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I reminded me that I need to do the Ranger Method again (I've done it on a regular basis on my previous three Vettes). I have a container of 19299570 Dot 4 fluid (per the owners manual). I opened it in late November last year and it has been in the house since.
Anyhow, I do the ranger method, everything is nice and clear when I finish up. About 25 miles later it looks like this. I"m really surprised that got that bad that fast. It did NOT look like that when I opened her up to started the Ranger Method.
I sucked it out with the large syringe that I have and it looked clear so those aren't blobs of anything "gunky". My best guess is water or air bubbles that mixed and pretty much disappeared when I sucked it out. I've seen comments on the shelf life being weeks up to a year. I'm chunking the fluid and have a new container coming in tomorrow.
Does anyone have an experience with what causes this? My best guess is air but that is creepy. Where the heck is it coming from? If I'm lucky the fluid I used was garbage.
Last edited by SnowyATX; Aug 15, 2018 at 10:19 PM.
I'd probably get the system flushed. I have my dealer do it every-other year and its under 100 bucks.
I've done it multiple times on the my C5 but it SUCKS getting to that stupid bleed valve. Hmmm, trust the dealer or not. Scares me every time. I may come out with more issues than I went in with unfortunately.
Clean it out and chg it make sure you get all of the old out of it.
Obviously I"m going to. I'm just curious if folks have ever determined if this may be air bubbles or the fact that the bottle was opened the first time like last November.
Anyhow, going to do a complete Ranger Method tonight with an unopened bottle and go from there. I put a remote bleeder on my hotrodded C5 that worked great.....I wish they made it easier to bleed the clutch the right way on these cars.
Obviously I"m going to. I'm just curious if folks have ever determined if this may be air bubbles or the fact that the bottle was opened the first time like last November.
Anyhow, going to do a complete Ranger Method tonight with an unopened bottle and go from there. I put a remote bleeder on my hotrodded C5 that worked great.....I wish they made it easier to bleed the clutch the right way on these cars.
I agree from that but that crap I would flush it full system. Good luck on her but like the other guy has said if it didn't look per say like new I would do it every other year just to be safe on her. But if not every other yr 3 to 4 yrs for sure but if tracking the car other yr. Robert
Well, still looking for ideas. My car has been to the dealer as I was an unfortunate one who had a pilot bearing take out the torque tube input shaft. Needless to say, the clutch was bled bleed several times during that time at the dealer. I got the car back and it looked like this within a week or so. They thought maybe the cap was bad, letting moisture in, so the replaced it. Obviously that isn't it. They are talking to the factory trying to get more clues.
I've Googled a lot but can't find any pictures of fluid that looks like this. I can't be the only one with fluid that is "contaminated" like this. Seems it would be moisture or air, but if it was air the clutch wouldn't work properly but it works just fine.
That's not bad at all but seems awful cheap for the amount of labor. I will have to ask my dealer what they charge.
I looked around and did see that some folks offer remote bleed kits like the one linked. Unfortunately the ones I saw that had install information said you needed to pull the clutch. It's always something...
You're supposed to use DOT 4 fluids within one month of opening. Even your fluid in the bottle might be having too much water, now.
Understood. But this is fluid the dealer put in when they bled it. So it happened with their fluid too. This is my 4th manual Vette and 6th manual car and I've never had an issue like this.
Last edited by SnowyATX; Jul 25, 2019 at 08:33 AM.
OP, sorry to hear about your troubles. Hope you get this resolved.
But it still bugs me that GM hasn't figured out how a hydraulically actuated clutch cylinder works. I frequent a lot of other forums for different makes/models, and this is not an issue on any other car I've read about. If other manufacturers can avoid this issue, surely GM can too.
That is sure some nasty looking clutch fluid in the OP's car. I wonder what is going on here?? I did my first Ranger flush of the year yesterday and the old stuff was nothing like the OPs. His might be contaminated with some sort of foreign agent besides just moisture?
I know it wasn't good practice but I had a 1994 Camaro Z28 manual and I never flushed or changed the clutch fluid in the 22 years I owned it. Clutch still worked perfectly when I sold it. And I am not sure how the design of that clutch compares to the Vette's. But I am not going to take that chance with the Vette. My main quibble with the design is not having a remote bleed setup from the factory.
Originally Posted by Tokuzumi
OP, sorry to hear about your troubles. Hope you get this resolved.
But it still bugs me that GM hasn't figured out how a hydraulically actuated clutch cylinder works. I frequent a lot of other forums for different makes/models, and this is not an issue on any other car I've read about. If other manufacturers can avoid this issue, surely GM can too.
That's not bad at all but seems awful cheap for the amount of labor. I will have to ask my dealer what they charge.
I looked around and did see that some folks offer remote bleed kits like the one linked. Unfortunately the ones I saw that had install information said you needed to pull the clutch. It's always something...
I bet its at least 30-45mins for the guys to pull the tunnel plate and mid-pipe to get to the bleed screw. I don't see how a true bleed could cost $100....if you are getting a true bleed for that then that is awesome as its a PITA even once the bleed screw is exposed. You need mini-hands to even get up in there.
I agree, if it is only $100 I'd consider that a screaming bargain. I haven't attempted this yet and with your post I may not even bother. Sounds like my big mitts might not fit and all that R&R would be for naught.
Originally Posted by Torch-Red-Z06
I bet its at least 30-45mins for the guys to pull the tunnel plate and mid-pipe to get to the bleed screw. I don't see how a true bleed could cost $100....if you are getting a true bleed for that then that is awesome as its a PITA even once the bleed screw is exposed. You need mini-hands to even get up in there.
Hmmmm.....cloudy clutch fluid
I"m really surprised that got that bad that fast. It did NOT look like that when I opened her up to started the Ranger Method.
