Re: '88 90Q Clutch Bleeding

["Avram Dorfman" <dorfman@est.org>]

I didn't happen to notice your original post - Often there are a lot of
messages in one day, and when I breeze through, I don't always notice
everything.

I have good news and bad news for you... Yes, you bleed the clutch from
under the car, and yes, it's hard to see. If you have a Bentley manual, look
for a picture of it, that will help you visualize it. My brother and I
couldn't even *find* the slave cylindar to remove it when we were removing
the transmission, until we had the trans lowered & ready to come out. Then
we said "oh, there it is." Once we saw it once, it was easy, & we were able
to remove it later, after the transmission was back in, because we knew what
we were "feeling for."

The bad news is, as I learned from the list, this system is ment to be
"pressure bled". I had never heard of this, so for those who still haven't,
this is when you have a special system for forcing fluid through from the
master cylinder. I believe there is no "valve" on the master cylinder, not a
bleed valve anyway.

We did come up with a way to bleed the system without a pressure bleeder,
which seems to have worked fine. The traditional "open the valve, step on
the clutch, close the valve & repeat" procedure didn't get us anywhere. )We
were told that it would work, but would take about 100 repetitions. Well, it
didn't. Here's what we did (read disclaimer below):

1) remove the slave cylindar
    (1 bolt, but hard to get to, especially if you don't know what you're
    looking for. Don't disconnect the fluild line, just let the cylindar
hang)
2) open the bleeder valve
3) depress the slave cylinder's actuating rod ("piston"?)
    (Press the entire cylinder against the car's frame - it has a strong
spring)
4) close the bleeder
5) release the piston
    This is the magic step - that big spring "sucks" more fluid into
    the system from the reservoir, with all the power of a sealed system
6) repeat from #2 until 100% fluid (no bubbles) comes out
7) reinstall the slave cylindar
    (This is difficult b/c you have to depress the actuator rod by jamming
it against the clutch lever *while* you're shoving the cylinder back into
position at that odd angle where you can't really see anything, and you have
to get the bolt in and at least a little threaded, before you can let go)

Important note: DO NOT step on the clutch peddal while the slave cylindar is
out. You'll blow the slave cylindar wide open. Trust me on this one.

Disclaimer: I make no assertion that this procedure is appropriate. Only
that my brother has been driving for a month since we did it, and hasn't had
a problem. Also, the last time I posted this procedure to the list, I asked
for comments, and nobody wrote in saying "you idiot, you'll $%^$%# your
*&*%*_((& if you do that"

As difficult as step 7 is, it's a normal part of reinstalling a tranny, so
many other people have presumably done it. This procedure has the wonderful
benefit that if you're in rented garage space, and have never even *heard*
of a pressure bleeder, it'll get you on your way w/out paying an Audi
mechanic $60 just for having a tool that you don't.

Original post:

I need to bleed my clutch hydraulic system.  Can barely see the slave
cylinder on top of the trans.  How do you access the bleed valve? Frombelow?
I conceptually know where the clutch master cylinder is (attached to
the clutch pedal).  But I can't see it from the engine compartment.
How do you access the valve on the master cyl? Also from below?