car- 2003 maxima 6spd

ok so i've been suspecting i have air in the clutch line for a while now but im so scared to bleed the line cause of all the problems i have read about. it is supposedly a pain in the *** to bleed the line properly.

so i stumbled across this video on YouTube about this old man from bmp auto parts showing his technique to bleeding the clutch line and it seems so easy and like a great idea! using a mini oil can

well at least to me it sounds good, i wanna know how you guys feel about this procedure and if it will actually work for my maxima cause hes talking about BMW's in the video, but i think most cars clutch systems are similar. we use a separate reservoir for the clutch i know that.

heres the video, forward to 3:30

 

ive never seen or heard of this idea, but i think its great! im willing to give it a try, im hoping to swap my clutch hose friday

 

theres a link in the video to buy this mini oil can, seems overpriced but i think its worth a shot aswell

here
http://www.bmpdesign.coresense.com/p...oduct_id/8577/

 

i believe harbor freight tools has those

 

The question is, "Do you really want to push the fluid through the bleeder nipple towards the reservoir?" Remember, the brake hydraulics are NOT designed to reverse flow the fluid. I frankly do not know.

 

fluid reverse flows every time u let off the pedal. there no valving or anything in there to damage. but ill be the guinea pig and report back in a few days

 

goodluck! im curious on what the outcome will be

 

this looks to be what they make their pump out of. just use clear housing and a few colored hoses

http://www.ebay.com/itm/High-Pressur...df1f2c&vxp=mtr

 

That's a nice price ^

 

Thats EXACTLY how I did it after I replaced my slave cylinder. Youre basically filling and bleeding the system at the same time. Even got the can from Harbor Freight, like mentioneda few posts ago.

 

i ordered the one from ebay but havent swapped hoses yet. my bday is tomorrow so i prob wont get a chance til not this weekend, but next. anybody know what size hose ill need to hook to the bleeder screw from nozzle?

 

I'm really interested to see how this works. I recently replaced my master as the suspect for a sinking clutch pedal, but have not been able to bleed the system properly since. Have you done it yet ATL?

 

This one looks decent
http://bit.ly/12gsQw5

 

i have not unfortunately, but i hope to very soon. just took finals last week, so i have a month off. i plan on stripping the car down this week and getting started on many repairs/upgrades, a new SS clutch line being one of them

 

Ive been thinking about this SS clutch line aswell, just to make life simpler. I like how the pedal feels now and dont want a drastic change, let us know when u upgrade the line and how it feels

 

Where did you get the ss clutch line?

 

http://forums.maxima.org/group-deals...tch-lines.html

 

Saw those, they only replace the rubber hose no? I want the whole garbage stock assembly replaced.

 

U didnt read all the pages shame on you, you just read the first post and posted here about not finding what you wanted. Go back read the 30+ pages and come back

 

i ordered the short piece to replace the rubber line, then after receiving it decided i wanted the full length hose. so i placed a second order and sent payment, within a day i had a refund and an email about them not having the full length hose for the 5.5s

 

weird..... they still have it on their main home page

http://www.racetechperformance.com/P...de=310-0154-42

and that line is for master cylinder to slave cylinder, full hose

 

Hmmm, maybe I should place another order and see how it goes

 

why is bleeding the clutch so hard? because you can't create tension like you can with brakes?

 

I did read a couple pages of that thread before ATL posted the link, i got that it was only the short line, i may be wrong as i thought it wasnt an active deal anymore at that time haha. I will check back. Did you end up getti g a full length ATL?

That seems to be the general consensus tuner, I've seen a couple methods like this one that can involve a syringe, or even removing the slave from the tranny and compressing the piston with your hands.

 

bleeding the clutch is not hard at all. Just gotta know what your doing. You cannot bleed like brakes, in the sense that you cannot hold the bleeder valve open for a while. It must be very short bursts.


You bleed the slave first, making sure the res. is always full. Then you goto the bleeder by the strut tower. If you follow that process, you should be fine. I've bled my clutch many times after having to open the hydraulic lines and never had a problem.


If you really want a nice setup, get the one piece clutch line and get a speed bleeder valve (its 7mm x 1.0 if I remember correctly, if not just take the bleeder to a speed shop and match it up).

 

I haven't tried to bleed it yet, but from what I'm reading here on the forum, the factory hard lines were routed by Forrest Gump and they have high points in them that love to catch and hold bubbles

 

I like it, do that.
Sorry, when I posted that question I was at work and couldnt see the video you posted.

Looks like a nice technique, of course, we have a dedicated Clutch reservoir, which actually just makes the whole thing even easier.

 

There is a section of hose that most people consider useless, but if you study hydraulic systems, it does serve a function...

That said, I would still do the one piece clutch line due to a cleaner look. The only thing holding me back from the one piece clutch line is the ****-poor quality that I've been reading about. They tend to develop a leak from the swivel connections.

 

Ok, so right away I know I was leaving the bleed screw open too long. I checked the fsm procedure before, and it doesn't specify which bleed screw to start at. It says to pump the clutch several times (how many times do you recommend?) at 2-3 second intervals. A local max brother who just bled his clutch said he pumped 20-30 times before opening the bleed screw.

I have a feeling I introduced a lot more air into the system by leaving the bleed screw open too long. So I think I have my work cut out for me.

I do want to get the ss full line eventually, I just need to get this clutch working properly for now.

 

So I gave this a try, but my own version. I filled a syringe and tube with fluid, and pumped that in through the bleed screw on the slave. I pumped a fair bit of fluid through the system and got no bubbles, after that I bled.

I'm 90% sure I bled correctly this time. Did between 10 and 20 pedal pumps each time and only opened the bleed screw for a second or two and got no bubbles. The pedal still doesn't come all the way out on its own. At this point I'm pretty sure the slave needs replacing.

Maybe I should start another thread for this...

 

Did you check for any leaks? Check at the clutch master, the slave, the block that switches from a hardline to a rubber one, and the bleeder by the strut tower.

Dont panic, my friend wasn't monitoring the reservoir last time we bled it and I pumped at least twice, just straight air lol...had to start all over.

Anyway, getting the pedal to come up on its own can be tricky. At first, have a friend hold the pedal all the way while you quickly pop open and closed the bleeder at the slave. You do this cause air is compressible and most likely right at the bleeder. Do that procedure a couple of times if you have to.

Next, there should be some pressure, but not enough for self return yet. At this point, pump the pedal by hand rapidly. Do this until fluid comes out of the slave.

If the pedal is still extremely spongy, follow the same procedure with the strut tower bleeder.

You might have to bleed both bleeders (following the same procedure) like 2 or 3 times...its a bit tedious, but if air got into the system, its the only way.

Another thing to keep in mind is the fact that the rubber hose might be worn. If thats the case, just get a one piece stainless braided line and be done with it...

 

I'm fairly sure I have no leaks, never had any fluid loss, and couldn't find any visible leakage in any of those area's. The master is new so I should be able to rule that out.

Tonite I had my bro pump the pedal several times, hold it down, then I cracked the bleed screw quickly and closed it. We repeated this several times at both bleed points, with only clear fluid coming out, no bubbles. Is this not the same procedure your saying?

What makes me believe it's the slave is that this pedal not rising all the way problem, occurred randomly one day with out any tampering with the clutch hydraulics and progressively got worse. Again, there was no fluid loss or signs of leakage, but the fluid was cloudy. Could air have really just randomly entered the system?

 

If the issue is the pedal not returning, and the hydraulic system is properly bled, it's likely either a spring missing, broken, or the master cylinder IMO.

The only other thing to check is the clutch itself. Is the release fork actually springing back after application?

A couple things to check at least, but I'd work a little harder trying to get it bled 100% for sure properly before throwing parts at it.

ALSO: You can have a leak without fluid leaking. This is a hard concept to grasp, but a fitting/line can pull air in, but not leak fluid out. If you're not getting air when bleeding though, somethings up.
Attach a hose to the bleeder screws, tape them to a container full of water. This way you can watch the bubbles, and you'll know for sure whether there is air releasing.

Just make sure the lines stay in the water after bleeding the first time (because the lines you added have air in them)

 

I've always used a jar of brake fluid when doing this. Wouldn't it be possible to bonehead some water back into the clutch line that way? I'm not saying it should happen, I'm saying I'd find a way.

 

Yes, if you screw up and let off the pedal before closing the bleeder screw, it's possible.

Brake fluid is expensive. But you're 100% correct, that is the BEST thing to use.

 

+1 The clutch pedal has a spring return that assists the pedal to come up.

 

The master is new, so hopefully it's not faulty. I will try more bleeding to make sure there is no air in the system.

As far as the pedal spring goes, It doesn't appear to be broken. I don't think it's the problem, since in order to get pedal to come all the way out, it takes several fast pumps to build up pressure in the system.

I've heard that the seals within the slave cylinder can wear, causing system pressure loss. So if after bleeding and no air found, for the $50 I think I'm jus gonna put a new slave on, since it looks original and in pretty ruff shape.

 

check the actual release fork first, but for $50 I cant disagree with you, youre into it now, its worth replacing it and then you`re done (hopefully)

 

Just ordered the slave, $40 can't go wrong for the peice of mind. Should have it on tomorrow.

 

Ok, today I did a visual inspection of the pedal spring mechanism, movement of the release fork, all the visible parts of the hydraulic lines and and more bleeding with no bubbles at all. I had a hard time believing that the return spring just wore out suddenly one day, and it's not broken or looks damaged. The release fork, after pumping the clutch, would always push over far enough and when cracking the bleed screw on the slave, it would return all the back. I never had any fluid loss, nor could I see or hear any signs of a leak.

So I had to install the master since it was cheap and available, bled to the point of no bubbles and........

Not fixed, **** this is getting to me.

At this point I'm think about what tuner said about the fact that there could be a leak, where no fluid comes out, only air in. But again, I think I would have gotten some air while bleeding and I never did.

I took another look at the pedal cus it just didn't seam right. You could push it in an inch or two and it would just stay there, this is where it would always stop coming back out. So I took out the spring and holy sheet, it comes all the way back out everytime. I also noticed that when we installed the master, we left the plunger fork adjusted almost all the way towards the firewall.

I adjusted the fork towards the pedal a bit and the clutch was returning even better, so I put the spring back in and it was better but not cured. Hopefully with a little adjustment it will be fixed. I feel kind of stupid for having replaced the master, slave and a lot of unecessary bleeding, but I did figure it out... I hope.