Clutch Bleeding/Adjustment Help

[sLADe781]

Okay guys, I bled my clutch twice last night and it still doesn't feel the same compared to the way it was back then.

1-The first time I bled the system I did it my dad's way because he wouldn't do what I was saying. We topped off the master cylinder, closed the top, and he had me pump the pedal 5-6 times and then I held it. He then opened the nipple and fluid went out, closed it, and I released the pedal. Repeat. But when I drove it, I noticed the clutch was softer and catching earlier so we did it again.

2-This time, I called Musashi and he gave me instructions like the ones on Stealth316. We topped off the master, left it open, opened the nipple, I depressed the pedal and held it, my dad closed the nipple, I pulled the pedal back up, and he opened the nipple. Repeat. We did about 8 rounds the first time and when we went to fully tighten the nipple, my dad somehow stripped it earlier. So I'm like super pushing on the pedal while he salvage the old nipple from the other slave and we do 3 more rounds of bleeding before calling it a night.

The second time around, it was freakin' dark and we were both cold and tired so we didn't attach the hose to the nipple so by time we finished, I had clutch fluid all over the place (even with a towel around the area). Damnit, will the engine heat just burn up the fluid down there?

Now to my real questions, what do I do? When I drove to work this morning, my clutch was soft still and caught earlier than it did back then. Is it because the master and slave are both new so it catches earlier? Do you guys think I still have air in the line? Or do you guys think I have to adjust my pedal? Damnit, I'm getting frustrated... Please help...

[bighillman]

Hydraulic clutches are always fun. I've replaced my slave before and didn't run into much trouble, but there are several places it seems like air can catch. The worst place I've seen air stuck is in the back of the master cylinder. Sometimes it won't bleed from there without pulling the plunger and letting fluid run out on your floor mats. My pedal did feel quite a bit softer it seemed after I replaced my slave. I always figured if it worked, it was good to go.

[sLADe781]

Help guys!?! Should I bleed it again? Gravity bleed it (I've read somewhere about that)? Get one of those SpeedBleeder stuff? Anything!?!

[Stealthee]

Gravity bleeding can work. What I do is open the lid on the res, top it off, then crack open the bleeder valve. Then I wait. As it finally starts to drop you will notice it. Let it get to about halfway then top it off. Let it drop to halway and top it off again. One last time let it drop halfway, top it off, then close the valve. You should be free and clear of air.

As far as how its acting you may need to adjust the pedal too.

[sLADe781]

Could it also be because the master and slave are new so they're softer? Or that's not possibile/likely?

[Stealthee]

Not even. You;ve either got air in the lines or the pedal is out of adjustment. When I swapped clutches in my car I had to adjust the pedal to get engagement back to where it was before.

[sLADe781]

Well, how do I adjust the pedal? There's that nut that's connected to the bracket but when I try to turn it, the whole rod turns with it.

[Stealthee]

You break the locknut loose, then spin the rod. Spinning the rod is what adjusts the pedal. There are detailed instructions on Stealth316

[sLADe781]

^^I just looked through all the pages and didn't see it (again??).

[sLADe781]

FINAL UPDATE:
Alright guys, I finally got my system back to the way it used to be/feel. I gravity bled the system the way Stealthee explained it and used about 2/3 of a new 12 oz bottle. Hehe Yeah, I get a little paranoid at times. LOL At any rate, the pedal feels a lot better and catches the way it used to. Furthermore, the gas pedal doesn't feel spongy and so forth anymore either so that's super great too. Much thanks to Stealthee, Beef, and Musashi for all the help. You guys ROCK!!!

[Stealthee]

Glad you got it man.