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No clutch pedal pressure after attempting bleed

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bleeding brake fluid clutch
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3.9K views 4 replies 2 participants last post by  harsheco96  
H
#1 · (Edited)
Hi All,

Today I attempted to bleed my clutch using a vacuum hand pump bleeder kit. I had bled my brakes earlier this week (after replacing pads and rotors), and decided to hold off on the clutch until I had more time. I performed the following process:

  • Hooked up the bleeder pump to the bleeder valve on the t connector on the transmission.
  • Pumped until there was negative pressure on the system.
  • Cracked open the bleeder screw and continued pumping until all the old fluid was out of the lines and I saw new fluid coming out.
  • Closed the bleeder screw.
  • Topped off the master reservoir with DOT3 fluid.

Somehow during this process, a lot of air got into the system. After the above process, I went to go check on the clutch pedal, and there was zero pressure. When pressed to the floor, it would not come back up as there was zero pressure.

I then tried a few different methods to bleed the system of air, but nothing was able to get the clutch working at all. My plan is to get the car towed to a shop if I am unable to get it working tomorrow.

Any tips or suggestions? Thank you

Edit: It's a 2012 Chevy Cruze Eco 1.4L Turbo
 
C
#2 · (Edited)
Careful :cry:
I would remove the Concentric Slave Cylinder adjacent Restrictor 'Valve'.
Then reverse flush with a less viscous brake/clutch fluid (DOT 4 - Class 6 or LV).

Some pumping should take place during the reverse flush to force the new fluid into the CSC,
BUT if the narrow passage is clogged or clogs with plastic debris..
You may exceed the slave cylinder travel..😬
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H
#3 ·
I ended up having it towed to a local repair shop. But do you have any links to official documentation on the bleeding procedure? Where do you think I made a mistake? There was clean fluid coming from the reservoir to the bleeder screw, so that was clearly working. Is there a "master" cylinder for the clutch located on the firewall somewhere?

Would the Haynes/Chilton manual outline this procedure? I was originally going to use the two person method of pumping the clutch pedal, but then decided to use a vacuum pump instead.
 
C
#4 · (Edited)
It's controversial.. You may have just stirred up the hornets nest residing inside the clutch system CSC. Plastic flaking debris originate mainly on the accumulator next to the master cyl, near the pedal.. difficult to reach and costly to neutralize.
Let us know how the shop dealt with it (and how much it cost!).
Here the official bleeding procedure, for you to study where you went wrong 🧐 Many now rely on a reverse flush strategy as a safer way to renew most fluids (Some ABS systems demand it too)
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H
#5 ·
So the shop ended up using a power bleeder and connected it to master cylinder reservoir cap (as stated in step 1 above). Then they bled the clutch via the bleeder screw I believe. They also performed step 4, pumping the clutch and opening the bleeder screw many times. So from my understanding they followed the above steps somewhat.

Total cost was 1 hour of labor, which came out to be $120. Glad it was simple and the CSC was not damaged or needing replaced. Have driven about 500 miles since and everything is working properly, no issues.

I appreciate the help!
 
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