i have a 2001 itr w/ 33,000 mi on the stock clutch. the clutch engagement is inconsistent and is rubbery at times. 90% of the time, it engages normally. but occasionally it will barely engage untill the pedal is almost half-way out. a friend at work tells me that it's time to bleed my clutch. any other possibilities?

thanks!

kepani-who posted in "tech" but got 0 replies

 

it wouldn't hurt to bleed the clutch. You might have a clutch on it's way out also.

 

any step by step's on bleeding the clutch? bleeding will make it stiffer?

 

my guess is that j0r clutch master will look like mud inside.

yshi - who thinks he knows what he'll be doing on sunday now

 

bleed the clutch. requires very little effort! , except an open 8mm wrench.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Soup **** &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">bleed the clutch. requires very little effort! , except an open 8mm wrench.</TD></TR></TABLE>

and a buddy.

 

gracias dudes! (mahalo bruddahs!) for the replies. i doubt it's a worn clutch as i am still on my o.g. re010's! let's just say ms. daisy is a passenger of mine.

i may have 2 buddies helping me out this sunday

kepani-who missed out on the "sunday festivities" for almost a month

 

Look at the fluid in the reservoir. Chances are it looks like molasses.

 

How much fluid is needed to flush completely? .5L? 1L? Where's the bleeder screw at?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by NBP #0933 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">How much fluid is needed to flush completely? .5L? 1L? Where's the bleeder screw at?</TD></TR></TABLE>
.5 should be enough.
it's near the exhaust manifold.

 

you can bleed your clutch by yourself.

Put a hose on the bleeder into a bottle
crack the bleeder open
pump the clutch pedal a few times
add fluid as necessary
pump the clutch pedal a few times
add fluid as necessary

make sure you don't let the fluid go all the way down, so you don't pump air into the lines.

It is not necessary to bleed the clutch like you do brakes. You would be just wasting your time opening and closing the bleeder on every set of pumps.

I just pump a whole bottle of fluid through (only 2 bux a bottle) and then close the bleeder. Top off the resivour.

Done.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by tonyXcom &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">make sure you don't let the fluid go all the way down, so you don't pump air into the lines.

</TD></TR></TABLE>

The res only holds about 1/4 cup of fluid. To keep air from getting sucked in, you need to top it off constantly. Once you get air in the line, it's a bitch to get out.

 

Thanks. I'll try 1 person bleeding method this weekend. The fluid is looking rather dark.

 

It's much easier with two people....
and it doesn't take much fluid, I'd say a tiny bit less than 1/2 a liter.

 

AND... with the bleeder screw open, the clutch pedal once depressed will not come back up, since there is no back pressure to push it back to that position, so you get to pump it with your hand (which some of you might have alot of practice with)

and may i recommend these: http://www.fastlineperformance.com/clutchline.htm

 

You guys are all doing it the hard way. I open the reservoir cap, top it off, open the bleed screw, then sit back and let gravity do the rest. Just keep adding fluid to the reservoir when it gets low.

I have noticed that when my fluid gets dirty (which it seems to do very quickly) that the clutch will occasionally act funny and not engage in the normal place.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Floyd &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">You guys are all doing it the hard way. I open the reservoir cap, top it off, open the bleed screw, then sit back and let gravity do the rest. Just keep adding fluid to the reservoir when it gets low.</TD></TR></TABLE>

I tried doing it that way but the bubbles never went away.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by CPR &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

I tried doing it that way but the bubbles never went away.</TD></TR></TABLE>

You mean, you got the bubbles doing the gravity-pull way? Or, you couldn't get the bubbles out with the gravity-pull way?

I would like to know the lazest way to bleed the clutch.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Cosworth &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

You mean, you got the bubbles doing the gravity-pull way? Or, you couldn't get the bubbles out with the gravity-pull way?

I would like to know the lazest way to bleed the clutch. </TD></TR></TABLE>

I couldn't get rid of the bubbles doing the gravity bleed. The easiest way is to...

1.) Make sure the clutch reservoir is full.
2.) Put hose on the bleed screw and open the bleed screw.
3.) Pump the clutch pedal by hand no more than 5 times at a time.
4.) I don't remember exactly but leave the pedal either up or down (depending on which position it is that prevents the gravity bleed).
5.) At this time, you can fill the resevoir again and go back to step 3 until you see nothing but clean fluid in the resevoir.

I'm not sure how much gunk you have in your reservoir but I actually had to wipe the walls of the resevoir with a paper towel to get all the black gunk outta there. If you don't wipe it down, it will never look like you have fresh fluid in there since the gunk will mix with the new fluid.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by CPR &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
I actually had to wipe the walls of the resevoir with a paper towel to get all the black gunk outta there. If you don't wipe it down, it will never look like you have fresh fluid in there since the gunk will mix with the new fluid.
</TD></TR></TABLE>

yeah, it's amazing how much junk gets in there. i remember when we were doing aoigsr's clutch bleed, his was pretty "gunky".

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Soup **** &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">bleed the clutch. requires very little effort! , except an open 8mm wrench.</TD></TR></TABLE>

open? i would use a box end wrench. also, bleeding can be done with one person, but it's like a marathon, you have to go inside, push the pedal in, go back outside and bleed...repeat. i just did it twice this afternoon.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by kepani &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

yeah, it's amazing how much junk gets in there. i remember when we were doing aoigsr's clutch bleed, his was pretty "gunky".</TD></TR></TABLE>

Where does this gunk come from? Is it just from dirt floating around the engine bay and bad seals?

I would recommend two people for the clutch bleed just to make things go easier. With two people, though, it is a piece of cake. Easier than bleeding brakes.

 

I'm glad I'm not the only one with all that sediment in the fluid. I thought something might be wrong, but it sounds normal.

I'm guessing that the dust from the clutch disc works its way into the slave cylinder, and floats around in the lines. I can't imagine it is getting in through the reservoir.

 

1. have a friend pump 5 times
2. hold pedal down
3. connect hose to bleeder
4. open bleeder screw.....squirt.....
5. close bleeder screw
6. pull clutch pedal up
7. Repeat
.................................................. ..repeat till you are satified

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by ITR1150 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">1. have a friend pump 5 times
2. hold pedal down
3. connect hose to bleeder
4. open bleeder screw.....squirt.....
5. close bleeder screw
6. pull clutch pedal up
7. Repeat
.................................................. ..repeat till you are satified</TD></TR></TABLE>

You are wasting your time opening and closing the bleeder screw.

During normal operation, the pressure plate is what pushes the fluid out of the slave cylinder. Once you crack the bleeder screw, you no longer apply any force to the pressure plate.

Pumping the clutch pedal only pushes the fluid in the system 1 way. On the upstroke of the clutch pedal, fluid is drawn in from the resivior.

All you need to do is crack the bleeder open and pump fluid through the system making sure not to let the resivior go empty during that process. Thats it, really.