fatbillybob

Who has had what appears to be air in clutch problems? Symptoms appear as difficult shifting in high g turns or failure to go into reverse but other gears just fine. Bleeding clutch seems to work but the problem comes back. Or continuous bleeding shows a clear no air line then one more pump you get a few air bubbles and need to bleed again until clear.

C5Z06CE

I recently had this same problem. I bled the system with 5 qts of fluid and still got tiny bubbles. I just thought maybe I had a leak at the bleeder itself. The car shifts fine but every now and then I get a difficult shift into reverse. If you figure it out let me know.

My transmission and slave cylinder and clutch are all brand new too. Will be checking with my mechanic about it too.

UstaB-GS549

Mine started out as could not shift into reverse after sitting in driveway to wash car. Put car in reverse and restarted engine, got car in garage and problem disappeared for a year.

I happened again about a year later, but eventually I could not get into any gear with engine running.

The pressure plate had small tabs that had broken off. They were not diaphragm fingers, so I'm not sure what their function is. Bottom line was that I had several broken off and clutch would not release on intermittent basis.

You might be able to find tabs laying on bottom of bell housing and looking in the inspection cover.

drbenne

did not notice air in clutch lines, but similar symptoms occured twice in my 10 years of ownership. Both times, had broken some tabs broken off pressure plate. It started out as intermittent and then just couldn't get it in reverse. The last time I had some trouble in a race and I trashed the 4th gear synchro because the clutch was failing. Note to self: resolve it before damaging transmission.

Good luck Carl.

rbl

I haven't done this before on the Corvette so possibly a dumb question. I have done it on the SRF and never have an issue with the clutch.

With the airplanes we used a common oil squirt can with a 1/4" hose on it with the hydraulic oil in it. To properly bleed the systems we started at the wheel and pushed the fluid up through the master cyl/reservoir backwards.

So I am wondering if it is possible to attach a similar hose with the proper fluid at the clutch and then back feed the system out the top? If that can be done it will absolutely eliminate every bit of the air. That is how I do it on my SRF anyway.

If you can do that and you get air again then I suspect a faulty seal that is letting a little air in the system with each use.

fatbillybob

Thanks for the reply gents. I don't suspect a fault on my car. I just hear about air in these clutches. A pressure plate failure is certainly a cause of intermittent hard shifting. I have a theory that those of us who track these cars hard might be cooking the throwout bearing seal and thus getting micro leaks. We already know that clutch dust makes its way into the reservoir and blackens the fluid. If dust can get in there so can air. I think that is why people see tiny air bubbles they can't seem to ever get out and why first signs are often difficulty in reverse gear selection.

OTOH I could be totally out of my mind.

2002rich

I use vacuum to bleed the clutch and it works great. Firm pedal