How to bleed VZ clutch?

[MEAN R O]

I put a new clutch and slave cylinder in last night and am yet to bleed it up. I was searching on here on how to do it but there are a few different things people have said. Some guys have said just do it like you would when you bleed the brakes, others have said you do it reverse to bleeding the brakes.
Can anyone please set me straight on best way to do this. Thanks

[MEAN R O]

Ok so now I need help.......

I have bled the clutch up using the method of back bleeding by connecting clutch nipple to brake nipple and press brake slowly and fluid and air came out of into the clutch resivoir.

I still cant select any gears when the engine is running. Do i need to bleed more fluid through or do it a different way???

Im sure I have not done anything wrong during the clutch install it is the second one I have done and dont remember any problems like this last time. Could I have missed something during the process to cause me not to be able to get a gear?

[awesome _vzss]

I replaced my clutch and slave cylinder a few months ago and bleed the clutch like you would with brakes,turned out perfect nice firm pedal.
Though you really got to keep an eye on the clutch resivior as it dosnt take many pumps of the clutch to empty it.

[MEAN R O]

I have just tried to bleed it up again. Still no luck with the clutch disengaging. Could it be master cylinder? When I push the clutch in it doesnt feel as heavy as it should (it is a brass button) I did put the clutch plate in the correct way with the flywheel markings facing the flywheel. Please anyone with ideas?

[awesome _vzss]

Try just pumping the clutch pedal really fast for a minute or so

[MEAN R O]

Just tried that and no change. Also went through another half a bottle of fluid trying to bleed it up. I do not have and hose hooked up to the end of the nipple when I am bleeding it. would that be needed just like the brakes. Honestly I have no idea how I would get one on I can only just undo the nipple

[dgp]

bhaza,
is someone helping you with bleeding your clutch?
your last comment about not having any hose connected to the nipple has me wondering.
you are applying pressure to the clutch pedal, cracking open the nipple and then closing it without releasing the clutch pedal aren't you?

[MEAN R O]

bhaza,
is someone helping you with bleeding your clutch?
your last comment about not having any hose connected to the nipple has me wondering.
you are applying pressure to the clutch pedal, cracking open the nipple and then closing it without releasing the clutch pedal aren't you?

Yep thats exactly how Im doing it I have my gf in the car working clutch while im under car. Every time i crack it i can hear some air come out even though I have done it so many times now, been through nearly 2 bottles of brake fluid. Im at a loss with this. Do I just keep bleeding and bleeding til I hear no air? I may need another 10 bottles at the rate im going. lol

[dgp]

sound like you are doing everything right, just make sure you are closing the bleed nipple befor your gf has finished pushing the pedel down.
other than that mate, i'm out of ideas.

[awesome _vzss]

What sort of clutch you running?
As some clutch kits come with a spacer for the slave cylinder,I think it npc or xtreme that have them.
When bleeding the clutch as the person in the car depresses the pedal to half way,lock the nipple and repeat 3 times is how I do mine.
When air bleeding.

[MEAN R O]

It is a Clutch Industries RPM brass button clutch and no spacers cam with the kit.
I have just tried locking the nipple halfway as you stated above and still no change. Looks like I will be pulling the box out again and try figure out what is going on. Think I will invest in a remote bleeder this time as it is a pain in the arse where it is now. Thanks for your help. If anyone thinks of anything else that could be going wrong let me know as I wont be pulling box until next weekend so I have a week to play around with it.

[Peter B - CV8]

Is the slave cylinder seal installed correctly (not back to front??)

[MEAN R O]

Honestly I did not pay attention to the slave cylinder seal. It was pre assembled with the kit so assumed that it would be the correct way. Thats something else I will check if I need to pull box back out.

[stockergts]

Can't install back to front
When bleeding just open depress pedal then lock it up and lift the pedal until you can see no more bubbles if you just pump it the bleeders can suck air at the join

[ITSDVS]

At work we do it like this.

Pump pedal a few times, hold it down, open close nipple. Let foot off clutch and pump it a few times, hold it down, open close nipple, let foot off. do it all again........However check the fluid level after every second one and top it up. Do it 2 more times and top up fluid again.

Do this until you have a stream of fluid coming out with no air. Once its done, it should be all good...

If its not, then there is something wrong elsewhere

Hope this helps. Cheers

[MEAN R O]

Thanks for all the replies guys. Im going to buy one of these to make it easier and give it another go during the week.

http://www.xtremeclutch.com.au/page.asp?parentid=4&parent2id=25&productid=32

[ITSDVS]

Let us know how it goes mate

[MEAN R O]

OK so I just pulled my box out again. I gotta say its so much easier the second time only took me an hour.
Any way I spoke to the supplier and he said I may have been given a faulty slave cylinder. He tested a couple in his workshop a some werent working correctly and not fulling extending out - something with the bearings or seals. I will find out what exactly tomorrow and let you guys know when he tests mine out. Fingers crossed my problem will be solved tomorrow

[RB30X]

Which supplier??

Just about to install one myself.

[ITSDVS]

yep should be a faulty seal if you bleed it correctly and still did not work

[MEAN R O]

Which supplier??

Just about to install one myself.

I believe the slave cylinders are just the standard Holden ones and nothing to do with the actually brand of clutch. I could be wrong though

[ITSDVS]

guess we will just have to wait and see what he says then.

[RB30X]

Ok, I'll tag onto this thread as my issue is the same.

New clutch, new slave cylinder and bearing, new braided hose from VX master to slave. Factory bleed screw.

I get fluid coming out when I pump the pedal but cannot for the life of me get pressure.

I've tried all sorts of tricks I've read here apart from 'back bleeding' but no luck.

How could you tell if the slave cylinder isnt working properly??

I can see it through a hole I 'hole sawed' through the bell housing and it looks compressed against the spring etc waiting for the fluid pressure to push it out. The only fluid leaking is from the bleed screw when I crack it, otherwise nothing. I thought I might have slightly different pedal travel now or something being it is an LS1 conversion but if I try to move the rod into the master cylinder after disconnecting it from the pedal it feels hard so there must be some pressure there.

Due to space in the trans tunnel I am opening/closing my bleed from the passenger seat, through a hole in the trans tunnel while pumping the clutch pedal with a cricket bat. I did initially install a remote bleeder but I thought that might be assisting in keeping an airlock so I replaced it with the factory item.

Do you know how many google results there are for bleeding T56 clutch. There must be a lot of common problems.

[RB30X]

So does anyone have any ideas before I pull my gearbox out again. I might replace the bearing on my old slave which I know was working and put that one back in.

[zorro]

Where bouts in the world are you mate?

It's easier with 2 people. Actually you really need 2 to do it properly.

I've always filled reservoir and had someone pump the clutch about 10 times or more. Fill again if nessesary. Pump again a couple of times and hold to the floor, whilst on floor crack the nipple to release air tighten bleed nipple then repeat the procedure. Remember to keep an eye on reservoir level.

Once you get a solid stream out with no more air check reservoir level and top up if need be. Start the car and ensure you can select gears then go for a drive. Take fluid with you and check reservoir. I always give it another pump and crack of the nipple once back in the shed to check for any air bubbles.

Hope this helps

[RB30X]

Thanks mate.

I tried it again tonight with someone pumping the pedal while I checked a few things and the most I can get is about 10mm of travel from the slave cylinder right a the end of the pedal travel. I ran about 500mls through the resoviour through bleeding techniques but the pedal pressure never changed.

One thing I did notice that I will follow up on, is that with the pedal up and the bleed cracked, fluid 'slowly' drains from the resoviour. I would have thought the seals on the master piston would prevent fluid leaking through, and that fluid from the resoviour would only fill the master cylinder chamber when the piston returns to the pedal up position?

[RB30X]

I ended up getting it to work by changing the travel of the master cylinder piston. For some reason there was a huge difference between the what the factory clutch and this one needed.