Date: Sun, 18 Jun 2000 16:11:31 -0700
Reply-To: Tobin Copley <tobin.copley@ubc.ca>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Tobin Copley <tobin.copley@ubc.ca>
Subject: Bleeding clutch system--what gives?
In-Reply-To: <005301bfd93c$23ca7840$bc3c480c@pavilion>
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Hi all,
I'm just replaced a failed master clutch cylinder and encountered a
frustrating problem. Maybe it is not a problem, I just don't know.
Here's the deal:
Bentley is of no use at all in this procedure. I did find Sean
Bartnik's very helpful instructions on the Bart-no-tek site, and
everything appeared very straight forward.
Pulling the master cylinder itself was no problem at all. Installing
the replacement hit a bit of a hitch, as the threads for the
hydraulic fitting on the replacement were damaged (from the box) and
I had to send it back, via courier, for a new one. Meanwhile, the
bad threads had damaged my hydraulic line, so had to pull that and
get the threads cleaned up.
OK. Hydraulic line back in, new master cylinder back in without
problems. Sean's instructions say to bleed the master cylinder at
the hydraulic fitting until no more air bubbles come out.
I've been doing this for over two hours now, and while it's pretty
hard to distinguish air bubbles from squirts of fluid, I strongly
suspect I still have air trapped in the cylinder. Pedal feels very
light, and will not return without pulling back up by hand.
Resistance is not even through the stroke--seems to have little
resistance at top half of stroke, that a noticeable abrupt increase
in resistance for the bottom third or so. Even then, though, not a
strong pressure. The reservoir fluid level does go down over time,
but very slowly (only trickles come out the bottom when bleeding).
People's posts to me earlier about how to do the master cylinder
replacemenr all noted that the bleeding took a long time. But *two
hours* at the master cylinder and no real change in the feel of the
pedal, and a pedal that will not return by itself? Can this be right?
As an added cruel twist, I realize now the bleeder nut at the slave
is substantially bigger than used for brakes, and the tubing i have
is stretch tight over it, and not entirely over it that I may not be
able to get an air-tight seal on that end.
When should my pedal start to feel normal, or at least return on its own?
I've never done this jump before. I don't have a point of reference
on this. I think my knuckles must be bleeding more than my hydraulic
line. I really would rather be taking my kids for ice cream than
trying to bleed a master cylinder for two hours and apparently not
getting anywhere.
I'd be really open to any suggestions on how to get over this
problem, as right now I feel like an idiot.
Thanks,
T.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tobin Copley Bowen Island, BC, Canada tobin.copley@ubc.ca
'82 westy 1.6L NA diesel ("Stinky")
'97 son Russell =============
'99 daughter Margaret /_| |__| |__|:| clatter
1995: 'Round US, Mexico, Canada 15,000 mi O|. .| clatter!
1996: Vancouver to Inuvik, NWT 7,400 km ~-()-==----()-~
Previous buses: '76 westy deluxe (Daisy), '76 westy standard (Mango)
http://www.sfu.ca/~tcopley/vw/
