Me again .. I seem to have a lot of questions after driving 3518 more than usual lately. Short of being quad jointed and very fast, is there a way to single-handedly bleed the clutch slave cylinder? Thanks.
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Yes. SpeedBleeders replace the stock bleed screws and have a one-way valve allowing for a single person bleeding of hydraulic systems. Brake and clutch metric screws are available. If you search the forum you should find the part numbers. I know I’ve posted them in the past.
It should be no different than bleeding brakes. Attach a short rubber hose that fits tight over the slave cylinder bleed valve, place the other end of the hose into a small container filled partially with brake fluid, making sure the hose end is submerged in the fluid. Slightly loosen up the bleed valve so fluid can come out when the clutch petal gets depressed. Make sure your master cylinder is filled with fluid, then depress the clutch petal slowly. Repeat several times, making sure the fluid level in the master cylinder stays filled. You may not hear air being blown into the fluid filled container because of the distance from where you are sitting to depress the clutch, so repeat the process a few times to make sure all air has been forced through. Tighten the bleed valve before removing the hose. This will insure no air returns into the slave cylinder. If you allowed the master cylinder fluid level to drop too low, new air might have gotten into the system and you will have to repeat the process.
quote:Originally posted by Robbie:
Me again .. I seem to have a lot of questions after driving 3518 more than usual lately. Short of being quad jointed and very fast, is there a way to single-handedly bleed the clutch slave cylinder? Thanks.
For one man operations, and also for the insane ease of the process, I strongly recommend you buy a Motive pressure bleeder. Make sure you get the proper adapter for the master cylinder.
Two man, open - close, pedal up pedal down works. And the long hose stuck into a bottle of fluid also works.
Both seem rather caveman in their approach once you have used a pressure bleeder.
Larry
Two man, open - close, pedal up pedal down works. And the long hose stuck into a bottle of fluid also works.
Both seem rather caveman in their approach once you have used a pressure bleeder.
Larry
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for sure, a hose and bottle is a throwback procedure but it costs nothing and you may already have the tools in the garage and its pretty darn easy.
quote:Originally posted by LF - TP 2511:
For one man operations, and also for the insane ease of the process, I strongly recommend you buy a Motive pressure bleeder. Make sure you get the proper adapter for the master cylinder.
Two man, open - close, pedal up pedal down works. And the long hose stuck into a bottle of fluid also works.
Both seem rather caveman in their approach once you have used a pressure bleeder.
Larry
.....Pretty darn easy
Yes, if we are just talking the clutch system, it is pretty easy.
But when you get into bleeding all four corners of your brake system, which involves six separate bleed screws, it doesn’t seem so easy hooking up that hose and bottle six different times compared to one hook up with the pressure bleeder.
Just saying......
Larry
Yes, if we are just talking the clutch system, it is pretty easy.
But when you get into bleeding all four corners of your brake system, which involves six separate bleed screws, it doesn’t seem so easy hooking up that hose and bottle six different times compared to one hook up with the pressure bleeder.
Just saying......
Larry
I started to do my single-handed clutch system bleeding and I may have discovered why my clutch does not seem to release .. the brake fluid in the clutch system is almost black .. seems to have fine sediment in it. That leads me to believe that the seals in the master cylinder and maybe the slave have deteriorated. These are OEM cylinders. Are there rebuilding kits available? I think there is a local place that can do rebuilding .. gonna check. Thanks.
Before you buy any rebuilding kits check the bores of your master and slave cylinders.
Very likely you will find that rust pitting has ruined the sealing surface within.
Very likely you will find that rust pitting has ruined the sealing surface within.
I have an extra master cylinder which was the original one .. I replaced it maybe 20 years ago. I'm going to take it to this specialty shop in San Jose that I visited several years ago. They apparently rebuilt many masters (maybe brake masters) for Wilkinson that were new but from a Chinese vendor and needed help. I'll let them disassemble and evaluate. Maybe I'l luck out and only minor honing will clean up the bore if there is any rust.
Robbie,
Be careful with the honing, as the doughnut type o-rings that are used in the clutch master cylinder have a very small interference fit to the bore (~0.002" at best). Even minor honing will shorten the life of your rebuild considerably.
You may find that you will need to have the cylinder sleeved (or buy a new master cylinder).
John
Be careful with the honing, as the doughnut type o-rings that are used in the clutch master cylinder have a very small interference fit to the bore (~0.002" at best). Even minor honing will shorten the life of your rebuild considerably.
You may find that you will need to have the cylinder sleeved (or buy a new master cylinder).
John
Thanks for the heads up John. I realize that new ones are pretty inexpensive but there has been a lot of bad publicity on this site about Chinese products, maybe I'm gun shy. The ones on ebay are from PISports so perhaps good quality .. any opinions?
The local shop has a lot of experience and in prior discussions I know they will give me the straight story .. bad or good. Stay tuned.
The local shop has a lot of experience and in prior discussions I know they will give me the straight story .. bad or good. Stay tuned.
Amazing. I took my 30 year old clutch master cylinder that had been hiding in my dry garage to the specialty shop I mentioned above. The owner took it apart while I was waiting, used a little force to free up the piston, used a very, very light abrasive to remove any dried residue, and upon examination the bore was perfect. Shiny and clean .. no rust, no pits, nada. So he's going to rebuild. I found my old slave from the same era and I'm dropping it off tomorrow so he can do both. Interestingly .. when I walked into his "hole in the wall" shop with the master in my hand the owner said "Pantera." He repeated the story of "junk" new ones from China that he was asked to make good by a Pantera vendor. I'll update when done.
Last of this thread. I picked up my rebuilt original master and slave. They look beautiful .. the rebuilder is a wizard. Total cost .. $100. I'm ready to install and get back on the road. I'm thinking of getting the M/S currently on the car rebuilt and preserved for the future.
Just when you thought it was safe to go back into the water ... 
I successfully installed my newly rebuilt clutch slave and now I've turned to the newly rebuilt clutch master cylinder. I've removed the driver's seat to allow better access for my aging, less flexible body. I haven't started .. here is my assessment and questions. The one impossibly small snap ring holds the clutch pedal to the cylinder actuating rod clevis. And then there are two bolts that go through the firewall that hold the cylinder itself. Of course they are at 12 and 6 o'clock making the 12 o'clock one almost impossible to see or reach. AND they appear to be bolts, not studs so something/someone has to hold the inside bolt head while someone else undoes the nuts in the front trunk. Did they really do that?? There is just one of me so gentle souls, any suggestions on how to unmount and mount this pesky master cylinder single-handed?
Get a pair of small needled nose vise grips on the bolt head under the dash then slowly turn the nut on top. X2. The grips will pop off a couple of times before you get it. Patience, and yes it will test your flexibility.