I searched archives and found much info. but each article only deals with one part of the system. What is the proceedure and how do you remove accumulated air from a system that has had the slave, master, and cluth fluid resivouir all changed at once. ant tips tricks and how to info? i know somebody out there knows how this is done. as i got air in EVERYTHING. So how do you put all the techniques together and bleed all the parts in the system? Especially the master seems to have a lot of air i cant get out. If anyone can understand my feeble attempt to explain my problem, please help. My new clutch is currently fully engauged, trans shifts good into an out of gear with engine off. i have seen advice dont pump the pedal like bleeding brakes, reverse pressure flush systyem, and get master lower than slave, etc etc. and a zillion ways to bleed ONE part of the system. Please help me bleed a TOTAL system. Mechanics where are you?

 

Addendum to clutch bleeding, it is a 1994 ranger. 2.3litre, with mazda 5 speed manual trans. all parts in clutch system are recently new.

 

Seems to be a fairly common problem. This is from a Ford "clutch tips hotline":

These applications require special procedures to bleed the hydraulic system properly. The mounting position of the master cylinder on the firewall traps air in the rear portion of the cylinder. Before bleeding the system, remove the master cylinder from the firewall and position it so the reservoir end is higher than the push rod end. This will enable air to escape from the rear position of the cylinders.

 

Rockledge, do you mean i should use the gravity bleed method at the slave bleeder screw, while keeping the masters forward end higher than the reservouir, and disconnected from the firewall? Or reinstall master first, then bleed at slave? i just dont know how something so simple has turned so complicated for me. Man i gotta stop reading so much, too many ideas, too many methods, just went and fried my brain!!! thank you for any help or ideas.

 

Friend:

bleeding brakes, hydraulic system, clutch, lines

Here I come with a solution to all enthusiasts who tamper with hidraulic lines in brakes an
clutches. The eternal air inside the pipes and how to rid of this newsance.
How do these systems work?
When the master cilinder is at rest, fluids from slave cilinders have reversed due to openings of
the cylinder into de reservoir. Only in this position does the fluid "return" to the reservoir.
When pressing the master the openings or ports are there no more so positive pressure develops
and slaves are commanded thus braking or clutching etc....
When inexperienced mechanics tamper with these fluid lines fluid is lost an most of the time air
get in and as anybody knows air makes hydraulic systems work in a spongy way... in other words
they don´t work.
The proper way to fix this (when a system becomes full with air )
Best way is not to pump the master over and over.... allthough if some air got in near the slave
cylinder it may work by building some preasure and the releiving the bleeder screw slightly.
The way I do it is the following:
I get a 60mg syringe and fill the slaves by hand in a way that air will go to the top of the slave and
no air will be inside it. Most slaves need not be removed for this. At first I try to do this operation
using the bleeder hole through the bleeder screw and piece of simple yellow PVC fuel hose or
similar conected to my syringe filled with fluid. The bigger the syringe the better. a 100 ml is better
with a 1/4" outlet ready to connect the improvised hose I am talking about.
The I start aplying pressure to the syringe by hand to force the fluid up to the reservoir. Please
note here that you must take the top (cap) off the reservoir and put the half of a plastic cannister
underneath de master as it will overflow , so you cut a plastic bottle or some similar with a knife
taking care no to go away with one of your fingers and set it preferable over a rag of some kind
under the reservoir of your master. In this way you will recover you blake fluid. Use it again only if
it is clean.
Remenber that the bleeder screw should be opened and it is not a bad idea to put some teflon
tape to it to avoid a little spilling through the thread.
If in spite of what I´ve said you note that fluid is not getting in, (remember to open the bleeding
screw) please do not force it and procced inversely. get someone to pump the master for 15
minutes......at least. making sure that you always have liquid in the reservoir. The excess of fluid
you divert it through the bleeding screw near the slave through the PVC hose into a canister or
bottle in the floor in order to retreive it or avoid spilling. In this case after a while it is better to leave
the bleeding screw slightly open so that you have to apply some preasure in order to pump. Once
you have pumped several litres or gallons of fluid shut the bleedind screw near the slave and
check the system. If you ever succed in pumping your master with no liquid... then you are bugged
quite and must bleed the system thoroughly again.
Hope you can manage.
Cheers
Karslake

 

Karslake, Thank you for the information. I will try this method next time i get in another situation like the last one! Hope alls well with you there in Chile. Is it hard for you to get parts there?

 

Thanks blownpiston.
Where are you from Blownpiston?

I wouldn´t think it difficult to find spares here at all. Trouble is, that official ford parts dealers and all service shops charge too expensive for these and for repairs. Generic spares are to be found everywhere and are not expensive. Last month had to tune up my truck but had no time to do it myself.
Took the truck into a shop and they changed the spark plugs and the plug wires... Total fee US $ 165.- Now I find this excessive for a plug change.
And so forth and so on.. It is always the same. I hate shops when they like to do diagnostics....but don´t like to do the work the way one wants...

Now I need to change the clutch of my truck.... Everyone knows that first clutch replacement only needs disk replacement... but the shop wants aditional ; new preasure plate, flywheel rectification, push bearings, new slave asemmbly etc..etc....
So instead of spending some$ 30-or 40 bucks for the plate...plus some $ 100 for labour you go and make them rich in one hit giving them some $ 1000.- or so... and I still would not be confident that all those spares trully got replaced. Or if they were original ford or generic. Do you encounter some of this situation over there?

Regards
Karslake

 

its not a bad idea to change everything while you have the tranny out unless a shop is doing it, then it gets expensive like you said. if you do it yourself, definately change everything.

 

I agree with you... while the gearbox is out one could become generous and spill a bit here and there... at least ´d be sure and responsible for what I do, and still maintain the repairs to a very reasonable amount.

Regards

Karslake

 

Karslake, Yes the same stealership problems exsist here in U.S.A. High O.E.M. parts cost also. Automotive shops have always been goldmines for those with enough money to go into business.If people would just stop paying these outrageous prices, the fees would fall. Supply and demand. Same with anything else. While you have your transmission out anyway, its good to just go through the entire system and rebuild it. You will gain many thousands of carefree miles, and save a bunch of money on labor to pay for the parts. The guys on the board here are GREAT, they helped me out many times. So, even though it seems crazy when they tell you to do all this parts work, it makes sense to do it once and forgett about it. It is not hard to do. If i can do it ANYONE CAN! My ranger has never ran so good. The board guys here told me a real fast easy way to get my top two trans bolts out. Went to parts house got a two foot long extension, then let tailshaft of trans down low untill i had a clear straight shot at the bolts, and just cranked them out. Back in same way. The guys here have a wealth of information, and have saved me tons of money on shop fees.