Wednesday, May 18, 2016

That damn clutch- 6 steps to bleeding

So if you have had the JOY(its a lie) of trying to bleed an American spec mgb clutch- I may be able to help...

I tried the usual bleeding method- got 1/8" travel at the slave cylinder after what I call "MGB clutch bleeding burpees." 
  You'll lose 3 pounds from getting off the floor, ducking, pumping pedal, looking underneath, running to the other side, etc... etc
  I believe the main problem is the large piping hoop that goes above the master cylinder that can trap  A LOT of air.

After a couple more tries bleeding the clutch, protein shakes, and sports drinks to recover lost nutrients I came up with my own method of helping it bleed itself.
I found my mityvac kit btw- it was m.i.a. after the move and it finally showed up.

Anyway I took the long hose , the right angle nipple attachment, and the bleeder bottle from the kit.
Hook the nipple adapter over the clutch nipple,  hook hose vertically to that so its as high as the top of the valve cover, fill the bleeder bottle 3/4 way and hook the pump side to the hose keeping the bottle sideways. It would normally pour out if you did this..
This creates a higher head pressure than the master cylinder.  You will have to watch that the master doesn't overflow or go dry.

Crack the slave nipple till it just is barely open (mine was dripping some)
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
1  Now go pump the brakes a couple times slowly. Since the nipple has pressure coming from the other side, no air gets in.  Check the master lever so its about 1/4 to 1/2 full.

2 Crawl under and slowly compress the slave to burp it. (push rod back into body)
  I burped it too fast and spit air and fluid out the master.  Quite a mess and bad for paint.

3 Repeat step 1

4 This fills the mityvac bottle some, so blow gently through the other side of the mityvac bottle to refill the master.  I could hear some bubbles coming out.  Check the levels again...

5 Repeat step 1,2,4 Check levels again and have the master at least half full...

6 Hook mityvac to other side of bleeder bottle and give it a 5" vacuum squeeze  then quickly release vacuum. Don't pull the master empty or you might start over!
This pulled a ton of bubbles up the tube to the bottle.

7  Close the slave nipple.

And for the first time I have a working clutch!

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