g_murray

Not for nuffin'... but it seems to me that (nearly) every "DIY" story, that I've read, about owners dilligently flushing/bleeding the clutch fluid -- whether or not they're doing it as part of the brake flush... have had the clutch go 'bad' soon thereafter.

For some of you it has merely been a matter of RE-bleeding the clutch -- coz of trapped air (which, coz of the placement of the clutch bleed nipple is not trivial in itself) -- but for others it's been a royal PITA because you've had seals go 'bad' (slave/master cylinder = $$$) and/or the clutch 'mechanism' has gone funky (grinding, movement changing from smooth to feeling 'ratched' or 'stepped', clutch pedal not coming 'all the way up', etc.)

Is this a case of 'no good deed going unpunished' ? I mean, geez, all you're trying to do is change the fluid!

Should we therefore be 'resigned to the fact' that 'flushing/changing the clutch fluid REALLY involves - when you get down to brass tacks -- preparing yourself for car-downtime and wallet-contents-evaporation.

?

Gerry

Robin 993DX

Sorry, I am lost.

993inNC

I think what he's wanting to know is whether or not he should tackle a maintnance issue when it seems that in doing so, it causes a further problem. Which in turn should just be considered part of the maintnance from the start.

yes.....no??

g_murray

Hi,
Yep, coz back in March, when I did the 'Motiv Powerbleeder fandango' and flushed/bled my BRAKES (to ATE super blue) -- I kinda felt 'bad' that I hadn't gone the distance and ALSO bled/flushed the clutch.
As said, from what I've been reading ...now I'm kinda glad I didn't !
G.

Ray Calvo

Got 93K miles on my '95. Did it once prob. about 3 years ago when the clutch was squeaking as I depressed the pedal. Fluid was absolutely black when I bled it at the slave cylinder. Clutch has been quiet since and I haven't touched it, although have done the brakes several times since this cluch bleeding.

993inNC

You mean you mixed DOT fluid with synthetic ATE blue? BAD BAD BAD

you need to flush again and do the clutch this time as well. If the fluid that came out originally wasn't to bad, you should be okay with a re-flush. Since the mix, to be sure they have fully congeeled with each other by now and if you've had no problems, I would re-flush soon.

TomF

I am assuming that he meant that he "changed" out the fluid to the ATE super blue.... I hope.

g_murray

Hi,

Yeah - last March - I "changed" the brake-fluid at 24,000 miles (to ATE super blue) -- but didn't bleed/change the fluid at the clutch-bleed-nipple (up on top of the tranny) -- just couldn't "get" there.

The 'feel' of the clutch pedal has been the same -- before/after -- the brake fluid/flush -- i.e. "great"/"no problemos". If there is any 'mixing' going on -- (if at all) -- it hasn't had any adverse effects in 1,500+ miles.

G.

993inNC

You've been warned

jnnking

Back to to orginal question, it's possible. Of course, you likely don't hear about all the slave flushing that gooes without incident. Just us unlucky ones who come here to tell our stories.

It looks like the job is a PITA due to location, but not that expensive really.

g_murray

Oh boy, you're a riot !

JasonAndreas

Most of the time the problem is a faulty diagnosis, "bleed the clutch slave cylinder that will fix it" kinda like "change the DME relay." Another issue is improper bleeding and letting the reservoir go dry. The solution to that is real simple, follow the directions that came with the pressure bleeder: Motive, Snap-On, etc. and fill the bleeder with brake fluid and then you need to leave the bleeder valve open, not just start, stop, start, stop.

993inNC

Not trying to be, I'm just saying its not a good idea and since its probably safe to assume you're clutch slave seals are okay, you should do the right thing and re-flush the system. Don't do it if you don't want to, I'm just trying to help you save yourself from something more severe down the road (no pun intended).

Rick Lee

I've never had a problem flushing my clutch slave when I do the brakes too. If you leave old fluid in there for too long, the contaminats will degrade the inside of the line and the slave piston and you will have problems. After you've changed a slave cylinder with the engine in the car, you'll agree that flushing it every time you do brakes is cheap and easy preventative maint.

When I use the Motive bleeder, I still pump the pedal to get the fluid moving faster.

amfp

I flush slave cylinder every two years. Comes out somewhat dirty so it is necessary, imo.