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I replaced master and slave cylinders this weekend. Filled and bled with Toyota branded DOT 3. Clutch pedal felt great. The next day I thought the pedal felt a little soft but it seemed to pump back to normal. I hope it was just some residual air and not a similarity to my prior issue. I've been trying the gold pedal down for a few minutes then slide foot off method to purge air. I haven't driven it yet as I'm also working on replacing the plastic pins in the headlight gears. Will check out pedal feel again this evening. If it's gone mush again, I'm almost out of ideas. The only bit of the system I haven't replaced is the hose.
The clutch felt good today but I had the idea to set my phone up to record what was happening in the master cylinder reservoir while I pumped the pedal.
This is a still from that video, but you get the idea. Air, and seemingly lots of it. That first pump had those big bubbles but a flurry of micro bubbles followed and continued. Leads me back to thinking how is the most effective way to bleed these things?
Hold the pedal longer when sliding the foot off can take multiple times.
To be honest I'm having a little trouble with the slide part. There's just so little space and so much friction between my shoe and the pedal that I can't really get my foot to slide off. I just lift as fast as possible. I've done that about 5 times now, ranging from as little as 30 seconds to as long as 2 minutes of hold time.
I'll try a plastic bag over my shoe to make the slide part easier and see if I can muster a 5 minute hold.
Edit - also, the front end of the car is still jacked up. Can that be trapping air somewhere? I didn't think it would matter but I can get the car off the stands tomorrow if need be.
To be honest I'm having a little trouble with the slide part. There's just so little space and so much friction between my shoe and the pedal that I can't really get my foot to slide off. I just lift as fast as possible. I've done that about 5 times now, ranging from as little as 30 seconds to as long as 2 minutes of hold time.
I'll try a plastic bag over my shoe to make the slide part easier and see if I can muster a 5 minute hold.
Edit - also, the front end of the car is still jacked up. Can that be trapping air somewhere? I didn't think it would matter but I can get the car off the stands tomorrow if need be.
I would get it level and use a stick to hold it for ten minutes then flick the stick off do it a few times. Tie a string to it if needed.
Last edited by antfarmer2; May 16, 2016 at 10:27 PM.
I put a plastic bag in my foot, it helped. I did it 3 more times, each a 3 minute hold. I used my phone to record a video for each and the reason I stopped at 3 is because I saw no more bubbles. I then rapidly pumped the clutch about a dozen times - some very tiny bubbles.
I'll let the car down level today and try it again. I think it's getting there, just slowly.
I replaced my master and slave about a month ago and was able to bleed it well just by pumping the pedal. I'm not sure how you went about the install but after talking with Jim this way worked best for me.
1) fill new slave with a syringe on the bench until it is full (this will displace all the internal air)
2) Remove old slave from vehicle and detach clutch line (make sure the cap is still on the master as this prevents fluid from leaking out of the slave end line connection)
3) Install clutch line end to new slave. Tighten connection and install slave
4) Suck fluid out of the clutch master and remove the line from master
5) Remove old master, install new one, install clutch line, fill with fluid
6) At this point you should have some resistance at the bottom of the clutch pedal travel. Start pumping the pedal and you should have a solid pedal after 50 or so pumps. Make sure to keep the master full during this.
I'm not sure all these other methods like slipping your foot of the pedal are necessary. At least i've never had to do any of that to get a solid pedal. The system is self bleeding.
Last edited by 9T3VETTE; May 17, 2016 at 09:51 AM.
I put a plastic bag in my foot, it helped. I did it 3 more times, each a 3 minute hold. I used my phone to record a video for each and the reason I stopped at 3 is because I saw no more bubbles. I then rapidly pumped the clutch about a dozen times - some very tiny bubbles.
I'll let the car down level today and try it again. I think it's getting there, just slowly.
pump it fast 5 or more times then hold it the longer the better.
I've driven the car 3 times now and the clutch has been consistently just right. The last bit of air seems to have been worked out by just driving it and the clutch feels just right every time whether I've driven it an hour ago or several days.
I'm not sure whether the culprit was master or slave cylinder since I replaced them as a pair. I hope this set lasts longer than the last! I'll be adding a clutch fluid flush to my annual spring shakedown.
I've drive the car 3 times now and the clutch has been consistent and consistently just right. The last bit of air seems to have been worked out by just driving it and the clutch feels just right every time whether I've driven it an hour ago or several days.
I'm not sure whether the initial culprit was master or slave cylinder since I replaced them as a pair. I hope this set lasts longer than the last! I'll be adding a clutch fluid flush to my annual spring shakedown.
Thank you to everyone who commented, offered ideas and support.
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