5ktq clutch bleeding-Really such a PITA?

[Archibald, Jon]

I personally find vacuum bleeders to be next to worthless because they
suck air bubbles through the threads of the bleeder valve, making it
hard to tell when you've actually gotten the air out of the system. 

I may be oversimplifying the clutch bleed, but my little sister and I
bled the clutch on her 5kcsq in about  15 minutes with a $1.97 "one man
bleeder kit" consisting of a piece of 3/8" aquarium hose and a little
check valve. I just filled the reservoir up, had her pump the pedal
until it was nice and firm, then had her keep pressure on the pedal
until it reached the floor when I opened the valve. Then closed the
valve with her foot still to the floor and re-topped the reservoir. We
repeated this 8-10 times until no more bubbles could be seen in the
bleeder hose. no removal of parts or lifting of car required. Long arms
help for reaching the bleeder on the slave cylinder, but thats about it.

Your results may vary, but this is the way I've always bled clutches and
I haven't had a problem with one yet.

Jon Archibald


Morning All,

Not a question really, I had read a lot in the archives about clutch
bleeding, and what a pain it was. Well this weekend it was time to do
mine before I re-fitted stuff in the engine bay that would make it
harder.

WHAT A PITA!

I ended up having to remove the slave cylinder, attach my vac pump, then
physically compress the slave cylinder and clamp  it shut, it then took
about an hour after all that to bleed it out, and it had to be done with
a combination of pedal movement and vac pump.

YUK!

But thought I would mention the technique here for ref.