1979-1993 & 94 Conv [Subscribe to Daily Digest] |
Unless you've cracked open a brake bleeder screw or a brake line somewhere (how could you?),
YEAR PAST : *grimace* Perhaps this is how? I had used a suction device that sucked up all the brake fluid in the reservoir. The kind of device that I use to suck up my old oil when I do an oil change. It has a hose to get really down there. I sucked it dry. I was thinking at the time, I should try back bleeding first before installing a new Clutch MC. And see if that fixes my clutch problem. And that I would be refilling the reservoir anyway from the backbleed. After which I proceeded into the drivers seat and pressed on the brake. It kind of froze in an up position. Very quickly I recall. I did not try again until today.
PRESENT: Yes, the back bleeding method went very smooth. I think if I had held up the PVC hose up high overnight it would have made the job even easier by using gravity.
Yes, the Master Feed PVC hose worked, tight fit I used metal clamps just in case. The added benefit was I was able to watch the blue bubbles. I noticed the air pockets get stuck at the plastic node connector at the MC. I could just wiggle them loose if I wanted too seeing exactly where they were.
I re-back bled for luck. Tightened the 13mm long socket bleed screw very tight, screwed up the hoses. Used my 13mm flarenut wrench and tightened up the flarenut very tight. Re-topped the reservoir with brake fluid.
The MC bolts are not tightened, the pin is not in.
With foot on brake, I tried the clutch gently, once, twice, air pockets were forming on top of the PVC master feed hose. About four more clutch times later no more air bubbles. Small pocket reservoir was staying full.
I had also reconnected the battery, turned the car on, the clutch would not go into any gears. Tried it with the car off and it glides right into gears smoothly. Tried it with just the starter on and again, glides into gears smoothly. Turn on ignition and tried again, noticed the brake fluid light and the one right next to it flash long when I press on the brake.
During this experience the brake did not move. It fell a centimeter or two begrudgingly.
Nanette
That line from clutch master up to the reservoir must have not been on tight and it leaked. But it shouldn't be under any pressure except gravity from the reservoir above. That it didn't show any leaks, but then did just as you tried the pedal, I think is coincidence.
If it were me, before I got back into bleeding the clutch system I'd try just topping up the fluid in the brake reservoir. It seems to me your clutch hydraulics might have been fully bled before you spotted that leak, and if so it was a leak up above the clutch master cylinder, in the make-up supply of fluid that's there to flow down only if the closed-system fluid in between the master cylinder piston and the clutch slave piston drops in volume, which it can do in tiny amounts over time as a bit gets past the seals as they work.
So pour a little fluid into the brake reservoir. It needs to be enough to flow over the wall that segregates the clutch supply from the main reservoir. Once that side reservoir is full it will self bleed any bubbles out of the feed hose, by gravity.
Then check your clutch pedal feel, and if it feels good and no leaks show up, try the car.
If not, do the bleeding routine again; you make it sound as if it waas pretty easy for you.
If a little leaks past the threads of the bleed screw okay, as you're keeping pressure on all the time and no air is entering. But bleed screw should only need to be a turn or so loose from bottomed out, and nearly unscrewed would mean more leaking past threads. Some have suggested on here that you run a turn or two of teflon pipe thread sealing tape around those threads and reinsert the nut, to help seal that leakage.
(Teflon tape, sold at hardware stores in a tiny roll, is almost microscopically thin, snow white, kind of stretchy and easily torn, slippery plastic filler, no adhesive. You wrap the starting end around your threads, then holding it down apply tension and give it a full wrap plus some, ending by pulling till tape breaks. Do the wrapping in counterclockwise direction so when you screw the bleeder screw in it wraps in the direction you are turning the screw. Don't get any across the mouth of the bleeder screw, or the front part that seals against the seat. But I don't think you will need to re-bleed, and I think even if you do, you can get by with tolerating the seeping at the bleeder screw.)
You have remembered to fully tighten the clutch line-to-master cylinder flare nut, and the bleeder screw, I'm sure.
posted by 208.54.1...
, Fri, 6 Jun 2008 11:09:01
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