General Clutch slave cylinder bleed nipple

[Liam1804]

Hi, I’m after some advice on how the bleed nipple unscrews on the clutch slave cylinder. Is there a metal clip that stops it from being turned? Being plastic I don’t want to snap anything

 

[nikrox]

Its plastic/nylon or whatever but is still a nut that unscrews as normal. Nothing else.I used a ring spanner.

 

[llamallama]

This is the old and new CSC bleeder elbow from one of my vectra's

Also visible is the hose clips,

Just giving an example

 

[Liam1804]

Its plastic/nylon or whatever but is still a nut that unscrews as normal. Nothing else.I used a ring spanner.

I’m an idiot, I should of said it’s for a 1.2 8v There’s no nut to get a ring spanner on with mine, The sides are just flat,

This is what mine looks like,

 

[llamallama]

Turn bleeder screw to bleed,
Take cap off the end and put some tube on the nipple and run it into a container or bottle or whatever

 

[multipete]

It only turns quarter or half a turn,use a 13mm spanner on the flats.

 

[GrandePunto PL]

Or maybe 12 mm.

 

[Bernievarian]

Or maybe 12 mm.

Or even an 1/2" ;-)

 

[llamallama]

12.7mm, very good

 

[llamallama]

Or...
You could use an itty bitty shifter

 

[Bernievarian]

Found out during my working days that imperial vs metric spanners where sometimes of better use, and opposite is true also, when working on bad quality/worn bolts. Tolerances are so that they (might) simply fit better !
This kind of plastic nipple must be quite fragile (same as the radiator drains) and one really need the best tool !!

BRs, Bernie

 

[llamallama]

Indeed,

Definitely agree with that,
Also you can see the damage to the old bleeder elbow in the photo I posted,
Probably very similar plastic used with the current bleeder this post is about,

 

[Pugglt Auld Jock]

I'm still trying to get a "good" pedal on my boy's 2012 Punto 1.4 8valve. But being thwarted by my boy not letting me have the vehicle. I had no trouble simply turning the "tap" with my fingers (yes it only turns a quarter turn).

How are you bleeding yours? I tried by the conventional, pedal pumping, method but found it very difficult due to the pedal "helper" spring. Once the nipple is open when you depress the pedal the helper spring holds the pedal down to the floor because the clutch itself cannot exert any returning force through the fluid. You have to pull the pedal back up by hand. We ended up with a slightly better pedal action but still not great. Next time I'll be using my Gunson pressure bleeder which forces the fluid through without pumping the pedal. Hoping for a better result but fearing probably a master cylinder may be needed.

 

[llamallama]

Yep,
Sometimes it can take quite a few goes by lifting up and pushing down with your hand to get the clutch pedal firm again, can take up to 10 goes or more, but will get there in the end.
Good to know the clutch return spring is working well

 

[Liam1804]

Just an update if anybody else in future has same problem, I started to get some judder when pulling away in 1st and reverse when lifting the clutch up, it’s the same judder you get when the clutch is starting to go,

I strongly thought I would have to get the clutch changed. But I read a thread on here regarding clutch issues and the stages to try before changing the clutch,

One was to change the fluid, so I finally got round to flushing the slave cylinder using a self bleed kit, it was easy tbh, just turn the bleeder anti clockwise but make sure you put some tubing over the nipple into a container. I flushed through 500ml fluid just to make sure any old fluid in the clutch system was gone, I have to admit the old fluid looked clean But I did notice there was quiet a lot of air coming out with the fluid then just a Constant stream of fresh fluid, So my problem must of been trapped air in the system somewhere

Test drove the car and it a lot better pulling away and gear changes are a lot smoother, Really Appreciate all the info given ?.

 

[Bernievarian]

Thanks for the share Liam ...

BRs, Bernie