I know the topic has been covered many times, however, I have a slightly different question. Has anyone ever reverse bled a clutch slave in a system which has no fluid in it at all? I’m wondering if I reverse bleed the system if a 60cc syringe would be enough to at least get to a point where the clutch and master cylinders are full plus a bit in the line from the reservoir meaning all I have to do is fill the reservoir (I’m assuming any air in the reservoir tube will just self-bleed into the reservoir-I can wait, no hurry). I’m trying to avoid having to refill the syringe thus allowing the potential for an errant air bubble as I offer the second syringe-load of fluid up to the clutch slave bleed nipple.
I’m sure that this will work fine. 60cc would be ample.
There really is no need to reverse bleed…standard old school bleed technique never fails to work for me…fill reservoir…fit tube on bleed nipple into a jar…open nipple not too much (just enough for fluid to flow when u press)…press pedal down and hold down…close nipple…release pedal…repeat…on last press and hold of pedal push the pushrod of the slave cylinder fully in…just to expell any trapped air in the bottom of the slave…tighten nipple…release pedal…if you dont have a hard pedal repeat the above…Steve
I First tried the technique above, I really did, the only way I could get a good clutch pedal (with all rebuilt components) was the reverse bleed. Not saying it didn’t work for you but it did not work for me. Best of luck.
…and all I ever did (including with a totally dry system) was fill the reservoir, open the slave bleeder, put a jam jar under it and wait while I drink a cup of coffee. Close the bleeder, top up the reservoir, and I’m ready to go. It’s really strange how some are so easy and some so hard.
Like women, some easy, some hard. Just to add to what Steve noted, if you wrap the bleeder threads with a few rounds of Teflon tape, there is no need to close the bleeder after every stroke…just make sure the tube from the bleed nipple is submerged in a jar of clean fluid. Once air free, simply tighten nipple fully.
To conclude, I tried the reverse bleed. It seems to have worked. For the record a 60cc syringe is enough to get the fluid through the master cylinder and about 3/8" into the reservoir.
Ken
Eastern Ontario
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That’s how I bled the one on my car. I tried letting it drip, I tried pumping the pedal like you would the brakes; neither worked for me as well as pumping fluid in from the bottom.