bleeding a clutch?

if it has a bleed nipple, open it and gravity bleeding usually suffices. if it only has a pipe going to the slave cylinder without an obvious bleed nipple, then you should be able to pull the retaining clip for this pipe halfway off and the pipe should move approx. 3 mm back out of the slave cylinder.this opens the bleed nipple. pump the pedal up, and open the bleed nipple (by whichever method) and with the pedal still pressed, close the nipple. repeat, until no-more air comes out of the system. ensure brake fluid reservoir is topped up (this supplies the clutch hydraulic also).

once no more air comes out, the pedal might not be pumped up. one option is to go and grab a cup of tea and a biscuit, and the system can sometimes self prime. if this doesn't work (or the kettle's broken), grab hold of the clutch pedal itself and pump it up and down as fast as possible, about 30-50 times (tiring, i know). this primes up the clutch hydraulic circuit. job done

slipdiff
March 2010