Dee1986 Posted April 12, 2020 Share Posted April 12, 2020 I'm having no luck getting my clutch slave cylinder to bleed. I just put everything back together after replacing a tore up ring gear and all went smooth. Last thing to do was pop the slave cylinder back in and call it done. I've pumped and bleed this thing for an hour and can't get the clutch pedal to build pressure or return from the floor. What am I missing? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Lewis Posted April 12, 2020 Share Posted April 12, 2020 I'm going to ask a question that suggests I think you are ...... inexperienced. But I don't mean it that way. And I'm sure you are smarter and more experienced than I. But, you do know that most master cylinders have a rubber liner under the lid, and you are supposed to remove it and put the fluid under that? I ask because when I got Big Blue the clutch didn't work well. I bled and bled and then they didn't work at all. But I'd not pulled that liner and all of the fluid was on top of it and the master cylinder was dry. Once I pulled that and added fluid then bled again I still didn't have enough pedal to release the clutch. But the guys told me that the line is so small on a clutch that the bubbles don't come up it without being jarred. Instead they stick inside and compress when you try to use the clutch. Sure enough, I started the truck in gear and drove around the neighborhood for maybe 2 miles, all the while working the clutch pedal. And by the time I got done I had plenty of pedal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArdWrknTrk Posted April 12, 2020 Share Posted April 12, 2020 460 clutch slaves can be obstinate like that. Unfortunate thing, the plastic slaves have no bleed nipple. Backfilling from there would likely have it done in a heartbeat. Gary's right though. I never get a 'good' pedal until it's been driven Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dee1986 Posted April 12, 2020 Author Share Posted April 12, 2020 I'm going to ask a question that suggests I think you are ...... inexperienced. But I don't mean it that way. And I'm sure you are smarter and more experienced than I. But, you do know that most master cylinders have a rubber liner under the lid, and you are supposed to remove it and put the fluid under that? I ask because when I got Big Blue the clutch didn't work well. I bled and bled and then they didn't work at all. But I'd not pulled that liner and all of the fluid was on top of it and the master cylinder was dry. Once I pulled that and added fluid then bled again I still didn't have enough pedal to release the clutch. But the guys told me that the line is so small on a clutch that the bubbles don't come up it without being jarred. Instead they stick inside and compress when you try to use the clutch. Sure enough, I started the truck in gear and drove around the neighborhood for maybe 2 miles, all the while working the clutch pedal. And by the time I got done I had plenty of pedal. Yes I am aware of and pulled the liner. No worries about the question though, none of us were born with all the answers. I've bleed plenty of brake systems before, and am puzzled as to why they didn't put a bleed nipple on this thing so I could simply put a tube on it and pull the air through. I've currently got a pedal that hits the firewall and has no spring back or pressure. I tried pulling air up through the master but the hole in the bottom of the resivoir is no good for my hand pump nipple to fit in. I had to walk away from it tonight and I'll try and wrap my head around it tomorrow. Happy Easter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArdWrknTrk Posted April 12, 2020 Share Posted April 12, 2020 Yes I am aware of and pulled the liner. No worries about the question though, none of us were born with all the answers. I've bleed plenty of brake systems before, and am puzzled as to why they didn't put a bleed nipple on this thing so I could simply put a tube on it and pull the air through. I've currently got a pedal that hits the firewall and has no spring back or pressure. I tried pulling air up through the master but the hole in the bottom of the resivoir is no good for my hand pump nipple to fit in. I had to walk away from it tonight and I'll try and wrap my head around it tomorrow. Happy Easter Brian, All I can say is that at one point I did have an aluminum slave that does have a bleed nipple just like a brake caliper (I think I do still have it , in a box or tote somewhere) Maybe it was a 351 application? IDK, but it was great. I kept it in hopes of a rebuild, but when I need a clutch, I need it NOW. The other solution with that one is to run tubing up, and into the master. Fill the tube and just keep cycling. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rembrant Posted April 12, 2020 Share Posted April 12, 2020 Sure enough, I started the truck in gear and drove around the neighborhood for maybe 2 miles, all the while working the clutch pedal. And by the time I got done I had plenty of pedal. I remember going through this process. I have a homemade continuous brake vacuum bleeder, so I remember sticking it on the slave bleeder screw, and then I ran enough fluid through the system to fill it probably 3 or 4 times, while pumping the pedal as much as I could. Probably 3 or 4 sets of pumping it 20 times. After that I had some pedal, and like Gary I went and drove it around a bit and it got better with some more shifting. I haven't touched it since but the pedal is good and hard now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dee1986 Posted April 12, 2020 Author Share Posted April 12, 2020 Sure enough, I started the truck in gear and drove around the neighborhood for maybe 2 miles, all the while working the clutch pedal. And by the time I got done I had plenty of pedal. I remember going through this process. I have a homemade continuous brake vacuum bleeder, so I remember sticking it on the slave bleeder screw, and then I ran enough fluid through the system to fill it probably 3 or 4 times, while pumping the pedal as much as I could. Probably 3 or 4 sets of pumping it 20 times. After that I had some pedal, and like Gary I went and drove it around a bit and it got better with some more shifting. I haven't touched it since but the pedal is good and hard now. I'm gonna take the bleed screw out of the slave and shove my bleed hand pump down in that hole and try that route. I've ordered a new slave that has a proper bleed nipple to have just in case I have to go that route. Thanks for the guidance so far. If I can get just a little pedal action out of it I'll try driving it around like y'all stated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dee1986 Posted April 12, 2020 Author Share Posted April 12, 2020 I'm gonna take the bleed screw out of the slave and shove my bleed hand pump down in that hole and try that route. I've ordered a new slave that has a proper bleed nipple to have just in case I have to go that route. Thanks for the guidance so far. If I can get just a little pedal action out of it I'll try driving it around like y'all stated. Thanks for the tip, I took the allen screw bleeder all the way out and pulled vacuum through there and about four cycles of topping off the master before it got too low pulled all the air out and now I have a somewhat decent pedal. It's amazing how much air you get out of a small system. Thanks again, enjoy your Sunday. Ham dinner with just my wife and I is going to seem a little strange without a house full. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Lewis Posted April 12, 2020 Share Posted April 12, 2020 Thanks for the tip, I took the allen screw bleeder all the way out and pulled vacuum through there and about four cycles of topping off the master before it got too low pulled all the air out and now I have a somewhat decent pedal. It's amazing how much air you get out of a small system. Thanks again, enjoy your Sunday. Ham dinner with just my wife and I is going to seem a little strange without a house full. Glad you got some pedal. It'll get better from here. (I'd say "Ride up with wear" but you might not be a fan of Are You Being Served?) As for the ham and just the wife, that's exactly our situation. We thought our kids were moving in with us for a bit and bought a large ham. They haven't yet, so now we are eating ham. Lots of it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dee1986 Posted April 12, 2020 Author Share Posted April 12, 2020 Glad you got some pedal. It'll get better from here. (I'd say "Ride up with wear" but you might not be a fan of Are You Being Served?) As for the ham and just the wife, that's exactly our situation. We thought our kids were moving in with us for a bit and bought a large ham. They haven't yet, so now we are eating ham. Lots of it. Big fan of Mr. Humphries and the gang. That was some classic British comedy. Thanks again to all Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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