So here's the scoop... Purchased a Mantic 9000 clutch kit w/ new throwout bearing with all the goodies and a ECS stage 1 fuel system in preparation for a centri supercharger install.

First and foremost - the clutch feels great. The pedal feel is slightly stiffer than stock and there is some chatter, but after break-in the chatter is minimal and very tolerable. There is a little bit of noise from the twin disk assembly, but it's nothing that is overwhelming and you can't hear it outside the car. It's more of a gurgling sound inside the car depending on if the clutch is depressed or not. I digress.

The point of this thread is because I have had issues properly bleeding the clutch. I also installed the remote bleeder assembly from ECS and followed the installation instructions requiring the resurfacing of the throwout bearing mounting surface as well as torquing the remote bleeder assembly to the recommended torque.

After the initial install, the clutch was bled using the "old fashioned" technique. Close bleeder valve... pump, pump, pump, pump, etc... hold clutch to floor. crack open valve. catch fluid, close valve, let off clutch, refill reservoir, and repeat. From the get-go things were acting strange. We would start to get minimal pedal feel (hitting at 1/4 of the stroke at the bottom) and could only repeat this feel. We were never able to get more and more pedal feel after each attempt. After several attempts, we just pumped and pumped the pedal with the valve closed (not opening and closing as stated above) and we would get full pedal feel. In my experience, this behavior is not correct.

We also tried a vacuum pump on the system but were never able to get fluid pulled through the system. Eventually, I just figured I'd give it a go and rebleed at a later time to get the remainder of the air out of the system.

Fast forward to after break-in and I figured I would go ahead and rebleed the system. The results were exactly the same. I tried various methods to bleed and was never satisfied with the pedal during the process. In all attempts, the pedal would return to full stroke after closing the valve and pumping the pedal numerous times (not doing the "old fashioned" method mentioned above).

I decided to replace the ECS bleeder valve with a Russell Performance speed bleeder assembly. Repeated bleeding the system. Things got better but the shifting eventually becomes notchy again.

Fast forward to today and I decided to use a mighty vac in combination with the speed bleeder assembly. I could pull about 15 in hg on the system, but it would never pull any fluid into the catch reservoir regardless of how many turns the speed bleeder assembly were turned.

Every time I bleed the system, the clutch and shifting DOES feel better. It never gets terrible after a few hundred miles, but it just doesn't feel as good as it should. I'm confused after the speed bleeder/ mighty vac attempt... I feel that there is no reason that the fluid should not have been pulled into the reservoir.

I'm looking for some guidance or some reasoning as to why everything I've done isn't working. I have only put 1,500 miles or so on the clutch since the install. Any suggestions??

 

Pull the pedal all the way to the top of its travel manually.

/thread.

Fluid can't get from the reservoir back into master unless the clutch pedal is at the very top of the travel. It won't go to the very top sometimes unless you have the assist spring still installed and working, which it sounds like you don't. Stick a ratchet or something behind the pedal to hold it as high as it'll go and try again.

 

Thanks for the reply. I'll give that a shot. However, I guess I should add that when doing the standard clutch bleed procedure, I always pull the pedal back to the top of stoke using my foot.

You're suggesting that I use the mighty vac with the clutch pedal wedged at full top and I should be able to get fluid to pull through?

 

The remote bleeder should have a back check vavle at the end of it.

So if you want to do the pump method, just open the bleeder end, and put the end of it into a container and pump the pedal, and the check valve in the of the bleeder line will prevent fluid from being pulled back into the line.

And as noted, the pedal has to come all the way back up to the top before fluid can flow through the master cylinder.

So the easy way to bleed the line if forgot to first bench bleed the master before installing it and the master cylinder is air city, open the bleeder valve and drop it into a container to catch the fluid, make sure the pedal is all the way up, then power bleed through the reserve tank.

 

Yes

You can still pump it a time or two while its under vacuum, but fluid won't go from the reservoir to the master cylinder unless the pedal is at the very top. I've done it and had the clutch pedal sucked to the floor more than once

 

What is the reasoning for dropping the end of the bleeder line into a container? Would this not just eliminate the point of using the speed bleeder to begin with? I don't believe air is getting pulled into the system at the bleeder threads - if it was it seems as if I would never be successful in pulling a constant vacuum on the system using the mighty vac. Am I missing something here?

 

I believe he was meaning you can pressurize the master cylinder reservoir and force fluid through that way instead of trying to suck it through the bleeder

 

I see. I had a hard time understanding the last sentence. I should have bench bled the master? I've never done that nor can I say I know how to.

 

I never have either

 

Thank you sir. You were dead on the money. Must have been pulling the clutch down under vacuum. Hopefully this cures the occasional rough shifting. Thanks again!

 

No problem! Hopefully that gets it

 

With the end of the bleeder line open in a container to catch the fluid coming out of it, you can get in the car to just pump the pedal your self.

When you push the pedal down each time, the master is going to drive fluid out of the system into the container via the remote bleeder line, and when you let off the pedal each time, the check valve in the end of the open bleed valve will prevent the line from sucking fluid back into the system from the end of the bleeder line, and pull fluid in from the reserve tank instead.

So done this way, you pump the pedal about 5 times all the way down, fill the reserve tank back up from the fluid that you pulled out of it via each pump, and then work the pedal some more.

If you have someone extra to give you a hand, then they can just watch the fluid catch container to tell you when you are not driving air out of the bleeder line any more (help to keep the end of the bleeder valve at the bottom of the container below the top of fluid line in it to look for bubbles).