okay... I have my Motive Bleeder all set up. I started with LR then RR then LF then RF and now I am moving onto the clutch. I am using ATE Super Blue... The gold was in last time. The brakes went fine... Then came the cussing and swearing to get to the clutch. I jacked up the rear, put it on jack stands and removed the driver's side rear tire. I have it all set up perfectly (I thought)... I topped off the reservoir and pumped the Motive up to 15 PSI.... Black crap came out first... Then I started seeing the blue ATE... I figured I would let it go for a second more... (I had checked the reservoir and it is still well above min level.) When all of a sudden I start getting a lot of air out of the clutch. I cannot believe that was in there before. Does the Min/Max level change that drastically when you have the rear up on jack stands? It's just a hair below max now.

I'm going to go back out and try to add a litle more to the reservoir and try the bleed again while I wait for an answer.

Thanks,
Rick

1990 C2

**I want a 3' Elf for X-Mas!**

EDIT - Yes the overflow is blocked....

Smokin

Well... I just filled it up past Max level and re-bled the clutch and it seems to have removed the air and gotten back to solid Super Blue... The level (with the *** end up in the air is just a hair below max level)... I would still ike to hear from the pros what the story is with this before I button it all back up.

Smokin

Okay... I think I've found my answer... I used different search terms and hit it. Larry Herman answered it in another post HERE about a vacuum bleeder. Here's what Larry said...

"...you can bleed the clutch that way, but you have to keep the reservoir full at all times, because the clutch draws it's fluid about 1/3 of the way down from the top. This is to keep a clutch line failure from emptying the reservoir, but it is quite easy to draw it down too low while vacuum bleeding and get air into the clutch system. "

Regardless of whether a vacuum or pressure bleeder is used... The clutch outlet is 1/3 of the way down from the top... Exactly where I started sucking air.

So I am going to button it all back up and take it for a spin to test it out.

Rocket Rob

I've bled the clutch when the car is level and also with the rear jacked up using a Motiv Powerbleeder. I did not notice any difference. I suspect you are ok as is.

Smokin

Well... My clutch goes straight to the floor... I guess I still have air in the system.... I'll read up on it and try again tomorrow... It's dinner time.

tbennett017

You might need to prime the master.

I didn't have this problem doing my clutch, though the car was level. The Clutch takeoff from the reservoir is much higher than the brakes, so it acts as an early indicator of trouble if you get too low.

Smokin

I hope mine goes THIS smoothly.

DAVISRILEY

I did the same thing with mine at one point. Just pull the pedal back, and put a bunch of fluid through it. Should be fine. I actually gravity bled mine for a while too, and that seemed to help a bit when I replaced the master. Good luck.

Wachuko

I know people do it to avoid the mess... but that is why I just put the brake fluid in motive tank.

Keep us posted Rick.

DAVISRILEY

+964

Smokin

Well... It works like a champ now! Thanks everyone. I figured I'd need to bleed it again. I went ahead and did it wet.. I figured the clean up would be worth it! It was. I had two cans of ATE so I went ahead and put the whole 2nd can in the Motive. Once I had the clutch bleed tube in place I pumped it up and bled it. There was A LOT of air in there. I bled it once... Let the pressure off and still no clutch. So I pumped it back up and bled it... All the while rotating the bleed screw back and forth to vary the amount coming out. It seemed to help as it spit a lot more air out, then nothing but brake fluid. SO I tightened it all up, let off the pressure and the clutch pedal was pumped up nice. I cleaned up a little and took it for a spin. The brakes are much better and it seems like the clutch shifts a little smoother as well. I need to finish cleaning up the garage and putting away the tools... Then I'll take it out for a long stretch.

Now to figure out the Hall Signal issue...

Oracle

Rick,
Could you please describe where is the clutch bleeder is? (I can't find it and need to do the flush this season), a picture would be awesome if possible.

thanks!

Smokin

Crap... I know I found it in my search... But I cannot find it right now... I'll look again in the morning and post...

If you jack the back of your car up and secure it with jack stands, remove the LR tire and shine a light up at about 30 degrees... You should see it with a big rubber stopper/cover on the end of the bleeder screw. It sits, pretty much, on top of everything. I'm a pretty big guy so it was more of a touch and feel thing after I spotted it. You can look at it... And you can feel it.. But you can't do both at the same time unless you are an Elf! It's easy enough to do with the power bleeder. But I'll most likely do it "wet" with the fluid in the bleeder from now on.

Oracle

I found a few good pictures (from garrett376):

Metal Guru

Ah yes, the memories....
Why it was just three weeks ago I was changing the slave cylinder and line to remedy a clutch pedal that wouldn't return all the way. At times I felt like a monkey trying to have sex with a football as I tried to start the nuts on the studs but that's a story for another time.
I always put a can of Super Blue in the Motive bleeder because I hate doing things twice (or four times as in Smokin's case ). I just draw the excess fluid out of the reservoir with a turkey baster and clean up the rest with paper towels and mineral spirits.
I did take the black cap off of the reservoir vent and clamp a clear plastic tube on in it's place so I could easily clamp the tube off during pressurization and bleeding.
These cars provide endless hours of entertainment.