dylan07

Hey guys, so I just got this car with a blown engine and fixed it. So I have not driven it before. The shifting is sometimes hard getting into gears. I changed the trans fluid with RedLine GL4 stuff, didn't help. I read on this forum that bleeding the clutch could help because if the clutch is not disengaging all the way it could make shifting harder, and the clutch pedal was pretty firm (but from my reading it may not be abnormal)

I watched this youtube video on how to do it.
I loosened the 8mm bleeder valve, let it drain out (with the reservoir cap off).
wiped the gunk out of the bottom of the reservoir,
tightened the bleeder valve
filled the reservoir (i poured quick and heard air bubbles as the fluid went down)
I told my brother to pump the pedal and when he did the pedal just slammed down to the floor completely and does not spring back up

I am confused.... this method is a solution for "pedal not returning"...

How do I fix my problem? Now my car is not derivable!!!

dylan07

I went back outside and gravity bled it until the reservoir went halfway down, then i upmped the clutch about 50 times and the clutch was returning. But after holding the clutch down and opening the valve to release air, the pedal does not pop back up again. But I can pump it with my hand and it will build pressure again. I repeated this about 7 times and it's the same.

travlee

iTrader: (8)

keep doing it...but you need 2 people.

pump pump pump, press and hold.... the the person under the car cracks the valve

pump pump pump etc, you will have to pull it up for a bit,

rinse repeat until it works

dylan07

Just for clarification, we are using 2 people. I am bleeding it just like i do with my brakes. I found a service manual online and downloaded it. The process is the same as I was doing, except I am not using a hose. I remember now with the clutch on my POS Saturn Ion I had to use a hose, and keep the other end of the hose in a contained of fluid, and it helped not let air back in the end of the line.

So I guess I will go get a hose, but just clarify that this sounds right?

EDIT: The clutch pedal not returning does not seem right to me, think either my slave cylinder or master cylinder got messed up some how?

travlee

iTrader: (8)

i have always used a hose

iideadeyeii

iTrader: (6)

It won't come back up after the bleeder is opened/closed, but should after it's closed and pumped again

dylan07

Thenessentially, you open the valve one time and pump the pedal and it's done being bled? That's different than brakes... So I am confused.

Trying the hose method now.

travlee

iTrader: (8)

pump like 30 times, holding it down the last time. crack the bleeder watching the tube fill with fluid and air, close after about 10 seconds

then repeat until it is done

SpartaEvolution

I once spent my entire birthday weekend trying to bleed the clutch on my G in a tiny apartment garage in December, so when I say I loath the clutch system on these cars, please understand my passion.

Having said that, I recently replaced my clutch line with a Sparta brand stainless braided line , which of course required a bleed.

Long story short, we were able to bleed the system only once we adjusted the pedal such that the master cylinder piston was pulled as far back in the cylinder as possible. Once you get under the dash, remove the dead pedal and fuse box cover (on the G at least, not sure about the Z). On the back of the pedal there is an adjustment fork with a threaded rod sticking through the firewall into the clutch master cylinder. Basically you loosen the (14mm?) jam nut on the far side of the fork, then turn the knurled section of the rod counterclockwise until you reach the limit. You should be able to see ~8-10 threads between the two sides of the adjustment fork once you're done. I can bust out my incredible MSPaint skills if necessary. Once it's adjusted, get back to bleeding the traditional 2-person way (listed below), and you should build pressure pretty quickly.

Bleeding proceedure
1. Person A gets in the driver seat, person B gets under the car and places a hose over the bleeder valve
2. Person A pumps the FULL STROKE of the clutch pedal 5-1000 times (pull the pedal to the top of the stroke each time if necessary).
3. Person A pumps the pedal and HOLDS it at the bottom of the stroke, and screams "HOLDING" at the top of their lungs, neighbors be damned
4. Person B cracks the bleeder valve open, and closes within 2 seconds, watching for air bubbles
5. Person B tells person A that the bleeder valve is closed in a civilized manner
6. Repeat steps 2 - 6 as many times as is necessary
7. Profit?


Also, the hose + container used in a 2 person bleed only serves to catch the expelled fluid. Unless you're using a reverse bleeder, fluid should NEVER travel into the slave cylinder bleeder valve.

Heel Til I Die

iTrader: (2)

Just to echo what everyone else is saying... https://my350z.com/forum/maintenance...ed-clutch.html

dylan07

I bled the clutch before reading this informational post. I have a firm pedal, but it has a hard time shifting into gears unless pushed ALL the way to the floor, and even then after it's warmed up, it still seems notchy and hard. Do you think I didn't bleed the clutch correctly or enough? Do you think the pedal needs to be adjusted? I tried to look at the adjustment and I can't get a good look with my fat head under the steering wheel.

SpartaEvolution

As long as you aren't grinding gears, then yes it sounds like you need to adjust the pedal. You'll want to loosen the jam nut and rotate the knurled rod clockwise, effectively pushing the piston further into the cylinder without moving the pedal. To make the adjustment, I usually end up on my back with my ankles around the headrest hahaha. No pictures please.

guitman32

iTrader: (15)

The clutch system is a pretty easy system to bleed (once primed) and should be easy to get all residual air out...it isnt tricky like the braking system and abs.

Stop the car on a level surface, hold the clutch in, wait about 15 seconds, pop it in first, if the car inches forward you know you have some clutch interference and need to make adjustments. If not, then your clutch is full disengaging each shift, and you should focus on replacing your master and slave with OEM new parts, performing a thorough bleed, and getting the adjustment correct.

You should verify that the master cyl piston is retracting fully when the pedal is disengaged, otherwise the residual pressure can kill your clutch and cause premature wear on the hydraulics. Adjust it so that the back of the master cyl piston stops just shy of hitting the housing and retaining clip.

At that point the OEM system is pretty redundant...usually nothing more to adjust after that. RJM performance has a lot of good information you can read up on, including the install manual for his pedal box which if you can understand, will make everything you need to adjust clear.

That or your transmission is going...