Folks,

After 2 years of relatively pain free Croma-ing.....My classic Italian Stallion, has bowled me two new curve balls.
Firstly ignition Switch rebuild woes, see my other topic.....and also it would appear that my Clutch Master Cylinder is not really generating any significant pressure now.
I am okay with the part replacement exercise, however the baffling bit is how do I get the Clutch hydraulic reservior section on top the brake master cylinder to refill?
I have read others mentioning the relationship between the brake pedal actuation and fluid moving into the clutch section of the reservoir....mine does not seem to do this......I can bleed fluid out the clutch elbow bleed nipple easily but the reservoir does not seem to replenish correctly...( The car is a 2005 1.9 16V Multijet)

So if any kind soul has been through the exercise of replacing the clutch master cylinder, I would interested to hear how you managed to get it to refill.

Thanks,

Peter.

Have been here several times, and am I think the original poster re: the clutch reservoir not filling.

1) Keep the whole reservoir brimmed with fluid.
2) Keep pumping the brake pedal and maintain 1)
3) If the back reservoir section still fails to top up then repeat 1) and 2) but with the engine running.

Step 3) will allow/introduce a much increased pedal and thus fluid displacement.

Finally, ensure the car is pretty near level otherwise reservoir partition fluid flow my be compromised.

I HATE HATE HATE doing clutch fluid change on the Croma. Every two years I hit the same problem, often run the slave dry. I'm also not convinced that a pressure bleed
is any better than a pedal pump bleed. I've tried both.

A vacuum bleed is almost certainly not going to work, although I have never tried it.

IMHO a frigging *rap design.

P.S. Note! if you do get a clutch fluid vacuum then DO NOT heavily pump the clutch pedal in an attempt to prime the system again. Go very slowly with max pedal travel otherwise you may damage the clutch master cylinder rubbers id they are overly dry and fluid deprived.

Hi S130,

Thanks for guidance and experience.
I have a new Clutch Mater Cyl and Bleed valve elbow piece, to fit later this week, and once I have my Ign Switch fixed I can start the bloody thing to get the brake servo assistance to help refill the clutch supply reservoir section.....
I sincerely hope it fixes it, otherwise its a trip to Mr Clutch...as I am too old to be dropping subframes now...


Peter.

corripeter said:

however the baffling bit is how do I get the Clutch hydraulic reservior section on top the brake master cylinder to refill?
I have read others mentioning the relationship between the brake pedal actuation and fluid moving into the clutch section of the reservoir....mine does not seem to do this......I can bleed fluid out the clutch elbow bleed nipple easily but the reservoir does not seem to replenish correctly...( The car is a 2005 1.9 16V Multijet)

So if any kind soul has been through the exercise of replacing the clutch master cylinder, I would interested to hear how you managed to get it to refill.

Thanks,

Peter.

Click to expand...

Concerning Croma 16V 150 BHP built 2008
After a long period of hesitating and reading the forum I finally took the decision to change clutch fluid. To make the bleed nipple accesible, the hump shaped hose left from the battery tray was removed. After opening the bleed nipple tried to suck out the fluid with a bic syringe and a hose. Noticed the fluid was dirty but was not able to get more then 5 cc out of it. Second attempt was by way of Eezibleed to press the old oil out and to prevent the system from emptying. But it did not work out as I presumed, before I was aware of what happened the system was already empty and oil flowed over the engine under tray and ground. After this event the clutch pedal was laying on the car bottom as dead as a black crow. I pressed brake and clutch pedal with engine on and off, but to no avail. Next battery and battery tray were removed to make the clutch cylinder more visible in order to find a way to get rid of the trapped air, nothing was found. Then the idea, to fill the system the other way around arose, and to do so I filled a oil can with brake fluid and pumped the oil trough a thin hose into the bleed nipple. After a short time the level in the brake fluid container went higher and escaping air was audible. Result, the dead crow came to live again and the clutch now works a tread, just as it was before I started the oil change operation. Hope this will be of any help in future clutch matters.

I've not tried a reverse bleed/pump on the Croma, but bearing in mind you are filling from the tail it has to hopefully reach the main body.

For me thus far I've followed my original method/advice to pump the brake pedal during clutch bleeding.

I'm intrigued/interested in you "pressure bleed" not working. I personally hate pressure bleeding because any minor air leak on the reservoir results in brake fluid *issing out uncontrolled. And we all know how corrosive brake fluid is.

s130 said:

I'm intrigued/interested in you "pressure bleed" not working. I personally hate pressure bleeding because any minor air leak on the reservoir results in brake fluid *issing out uncontrolled. And we all know how corrosive brake fluid is.

Click to expand...

It was my intention to refill the clutch reservoir at the same time the bleed nipple was open, that's why Eezibleed was used, but Eezibleed didn't fulfill the expected outcome, the new supplied fluid went most likely into the brake section. The pressure bleed it self was working very well, the air pressure blew the system empty and likewise the hose between the bleed nipple and a empty jar was blown away. Next time I will connect the hose better (improved fit), using a very low air pressure, and do the refill in the same way as I did before, with the aid of an oilcan, piece of cake.