Technical Clutch Bleeding Help

[multieddie]

Could someone give me an idea how to bleed the clutch on a Multi? Lost the ability to change gears without crunching and lots of force a few days ago and thought that either one or both of the cylinders had gone or there was air in the system.

So I thought I'd rule out the cheap stuff first and attempted to bleed the system at the slave cylinder using a one man bleeding kit but it's worse than it was before. The pedal is now very soft and doesn't spring back to its resting position for ages. When operating the clutch pedal there's now very little movement at the slave and it's impossible to get in into gear at all.

Now stuck with inoperable car over the Christmas period. Ho, ho, bloody ho!!!
(At least I won't be taxi man over the hols!!)

Any help gratefully recieved!!!

 

[cooky257]

I to would like to know the secret,I bled mine over and over again using various methods,none worked and I could not figure it out. Eventually I parked it up hill on my very steep drive and tried again with a rubbish gunsons kit. Finally it worked after about five more attempts.

 

[multieddie]

I to would like to know the secret,I bled mine over and over again using various methods,none worked and I could not figure it out. Eventually I parked it up hill on my very steep drive and tried again with a rubbish gunsons kit. Finally it worked after about five more attempts.

Someone else on the forum mentioned jacking up the car too. Could you just clarify if you mean nose up or nose down? Cheers.

 

[cooky257]

Sorry about delayed reply,nose up high as you can get it, I don't know if this is the correct method but its the only way I could make it work.

 

[Snoo]

Oh these pesky clutches. Yeah mine off the road whilst I'm still trying to bleed it. Using a pressure bleader and one way valve on the slave. Still no joy. The jacking method would imply an air lock.

Lube your gear cables whilst you've got your hands dirty!

 

[multieddie]

Back on the road now. The piston in the master cylinder had stuck partially in. I disconnected the clutch pedal and then removed the plunger, first removing the plastic clip that retains it in the top of the cylinder. This is removed by pushing out from the right hand side. Look for something that would fit the end of a flat blade screwdriver. Then you can pull the C shaped clip out and remove the plunger. After that I could see the White nylon top of the piston stuck halfway down the cylinder. So I went under the bonnet and pulled back on clutch lever to force the piston back up. Reassembled the clutch lever and that was that. Working better than for a long time. Don't know what caused the poor gearshift in the first place. But it's working now and being left well alone until it breaks again. Thanks for you help folks. And yes, I'll give the gear cables a lube too. I lubed the bushings on the clutch lever too which has made the clutch action much smoother and lighter.

 

[multieddie]

A few days later and the clutch is still working, although it needs to be pumped a few times at startup before it will disengage properly. Here's a question though. When I was bleeding the system the clutch pedal would not return to it's normal position without manually lifting it. Would this indicate a broken or failed spring in the master cylinder? When I removed the pushrod attached to the clutch pedal the piston was stuck halfway down the master cylinder. Just want to be sure before I go to the trouble and expense of a new master cylinder.

 

[Snoo]

A few days later and the clutch is still working, although it needs to be pumped a few times at startup before it will disengage properly. Here's a question though. When I was bleeding the system the clutch pedal would not return to it's normal position without manually lifting it. Would this indicate a broken or failed spring in the master cylinder? When I removed the pushrod attached to the clutch pedal the piston was stuck halfway down the master cylinder. Just want to be sure before I go to the trouble and expense of a new master cylinder.

having just replaced master cyl internals, I found I also had to lift the pedal when bleeding using this method. Reccomend an eazi bleed and a one man bleed kit though.