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The brake master cylinder uses an accordian style Bellow, not the clutch master.
So I had to go out to the garage and check it out.... This is off my 90 ZR-1... resembles the brake master cap, you can see why I confused the 2, been a while since I actually had it off...
Brandon, sorry about the incorrect info. Mine still looks nothing like the one on your 96 though....
All good! That's what the forums are for. But yeah, I was trying fold mine and it wouldn't. Will keep you guys updated to see if it leaks out. All I could find was Prestone Dot 3.
1993C4LT1, I hear ya on the pleasure of driving the ZF6 compared with the A4. Love the real push back into the seat that is so easily accessible and hard to resist.
Filled the clutch reservoir. What was in there wasn't even a fluid. It turned gooey. Took it out and put the new dot 3. Had my mom pump the clutch pedal while I was observing for any bubbles. Some little bubbles were coming up. But they seemed to never go away. Car is hard to get into gear sometimes. I don't force it, haven't driven it. Don't want to mess up the zf.
I pumped the clutch pedal slowly yesterday, 100 times. Bubbles were still coming out, as seen in the master reservoir. I've been reading that pumping the clutch with lid and dust boot off, is the correct way to bleed the system. Is that true?
Also, here is my what my slave cylinder looks like.
Yes you can bleed it with the lid off as well. The pneumatic brake bleeder from harbor frieght is also a good buy IMO. Still bleed it the old school way though toward the end. It is a self bleeding system I think you are fine to drive it just go easy and make sure pedal is pressed all the way to the floor before shifting. Bill Boudreau recommends adjusting your seat to where your left knee just misses the hush panel by 1/8" when pressing the clutch.
Also, that is not an OEM slave. Not anything wrong with that but that is an aftermarket cast slave. I think they finally got them sorted out but there was a bad batch of them that had a seal installed backward (Circa 2011-2012). If I had to buy new I would go with a Wagner if they still make them.
I pumped the clutch pedal slowly yesterday, 100 times. Bubbles were still coming out, as seen in the master reservoir. I've been reading that pumping the clutch with lid and dust boot off, is the correct way to bleed the system. Is that true?
According to page 7-244/245 of the FSM, that is the correct way to bleed the master cylinder.
You must bleed the rest of the system using the bleed screw on the slave (actuator) cylinder.
According to page 7-244/245 of the FSM, that is the correct way to bleed the master cylinder.
You must bleed the rest of the system using the bleed screw on the slave (actuator) cylinder.
Understood! Thank you. I'm new to "bleeding a system" and new to the zf6. Slow learner, but dedicated.
On my 92 I had to reverse bleed it as the bleeder (on mine) was on the bottom. If your bleeder is also on the bottom you would have to reverse bleed as well. Not hard to do. You can use a syringe or a oil lever style oil can.
The slave bleeder is not on the top so it takes a little more work to bleed it.
Like STEVEN13 said above you can reverse bleed it, or you can unbolt the bleeder then bleed it. The unbolt method is what the '96 service manual describes.
I lost the master on my '93 and the floor board was wet, something else to check.
I also had a daily where the brakes master was low. Filled it up and drove for a couple more years without a problem. I'd fill it up, look for leaks, if you're not finding anything put it on stands, pump the pedal a few times, and look around.
Also hydraulic lines such as brake and clutch lines can have internal leaks where the internal line goes bad. It created a weird problem where my brakes would vibrate on a daily driver.
Have another question. When filling the reservoir, do I fill it to the "full" line? Asking because this dust boot makes it seem like it would just fall over when I put it in.
My 1995 6-speed has the tall hat thing inside the cap also. It tucks inside itself and becomes much smaller, it's designed this way so that the hat can expand as the fluid level goes down, which is normal as the clutch wears over time. Although the clutch fluid should be freshened more frequently than any notable drop in fluid level can occur. Also the slave cylinder can be bone dry and still have a leak. With an internal leak, the fluid will flow forward into the bell housing (just as an internal leak from the master will come inside the cabin/firewall area). So, check the area near the flex plate/bell housing (back of the engine area).
My 1995 6-speed has the tall hat thing inside the cap also. It tucks inside itself and becomes much smaller, it's designed this way so that the hat can expand as the fluid level goes down, which is normal as the clutch wears over time. Although the clutch fluid should be freshened more frequently than any notable drop in fluid level can occur. Also the slave cylinder can be bone dry and still have a leak. With an internal leak, the fluid will flow forward into the bell housing (just as an internal leak from the master will come inside the cabin/firewall area). So, check the area near the flex plate/bell housing (back of the engine area).
Oh yeah, I forgot about that someone else mentioned it could be an internal leak. I'll get under the car Saturday. I don't get when you say "fluid will flow forward into the bell housing". Does that just mean if the slave were leaking, it would be wet on the outside? Either way, I'll post pics of what I see.
I use BG dot 3 brake fluid in my clutch hydraulic system without issue. Works well.
I would fill the system and bleed it and check for leaks. Worse case, you replace the clutch master and slave and the flex hose and be done for the next 20 years.
Have a dumb question about reverse bleeding. When pumping the fluid into the bleed hole, you don't want air in that line, right? I'm talking about the line that is connected to your pump. Again, forgive me as I have never bled a system.
Have a dumb question about reverse bleeding. When pumping the fluid into the bleed hole, you don't want air in that line, right? I'm talking about the line that is connected to your pump. Again, forgive me as I have never bled a system.
Not a dumb question!
Correct no air-Which ever devise you are using make sure it pulls from the fluid.
02-28-2019, 08:52 PM
So far, the reservoir hasn't gone down since I filled it last Friday.
