Clutch Bleed

[Ronc116]

Good Afternoon,

I'm attempting to bleed my hydraulic clutch (Bembo), but I ran into a problem. Once I get all the air out, it still won't go into gear, or if it does, the wheels turn. When I try to adjust the clutch for more travel, the clutch goes soft again, like there is air in it. Has anyone had trouble with the clutch master cylinders from Bembo?


Thanks in advance
Ron

[wedel456]

I'm attempting to bleed my hydraulic clutch (Bembo), but I ran into a problem. Once I get all the air out, it still won't go into gear, or if it does, the wheels turn. When I try to adjust the clutch for more travel, the clutch goes soft again, like there is air in it. Has anyone had trouble with the clutch master cylinders from Bembo?


I had issues with getting all the air out until I bench bleed the MC. Did you bench bleed it?

[Cobraman]

Ok I had this very issue just a couple weeks ago while adjusting my clutch and here is how I solved it. I took my oil can showen in pic put some clear tubing on it emptied clutch fluid reservoir into the oil can it must be very clean I pumped some brake cleaner through it then added clutch fluid and pumped until cleaner was cleared.
I then installed tubing on pump then attached it to the bleeder on the slave cylinder. Pump it until you're reservoir is not showing signs of any air or bubbles in the reservoir. Bleeding should be complete. Now you need to verify that the travel distance of the Master cylinder is the same as the slave cylinder.
Also my clutch pedal was touching the side of the tubing under the dash so when fully depressed and did not allow for full travel of Mc of 1.2" as needed to disengage. I ground the pedal 1/4" to get the full travel of pedal rather than cutting the support tubing. This is what the MDL tech where I acquired my clutch and slave cylinder from said has to happen for proper disengagement. So when you get the full travel of the Master cylinder at the pedal you should be able to adjust your slave cylinder from there to get the same travel distance. You can PM me if you need further information and I could even video call if needed to see first hand.
It works perfectly now.
221164

[neilkuy]

I found the clutch very hard to bleed as well. My issue was the line from the master cylinder to the reservoir had a high point in it due to the placement of the bulk head adapter that goes through the footbox wall. I was able to fully bleed by using a reverse bleeder pushing fluid from the slave up. I have a larger master cylinder than what comes in the kit to match the slave cylinder I have, it has a semi transparent cap on it so bubbles are visible. We reverse bled until it was clear. Which took a few tries.

[Dgc333]

You may have to thread the MC push rod further out of the clevis (raise the pedal) to get enough stroke for the clutch to release fully.

I initially had the clutch pedal set to the same height as the brake pedal and I too had trouble getting the car into gear. I wound up raising the pedal about a 1/2" higher than the brake pedal to solve the problem.

In hind site a clutch MC with a larger bore than the one FFR supplied would have allowed the clutch pedal to be lower by moving more fluid for a given unit of stroke.

[Ronc116]

Thanks everyone for all the good ideas, what I found was my supply line from my master to the slave had a slight uphill path. Once corrected, I bled the clutch master and slave, it appears to be working but I won't know until I get it off the jack stands. I was able to turn the rear wheels in gear with the clutch depressed.

[Ronc116]

Great idea thats how we used to bleed our Cessna 208 brakes, I simply forgot about this!

[Ronc116]

I had to do the same but i guess its not uncommon for the clutch to be just a little higher. I also had to move the brake pedal towards the clutch just to get my feet in there, lol.

[Ronc116]

I didn't at first but I did bench bleed after I realized I had a problem.

[cv2065]

I didn't need to bench bleed the master. I used a pneumatic bleeder from HF. Bled in about 5 minutes start to finish, but I did need to adjust the throw a bit. If your wheels are moving with the clutch pedal pushed all the way in, it sounds more like you might need to adjust the throw of your pedal/slave cylinder.