clutch bleeding from the mc (or the j-43485 mityvac adapter)
 

First of all, I am not here to debate the correctness or effectiveness of bleeding the clutch via vacuum pressure applied to clutch MC. My position is, it's the revised procedure recommended in the factory service manual. If you'd like to debate this method, please create a different thread. :cheers:

Now I don't know if anyone else has butted up against this problem, but I had a bugger of a time finding that j-43485 adapter. Or to be more specific, I couldn't find one without getting bent over to the tune of...

$60.57

http://www.handsontools.com/Kent-Moo...r_p_17726.html

or $71.61

http://www.etoolcart.com/powersteering.aspx

etc.

...for what amounts to a $0.15 rubber spud with a plastic tube jammed through it. :rolleyes:

So I'm just gonna throw this out there. Maybe it'll help someone else.

I was in Lowes the other day, and I happened to see a rubber drain stopper with a conical lip on the underside that I eyeballed to be roughly the diameter of the MC. It was $2, so I bought it as really nothing more than an experiment.

http://i714.photobucket.com/albums/w...x/j43485-3.jpg

I got home, opened up my MC, and I'll be damned if it didn't fit perfectly. :eek: But would it seal well enough to hold 20" of vacuum? Only one way to find out!

I sliced off the pull, drilled a little hole dead center, pushed an old brake caliper bleed screw through, and sealed it up with RTV. Came back later that day, put it back in the MC, stuck the Mityvac on it, annnnnnd pumped it right to 20" no problem! :thumbs: I just built a $60 tool from a $2 drain plug. :lol: :smash:

http://i714.photobucket.com/albums/w...inx/j43485.jpg
http://i714.photobucket.com/albums/w...x/j43485-2.jpg

Sweeet!! :thumbs: Thanks for sharing that.

You saved as much as my remote bleeder cost me,and your method is a helluva lot easier to install!
Perfect example of "thinking outside the box" (or "inside the tub" in this case):thumbs:

I pretty much did the same thing except I used a tapered rubber plug I got from a lab supply outfit. drilled a hole in it and inserted a short piece of 1/4" steel tubing and adapted the Mity-vac hose to it.
Works like a champ!!!! :yesnod:

Jimbo

Any way of getting the photos back online? I can host the photos if you want...

:bigears

pictures are gone?

I have searched for over an hour and I can't find a thread that explains this procedure of pressure bleeding from the MC.

Anyone got a link?:)

Hi There,
This maybe what your looking for.
www.mityvac.com/pages/info_service_hcl.asp
robsc501

Someone had a question about my homemade adapter, so I fixed the pics. Sorry I didn't see the posts from Oct 2010, but hey better late than never right? :o :leaving:

Nice tip.

That is the kind of thing I like to find. The ones that work and cost a lot less than the overpriced solutions.

my learning of the day.

how much does a mityvac cost and where can i get one?

@wcsinx Sorry to revive this long-dead thread. I am looking at bleeding my clutch but would love to avoid doing the remote bleeder install. I looked at the mityvac website but it looks like the instructions linked in post #9 are long gone.

Could you explain how you did it? Does this involve removing the master cylinder or does this cap go over the slave cylinder in the engine bay?

Err ... you have your terminology reversed. The master cylinder is the one under the hood. And my cobbled together cap goes on the master cylinder reservoir. Once it's there, you just apply 20" of vacuum which is enough to collapse the slave cylinder pulling any air into the reservoir. Repeat this 2 or 3 times, and all air will be purged from both the slave and master cylinders.

I realized right after I posted that I had my terminology mixed up... I figured that's what you were doing but then I was sitting here thinking "hmm... maybe it DOES fit on the slave..."

thank you for the information!

wcsinx Question, how long to hold the vacuum until the bubbles stop? Seems like they keep on coming? After one pass - seems to shift easier.... so this does work. Just wondering how many passes until the bubbles stop? Replaced the master with Tick, dont have a lift so didnt bleed the slave out, this solution seems to do the trick. Thanks for posting!

If bubbles keep coming, you might have a compromised seal. I just did this on my MC a couple months ago. Got nothing out of it and it held vacuum as long as I wanted to leave it.

when you have vacuum on it, pump the clutch a bit.

thanks - it’s shifting fine - hope it stays that way - so going to leave it right there - going to throw in an mgw shifter soon.