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New system installed and i cant get the air out of the system. Have gone thru a whole quart of fluid. Tried juat about everything except power bleeding which i dont want to spend another $100 on a bleeder. I have tried a hand vacuum pump and the old school method via the pedal and foot. Pedal is still mush. Any tips
The old school method worked great for me. Pump the pedal 10 times or enough to pump it up. Hold it down for 30 seconds, then slide your foot off the side, letting the pedal pop up. Repeat a few times, and that should result in a pedal that works for you. Periodically do it while you're driving and you should be good!
How hard should the pedal be when perfect? Ie like the brake pedal?
the clutch will never feel like the brake if it does you need brake work.
Now can you get the into gear without grinding, is the friction point in the middle of the travel on the way up. You should feel some resistance from the top.
Also since the day is winding down do nothing leave the cap loose and let it set overnight top off and test it in the morning.
Last edited by s carter; Jan 21, 2023 at 07:59 PM.
It's not a matter of pedal "hardness"....it's more the free play and point of engagement. There should be essentially no free play. Engagement should begin ABOUT 1/2 to 2/3 of the way up from the floor.
I bled my clutch a few months ago.
I turned the slave cylinder upside down and then carefully pressed against the clutch housing, so that any air can escape.
But you have to check often that the tank doesn't get empty.
I did it a few times and the clutch works normally
ZF Doc recommendations to push clutch down about half way repeatedly to bleed the system .
By doing this you will be recirculating the fluid from the slave cylinder to the master cylinder.
This is how I bleed mine after a all new clutch and ect.
Thanks Hawkeye56
I agree with the others: try the repeated partial push and also the one where you push the pedal all the way down and slip your foot off the side of the pedal to let it pop up. Each one at least 50 times. It seems ridiculous after you've already done the standard bleeding methods, but it gets the job done where the standard method doesn't. I had to do it on mine, too.
Pumping works and works fine. I’ve only heard of a few things where this does not:
- install of the master cylinder without the firewall spacer
- slave entirely full of air (I still think pedal ranger method should handle this)
- defective parts (unlikely)
Stop trying to bleed the slave! Do not open the bleeder as you are likely introducing more air than removing.
Also, it sounds like you are unsure about how the pedal should feel? You should have close to the same “firmness” of pedal all the way to the floor. It is not like a brake pedal that gets harder to press and “stops” due to pressure before you reach the floor. The pedal should go through full travel to its limit as you are mechanically “pulling apart” a spring loaded pressure plate.
Clutch hydraulics
