Issues getting the Brakes and Clutch Bleed.

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viperbmw69

Active Member
I need help figuring out what I am doing wrong. I have replaced the Clutch and Brake Master Cylinders I did not know I needed to prime the brake master cylinder. I have done that now. I have bleed the clutch many times and it still feels wrong and the clutch engages right at the floor As soon as you move it.

The Brakes are just spongy and not right. I have used a vacuum pump to bleed the brakes but it does not ever seem to stop bubbles. I do not think I have any leaks not seeing anything off hand.

I have zero experience bleeding brakes and or clutch. Im just going off videos and googling. Any help is greatly appreciated
 
Rttoys

Rttoys

Goblin Guru
Have you tried the old school method of having someone hold the pedal down while you open the bleeders?

my vacuum bleeder worked great, but that last bit on the clutch needed the old school method.
Plus make sure the pedals come all the way back before you press it down to pressurize again.
 
V

viperbmw69

Active Member
Rttoys said:
Have you tried the old school method of having someone hold the pedal down while you open the bleeders?

my vacuum bleeder worked great, but that last bit on the clutch needed the old school method.
Plus make sure the pedals come all the way back before you press it down to pressurize again.
Click to expand...
Yep had someone pump pump hold, then I released the valve. Then tighten and release the pedal.
 
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Gtstorey

Goblin Guru
My preferred method is to pressure bleed them instead of vacuum. I use a Motive Bleeder but have had luck in the past with pumping from the caliper end. Just be careful with the Motive type bleeder. I think I over pressurized the reservoir this or held pressure way to long and ended up with a weeping reservoir. Of course it was the cheapest reservoir I could find, so it might have been bad to start with.
 
Ross

Ross

Goblin Guru
I used a vacuum bleeder to fill the empty lines, then had to pressure bleed them, as I still had air in them.
They were a pain to get air free, but they work well now.
You have the bleeders at the top of the brake caliper, right?
 
Rauq

Rauq

Goblin Guru
The only issues I had with the brakes were resolved with bleeding the system with the car on an incline. The long run through the tunnel to the back of the car is deceptively good at hanging onto air bubbles. That was half of my problem with the clutch system, as well.

The other half of the clutch system trick is that that slave cylinder can only be effectively bled with the old school pedal pumping method. Because the slave cylinder is after the bleeder, you have to pressurize the system with the pedal, keep the pedal there, open the bleed valve, and then allow the clutch system (pressure plate fingers, specifically) to push the air/fluid out of that side of the system. Then obviously close the bleeder, slowly release the pedal, then repeat, keeping the reservoir full. Do note also from Chad's post that you need to keep the reservoir pretty full to ensure the clutch system is getting the fluid it needs.

If your remote reservoir system is very well sealed (and mine definitely wasn't, even after taking it apart and sealing it back up), putting a vacuum on the reservoir may pull the air from either or both systems overnight. This is actually the recommended method for bleeding clutches in Cobalts in their original configuration. I just always ended up pulling enough air from somewhere upstream of the master cylinders to make this ineffective. Pressure bleeding the clutch system is just going to end up pushing fluid to the bleeder and no further, which only works if your slave cylinder is already fully fluid packed.
 
Waterdriver

Waterdriver

Goblin Guru
Like Rauq mentioned, have the rear of the car raised. This will help the air naturally travel towards the rear of the car.
This is how I bleed my brakes and clutch. Gravity method, using a long piece of clear tubing attached to the bleeder screw. Zip tie around the bleeder end of the hose to keep it from falling off. Start with the left rear, then right rear.
No pressure bleeder was required. An occasional pump on the brakes and clutch, with the bleeders closed, to help move air along.
 
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Gtstorey

Goblin Guru
Pressure bleeding at the reservoir worked fine on my clutch. You might have to let the pressure off a time or two and pump the clutch peddle in between, but it's a one person job.
 
jayrolls

jayrolls

Well-Known Member
viperbmw69 said:
I need help figuring out what I am doing wrong. I have replaced the Clutch and Brake Master Cylinders I did not know I needed to prime the brake master cylinder. I have done that now. I have bleed the clutch many times and it still feels wrong and the clutch engages right at the floor As soon as you move it.

The Brakes are just spongy and not right. I have used a vacuum pump to bleed the brakes but it does not ever seem to stop bubbles. I do not think I have any leaks not seeing anything off hand.

I have zero experience bleeding brakes and or clutch. Im just going off videos and googling. Any help is greatly appreciated
Click to expand...
I had problems getting mine to have a good feel. I used this pressure bleeder and it was so easy and gave a great pedal.
 

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Scott #321

Well-Known Member
I made a bleeder out of a cap and cheap sprayer. Not something I would recommend as leaks and low pressure were a problem but during covid ith no availability of an actual pressure bleeder I was able to bleed the system.
 
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