How do I bleed a clutch?

Calgary22

Hey guys looking to bleed the clutch on a 1.4 vw golf as i just changed the slave cylinder. is it a job i can do myself? any help would be great:D

Ronnie Beck

It's a two man job. Press in clutch, open and close the nipple and then release the clutch is the general idea. Repeat a few times. This works but I think a pressure bleeder would have done a better job.

spiggotpaddy

Open the cap and nipple and let gravity pull it through.
Don't forget to open the door to let the clutch out.

OldmanMondeo

Do not use the clutch pedal, it is not 100% accurate. Get it pressure bled. It is the right way to do it.

Calgary22

where could i get that done? bare in mind the car is undriveable lol:D

Cerbera

One of these things makes life easy ...

http://www.sealey.co.uk/PLPageBuilder.asp?gotonode=ViewProduct&method=mViewProduct&productid=9320&productdescription=&productcode=&category=6&catgroup=122&catmicrogroup=1078&analysiscode=&requiredresults=16

Calgary22

Thanks lads:D so i changed the slave cylinder as it was leaking from there. i tried to bleed it today as described on this thread but nothings happening still holding to the floor. would this mean the clutch is fecked?:(

OldmanMondeo

No it could mean an airlock, Fluid leaking somewhere else, etc. Most claim I get on "faulty" clutchs are ont he pedal being on the floor. The advise I am always given is check the hydraulics first.

johnnydeep

try open the bleed screw till it flows out close it pump the pedal open in repeat a lot of times it will work takes time but will save you driving with no clutch and money

Calgary22

Thanks lads for the great advice. i will try it again tomorrow. but knowing my luck the fecking clutch is gone i don't think it would ever bee so easy for me that it was just the slave gone. that's what i was doing today open then close then pumping pedal but no joy.:(

johnnydeep

Calgary22 wrote: »

Thanks lads for the great advice. i will try it again tomorrow. but knowing my luck the fecking clutch is gone i don't think it would ever bee so easy for me that it was just the slave gone. that's what i was doing today open then pumping pedal but no joy.:(

did you have screw closed while you were pumping otherwise you be sucking in air

Calgary22

Yea sorry i did indeed have it closed.:)

Alias G

A cheep bleed kit should only cost between 10 and 20 euro. Worth the investment and easy to use.

Calgary22

so i tried it again it was a big improvement its not going straight to the floor now it appears to be very hard to push down . still no hope of being able to change the gears though. i am beginning to think its sum-thing more serious:(

johnnydeep

Calgary22 wrote: »

so i tried it again it was a big improvement its not going straight to the floor now it appears to be very hard to push down . still no hope of being able to change the gears though. i am beginning to think its sum-thing more serious:(

keep going it takes a long time

Calgary22

really?:D is it simply a matter of push clutch down open and allow it to leak out the close nipple and then start pumping clutch pedal? that's what i have been doing and there is a noticeable change but how many times should i be doing this? and what exactly is the reason for doing this? i no its to bleed it but why?:D is it normal when bleeding it to go from it being stuck to the floor to it being tough to push down?

johnnydeep

I would have though if it was tough to push down your clutch should be working. is it coming back up by itself. is it losing any fluid

Calgary22

no mate its not loseing any fluid. it was before i changed the cylinder but thankfully not now.
no its not its only going as far as i push it and then when i stop pushing there it will just hold in that position.:o

johnnydeep

if your clutch was giving trouble before the cylinder was leaking there is probably something wrong with your clutch

Calgary22

thanks mate but it was fine the clutch itself. so i dont no it must be fecked. thanks for your help though:D

harg90

if you let the fluid drip while you were changing the slave, its possible you let the master drip dry.

and some of the vw's are a pure tramp to get a pedal on,

my best advice to you at this stage is go into halfords with 25e and buy a gunson eezybleed kit.

its straight forward to use and will cure any airlock in the master.

and the reason you need to bleed the air out of the system is because air complesses, brake fluid doesnt.

if theres air in the system it will leave you pedal spongy or non existant.

what model golf isit?

Calgary22

hey mate its a Petrol: 1.4 litre (1390cc). thanks for that advice mate i more then likely did. its just weird in the fact that it went straight to the floor and now its geting it hard to go down. i will get that kit and see how i fare out i am not holding much hope though:(.. how much would a new clutch set me back?:((

harg90

Calgary22 wrote: »

hey mate its a Petrol: 1.4 litre (1390cc). thanks for that advice mate i more then likely did. its just weird in the fact that it went straight to the floor and now its geting it hard to go down. i will get that kit and see how i fare out i am not holding much hope though:(.. how much would a new clutch set me back?:((

what model isit though? mk3 or mk 4? what year is it?

is the the pedal going down atal when the bleeder is open?

johnnydeep

Calgary22 wrote: »

hey mate its a Petrol: 1.4 litre (1390cc). thanks for that advice mate i more then likely did. its just weird in the fact that it went straight to the floor and now its geting it hard to go down. i will get that kit and see how i fare out i am not holding much hope though:(.. how much would a new clutch set me back?:((

probably 200-250 to buy

harg90

johnnydeep wrote: »

probably 200-250 to buy

you kno the price of the clutch without knowing the model? :O

Calgary22

Sorry mate its an mk4 02. yea like if i really push down on the clutch it will go to the floor like i can push down on the clutch and when i let go it will hold in that position.where as before i changed the slave it would go straight for the floor. but i was out pumping it for a fair bit today and this has resulted in the clutch getting it hard to push down.

Cheers johnnydeep. that would not be too bad where would i pick one up? i would like to buy the parts myself and get a mechanic to fit. as much as i would love to try it would be out of my dept i think.

johnnydeep

harg90 wrote: »

you kno the price of the clutch without knowing the model? :O

do you think iam wrong or do just enjoy posting ****e

johnnydeep

Calgary22 wrote: »

Sorry mate its an mk4 02. yea like if i really push down on the clutch it will go to the floor like i can push down on the clutch and when i let go it will hold in that position.where as before i changed the slave it would go straight for the floor. but i was out pumping it for a fair bit today and this has resulted in the clutch getting it hard to push down.

Cheers johnnydeep. that would not be too bad where would i pick one up? i would like to buy the parts myself and get a mechanic to fit. as much as i would love to try it would be out of my dept i think.

go to you local motor factors ring around don't be afraid to let them know if you got a cheaper price

harg90

Calgary22 wrote: »

Sorry mate its an mk4 02. yea like if i really push down on the clutch it will go to the floor like i can push down on the clutch and when i let go it will hold in that position.where as before i changed the slave it would go straight for the floor. but i was out pumping it for a fair bit today and this has resulted in the clutch getting it hard to push down.

Cheers johnnydeep. that would not be too bad where would i pick one up? i would like to buy the parts myself and get a mechanic to fit. as much as i would love to try it would be out of my dept i think.

sorry just to clear this up, with the bleeder OPEN its hard to push the pedal down? does any fluid come out?

tbh lad, your better off letting the garage suply and fit, but get a price of them first.

if you buy the clutch kit yourelf you will be charged retail + 23% vat.

but the mechanic can charge it out at retail + 13.5%vat as its going out through the workshop.

just ask for an estimated quote.

harg90

johnnydeep wrote: »

do you think iam wrong or do just enjoy posting ****e

excuse me?

Calgary22

ye lad its quite difficult for the pedal to push down but when it does a lot of the brake fluid comes out. oh right yea i forget about that thanks i will ring around but it still will be a mad price probaly not even worth it on an 02.

harg90

Calgary22 wrote: »

ye lad its quite difficult for the pedal to push down but when it does a lot of the brake fluid comes out. oh right yea i forget about that thanks i will ring around but it still will be a mad price probaly not even worth it on an 02.

have you the bleader open fully?

i presume you have tried to get gear already?

Calgary22

yea mate i do indeed. i have indeed no budge on the gears. i was really hoping that would clear the problem up but sadly it didn't **** it ha thanks for your help though.

harg90

Calgary22 wrote: »

yea mate i do indeed. i have indeed no budge on the gears. i was really hoping that would clear the problem up but sadly it didn't **** it ha thanks for your help though.

with the bleeder fully open you should have no resistance on the pedal.

have you been topping the resivoir up with clean dot 4 brakefluid?

Calgary22

ohright so i suppose that conforms that the clutch is fecked aswell. yea lad i have been. gotta love cars eh:D

harg90

Calgary22 wrote: »

ohright so i suppose that conforms that the clutch is fecked aswell. yea lad i have been. gotta love cars eh:D

nooo

i mean when the bleeder is open, when you press the pedal, the fluid should come straight out the bleader with no real resistance (as its not trying to push the release bearing.)

so with your bleeder open and your pedal hard to push, you probably have a pipe blocked somewhere.

disconect the feed from the master cyl into the slave cyl, and press your pedal and see if its easy or hard to press..

your better off with someone else with you, keep the pedal down untill you reconect the pipe into the slave cyl.

if the pedal is stil hard to press you probably have a blocked pipe further up the line.

but tbh id nearly have to be there to help properly where are you from?

johnnydeep

can you drive the car with out using the clutch pedal, might help to indicate condition of clutch itself. though I suspect its fooked.

harg90

johnnydeep wrote: »

can you drive the car with out using the clutch pedal, might help to indicate condition of clutch itself. though I suspect its fooked.

if this is your advice, you realy should stop handing it out.

what experiance or training have you actually got?

from whats been said on this thread there is absolutly no indication to say there is any definitive wear on the clutch itself. or that this is where the actual problem lies.

but without seeing the car in person noone can sucsefully diagnose the problem.

no offence calgarr22, but this is a prime example why only mechanics should fix cars. DIY enthusiasts more often than not end up making a balls of a simple job. and improperly diagnosing a fault.

dont get me wrong, im all for helping someone to fix there car themselves. but not without supervision.

from a trained profesional tho, not another enthusiast who know less than he thinks.

after all, in the land of the blind, the one eyed man is king

Calgary22

None taken dude:L being an electrician i can see your point of view as i often have to fix diyers 'work' i would not even call it that haha. i suppose its awful hard to get a mechanic to call out to the gaff and any friends i had that were in the trade are 6 k away in canada. thanks for your help.:)

johnnydeep

harg90 wrote: »

if this is your advice, you realy should stop handing it out.

what experiance or training have you actually got?

from whats been said on this thread there is absolutly no indication to say there is any definitive wear on the clutch itself. or that this is where the actual problem lies.

but without seeing the car in person noone can sucsefully diagnose the problem.

no offence calgarr22, but this is a prime example why only mechanics should fix cars. DIY enthusiasts more often than not end up making a balls of a simple job. and improperly diagnosing a fault.

dont get me wrong, im all for helping someone to fix there car themselves. but not without supervision.

from a trained profesional tho, not another enthusiast who know less than he thinks.

after all, in the land of the blind, the one eyed man is king

lets see I have converted petrol cars to diesel. fitted timing belt. I left 2 different cars at main dealer 1 for a week and they couldn't fix it. took it home and had it going in half an hour. the other one had a steering problem which I assumed was the rack but didn't want to waste time and money fitting new rack. when I went back to collect it they had fitted a new power steering belt and charged me an arm and a leg so I still had to fit the rack myself. done head gaskets, stripped an engine down fitted new pistons and oil seals. fitted clutches, welded dmf's. resprayed cars. fitted airbags. converted automatic to manual .fitted e/w to cars and fixed cars for people that mechanics said couldn't be fixed. set the tracking on cars and done just about every mechanical thing that can be done to a car but your right I have no training and should pay mechanics top dollar not only to fix my car but to supply the parts so they can cream off more money by lying about the price. so what harm is a quick spin in car to see if clutch is slipping going to do. then he can make up his mind what he wants to do with the car.

biko

If you have an issue with people posting DIY advice in a DIY forum the perhaps reconsider reading it since that is exactly what goes on here.
This is supposed to be a helpful forum - no handbags allowed.

Calgary22

Sorry biko:o

biko

It was aimed at everyone. When someone gives advice they do so from their own experience and from what they can read from the original post.
Remember that without actually being there it's very hard to say what caused an issue and what need to be done to fix it. Even mechanics are wrong sometimes, and they are actually looking at the car..

We have a nice disclaimer in the main Motors charter
* This is a public forum used by people with no idea what they are talking about. Don't assume the advice given is correct. Maintenance tips offered by forum members, whilst helpful, may not necessarily be correct solution, so if in doubt then contact your nearest dealer or qualified mechanic. If you do something as a result of what you read here, you agree that boards are in no way liable for anything at all - you are responsible for your own actions.

Ok back to clutch bleeding.

Calgary22

So basically my story so far is the clutch had been going straight to the floor checked the slave leaking so i changed it out and bleed it which caused the clutch to go very tough to push down and when i did it would just hole in the same position when i let go.

so i took off the nipple the whole way and pushed down the clutch pedal and it went down fine no pressure no nothing but it didnt come back up. as soon as i put back on the nipple and tighten it up its back to the exact same way very hard to pump clutch.any clues? would the fact that when nipple is open and it piss's out suggest that one of the pipes is not blocked?

DublinDilbert

I'm not overly familiar with the 1.4 golf, but can you see the slave cylinder actuating? Is there an inspection port on the bell housing?

I would remove the slave cylinder and see if its fully extended. The clutch fork may have pushed the release bearing through the pressure plate spring/fingers and the slave cylinder is just maxed out.

spiggotpaddy

Calgary22 wrote: »

So basically my story so far is the clutch had been going straight to the floor checked the slave leaking so i changed it out and bleed it which caused the clutch to go very tough to push down and when i did it would just hole in the same position when i let go.

so i took off the nipple the whole way and pushed down the clutch pedal and it went down fine no pressure no nothing but it didnt come back up. as soon as i put back on the nipple and tighten it up its back to the exact same way very hard to pump clutch.any clues? would the fact that when nipple is open and it piss's out suggest that one of the pipes is not blocked?

Sounds like a master cylinder problem, have you checked it?

Calgary22

what should i be checking for?:o like there is no leaks comeing from it or anything:( thanks for the advice though:D

spiggotpaddy

Calgary22 wrote: »

what should i be checking for?:o like there is no leaks comeing from it or anything:( thanks for the advice though:D

Well if you strip it out you should just replace it, they're cheap enough.There's a plastic clip on the rod that somtimes break, or a dodgy seal or piston.

Calgary22

thanks mates will have a look at that soo:D

Calgary22

As we all no this is no longer a clutch bleed haha when i push pump the clutch down the fork does not move the slave. but yet when i take of the slave the fork is free to move so its not locked in a postion anyway... ok so i got the bell cover off and took a few pics i cant make much out of it but then again i am an electrician not a mechanic. i might need to take more off? the oil was so black and the smell of it was quite strong cant get it off my hands haha[IMG][/img]

[IMG][/img]

[IMG][/img]

If ya click on the pic you should be able to see it in bigger form thanks in advance lads:D
Pics 1 and 3 are the same just wanted to show each side. when i took off the bell cover it just hopped off and as you can see there is some broken bits on it. where do i take it from here?:D if i buy a clutch kit. what should a mechanic charge me to fit it? would sum thing like this for 150 be what i should be looking for?http://autofastfitcarparts.com/volkswagen-golf-8799/clutch-kit-100051/

harg90

Calgary22 wrote: »

As we all no this is no longer a clutch bleed haha when i push pump the clutch down the fork does not move the slave. but yet when i take of the slave the fork is free to move so its not locked in a postion anyway... ok so i got the bell cover off and took a few pics i cant make much out of it but then again i am an electrician not a mechanic. i might need to take more off? the oil was so black and the smell of it was quite strong cant get it off my hands haha[IMG][/img]

[IMG][/img]

[IMG][/img]

If ya click on the pic you should be able to see it in bigger form thanks in advance lads:D
Pics 1 and 3 are the same just wanted to show each side. when i took off the bell cover it just hopped off and as you can see there is some broken bits on it. where do i take it from here?:D if i buy a clutch kit. what should a mechanic charge me to fit it? would sum thing like this for 150 be what i should be looking for?http://autofastfitcarparts.com/volkswagen-golf-8799/clutch-kit-100051/

ah didnt realise the mk4 have the same box as the mk3's and caddys :L

well from here is up to you, there may be no need to do the clutch yet tbh, if you have the money i would do it personaly, but you can get the release bearing on its own.

depending on the mechanics rates, your talking around 3 hrs, and if your suplying the gear oil.

150 ta 200 would be my guess

one more thing to watch out for, its not very common but i have seen it, is the rod that the bearing pushes can wear, i had a mk3 in a while ago and the rod wasnt noticably worn, but was 9mm shorter than it should of been.

it will leave you with no reach and no clutch.

a good indicator is to put the bearing back in temperarily, and let the fork rest onit again, the part os the fork thats pushed by the slave shoud be resting at the 9oclock position.