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C6 Corvette ZR1 & Z06General info about GM’s Corvette Supercar, LS9 Corvette Technical Info, Performance Upgrades, Suspension Setup for Street or Track
Bleeding is easy from a shop perspective. Car on hoist, take off midpipe / cats, take off closeout panel, and now there is easy access to the bleeder screw. Couple of minutes to take apart. Not sure where it says working on a car has to be easy for someone to do it from home. Issue with your method is the metering holes in the factory hoses - they are much smaller than the line itself to slow the rate of return on clutch dumps.
Originally Posted by Z.06
It's called not wanting to remove and reinstall the entire driveline until I am sure it is necessary. A better question is where Chevrolet gets off requiring that owners replace our clutch fluid every 24 months without providing either a remote bleed line of reasonable access to the slave cylinder bleed valve.
Bleeding is easy from a shop perspective. Car on hoist, take off midpipe / cats, take off closeout panel, and now there is easy access to the bleeder screw. Couple of minutes to take apart. Not sure where it says working on a car has to be easy for someone to do it from home. Issue with your method is the metering holes in the factory hoses - they are much smaller than the line itself to slow the rate of return on clutch dumps.
I have no lift available. When can I line up my car for your lift? It seems like you should be able to bleed my clutch in like 30 minutes. For reference, the localL dealer wants 3 hours, $460 in labor. Half hour for you, so this might be $ 60-70, right?
And you wonder why people do not answer your posts. Good luck with your fancy long straw.
Originally Posted by Z.06
I have no lift available. When can I line up my car for your lift? It seems like you should be able to bleed my clutch in like 30 minutes. For reference, the localL dealer wants 3 hours, $460 in labor. Half hour for you, so this might be $ 60-70, right?
Why dont you just install a remote bleed line instead if this mickey mouse stuff
I bought a remote bleeder and there was not enough room to screw it on to the bleeder valve. The 90 degree bend once installed, would hit the fire wall.
I made a tool so I could bleed the system from under the car.
Took some round iron and bent it to reach the bleeder. Matched the bends with flat iron so I had a flat surface to weld a socket at the end. (the round stock provided strength) Cut a socket down that fit the bleeder valve. Then welded it all together.
I sacrificed a 6-point socket it to fit my bleeder valve so I could turn it 1/8 of a turn to open up the valve.
(BTW: getting a wrench up there to loosen the bleeder valve was impossible, Zero room)
I made a tool so I could bleed the system from under the car.
Took some round iron and bent it to reach the bleeder. Matched the bends with flat iron so I had a flat surface to weld a socket at the end. (the round stock provided strength) Cut a socket down that fit the bleeder valve. Then welded it all together.
I sacrificed a 6-point socket it to fit my bleeder valve so I could turn it 1/8 of a turn to open up the valve.
(BTW: getting a wrench up there to loosen the bleeder valve was impossible, Zero room)
You should make a bunch and sell them. Seems like lots of DIY guys could save a bundle.
I made a tool so I could bleed the system from under the car.
Took some round iron and bent it to reach the bleeder. Matched the bends with flat iron so I had a flat surface to weld a socket at the end. (the round stock provided strength) Cut a socket down that fit the bleeder valve. Then welded it all together.
I sacrificed a 6-point socket it to fit my bleeder valve so I could turn it 1/8 of a turn to open up the valve.
(BTW: getting a wrench up there to loosen the bleeder valve was impossible, Zero room)
Jim,
I am completely impressed by your handmade bleeder wrench. Especially in using a 6 point socket and figuring out exactly the correct orientation of the socket to allow it to open and close off the bleeder valve. I share Dirty Howie's sentiments about making the wrenches and selling them to our DIY owners.
Thanks Drewz06 for the nice instructions and pictures! For now I am trying removing the double assist spring, more Ranger flushing and TampaTuning's deep flushing method to see how effective these are. At the end of the day, I still think flushing through the slave cylinder bleed valve will be the most effective, if I have to go there, so your directions are most helpful.
Taking my car to the track (Harris HIll Raceway, a 1.8 mile road course) on Sunday to see the result of removing the clutch assist spring and Rangering the clutch reservoir 3 more times. As the old saying goes, a test is worth 1000 expert opinions (no offense intended). If the clutch pedal sinks, I will be doing the method proposed by Tampa Tuning to introduce fresh brake fluid to the bottom of the clutch hydraulic system.
Well the track report is that in three sessions of 80 to 90 percent running, my clutch pedal went halfway down each session. Each time it happened, while I was still on track, I picked the clutch pedal up with the side of my foot and normal clutch operation was immediately available. So the hot condition that my lapping induces is immediately fine, until the next lapping session. Prior to the track session, I did a complete Rangering of the clutch reservoir fluid and the removal of the clutch assist dual spring. So I guess the next step is the procedure proposed by Tampa Tuning to inject fresh brake fluid deep in the clutch hydraulic line.
Perhaps the solution is to bleed the system at the slave cylinder, or perhaps the entire flywheel, clutch pressure plate and slave cylinder will need replacement to fix the issue. If the problem can be addressed by bleeding the slave cylinder, can anyone explain to me how my clutch pedal is completely normal following picking it up with my foot? If the issue is water vapor in the clutch hydraulics or slave cylinder, how does this situation return to normal during hot lapping, with the conditions in the line and the temperature being unchanged?
I would just like to understand what is going on prior to dropping the driveline. Alternatively, I could live with the clutch as it is, as there is no clutch slip, only lowered engagement height until I realize the situation.
so this was sinking when you had the assist spring attached to the pedal, yes?
I suppose the slave cylinder may be drawing in more fluid after release, causing the pedal to sink, if that makes sense?
then you pull up the pedal and this draws fluid from the reservoir ?
im just guessing here....
was the slave replaced? I don't remember...
I did have the opposite problem with a 64 mustang, as the rpms increased, the clutch pedal "came out" more...
the clutch springs were lazy and didn't fully engage until engine speed increased... somehow the faster the motor spun, the better the clutch engaged? idk, it was replaced with a new one
This stops happening when the pressure plate is changed to aftermarket or a newer gm unit...so that kinda solves that without wasting time futzing around.
I had similar problems with my OEM clutch that is a dedicated race car/track car. I tried all that you have done, and more.
The only full solution came when I ripped the OEM clutch out, replaced it with Mantic 9000 twin and a new OEM slave. All my issues went away immediately. I also installed a remote bleeder while I was in there. For the amount of screwing around and random diagnosis, you could have already had a new clutch installed, which is better designed for track use/abuse anyhow. With the added bonus of making life VERY VERY easy on bleeding the system moving forward.
So, even after removal of the clutch assist spring, my clutch pedal was sinking . What I have trouble understanding is that the clutch pedal actuation was 100% normal after picking the clutch pedal up, even on the same hot lap.
Originally Posted by drewz06
so this was sinking when you had the assist spring attached to the pedal, yes? No.
I suppose the slave cylinder may be drawing in more fluid after release, causing the pedal to sink, if that makes sense? Please explain, as the makes no sense to me.
then you pull up the pedal and this draws fluid from the reservoir ?
im just guessing here....Me too!
was the slave replaced? I don't remember... No, the slave is OEM.
I did have the opposite problem with a 64 mustang, as the rpms increased, the clutch pedal "came out" more...
the clutch springs were lazy and didn't fully engage until engine speed increased... somehow the faster the motor spun, the better the clutch engaged? idk, it was replaced with a new one
Jim,
I am completely impressed by your handmade bleeder wrench. Especially in using a 6 point socket and figuring out exactly the correct orientation of the socket to allow it to open and close off the bleeder valve. I share Dirty Howie's sentiments about making the wrenches and selling them to our DIY owners.
The only thing that prevents me from doing this is I bet all bleeder valves are not all created equal. As in the thread pattern in conjunction with the 6 sides of the valve when mated with the 6-point socket. I had to make sure I was able to open and close the valve fully with the hand made wrench. Not getting it closed completely would have been an issue.
The only thing that prevents me from doing this is I bet all bleeder valves are not all created equal. As in the thread pattern in conjunction with the 6 sides of the valve when mated with the 6-point socket. I had to make sure I was able to open and close the valve fully with the hand made wrench. Not getting it closed completely would have been an issue.
Thanks Jim, I imagine you are right about the issue!
11-25-2018, 10:55 AM
