Date:         Wed, 9 Jun 2004 07:20:05 -0700
Reply-To:     Jeffrey Earl <jefferrata@YAHOO.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Jeffrey Earl <jefferrata@YAHOO.COM>
Subject:      How do I adjust (bleed?) the clutch?
Comments: cc: vanagon@VOLKSWAGEN.ORG, albell@UVIC.CA
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii

David Marshal wrote:
Figured that this way it would be like bleeding
brakes.
Now I can engage the clutch but it feels very soft and
you have to go to the floor to get it in and out of
any gear.  Is there something that I am forgetting to
do?



Alistair Bell wrote:

Have done it 3 ways:
!. was lucky, quick swap and a reg. bleed with no
problem.
2. slower slave swap and then problems bleeding. I
reverse pressure
bled the system, ie.pressurized fluid introduced into
slave bleed
screw. It worked like a charm, obvious precautions
need not be
mentioned.
3. long drip method. Letting slave bleeder drip
slightly overnight.
Worked!



To these possible solutions I would add a pressure- or
vacuum-bleeder. Some, including the venerable Bentley,
insist one MUST use a pressure-bleeder to bleed the
hydraulic clutch, as, unlike the brake system, the
usual pumping method serves only to compress and
expand the air bubbles trapped in the line. I presume
such a bleeder is applied to the fluid reservoir and
forces fluid thru the system to the open bleed screw.

I have also had good luck using a vacuum-bleeder like
this one:
http://www.actron.com/cgi-bin/web_store.cgi?page=cp7830.htm&cart_id=

Combined with a one-person-bleeding kit, or a simple
ole fashioned baby-food jar, the pump should be able
to get all the air out.

Here's the bleeding portion of my own recent
clutch-cylinder R&R:
http://www.vanthology.com/1Layout/Technical/Clutch3.html#Bleeding%20the%20Clutch%20Hydraulic%20System

Good Luck!


"OK, I'll leave it at that since I've already gone on
for far too long about something I don't know a whole
lot about ..."

Jeffrey Earl
1983 diesel Westfalia "Vanasazi"
http://www.vanthology.com/











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