Transmission problems, pt 2

Mercutio

SCCoA Member
I finally got the SC all reassembled today after killing the clutch back in May. Well, we bled the clutch, and something's definitely wrong. It's as if there's no fluid going from the reservoir to the throwout bearing. The pedal is extremely soft, and when we try to bleed the system, only air comes out, even though the reservoir is full.

So this sucks. Does this sound like a slave cylinder? Am I going to have to do this all over again (exhaust, rearend, transmission)?
 
First try gravity bleeding. If that wont happen try manual bleeding. If that doesnt bring the pedal up, then try and Air bleeder. If that doesnt work then you will need a clutch master cylinder or a new slave cylinder. Or both. I have found in the past (Especially with M5OD Transmissions) that raising the front end of the vehicle off the ground while trying to bleed helps as well since the clutch master works horizontally and the reservior/line is vertical the bubbles can get trapped. Changing the angle of the vehicle sometimes alleviates this...
 
I'm really, really hoping it's the master cylinder, and not the slave cylinder.

We tried gravity bleeding...no such luck. I suppose the angle of the car could have been an issue. The rear end was at least as high as the front.
 
Leave the cap and the bleeder valve half open. I got frustrated but after a day, it eventually made its way down so that you can get enough pedal to bleed it.
 
Leave the cap and the bleeder valve half open. I got frustrated but after a day, it eventually made its way down so that you can get enough pedal to bleed it.

I'm trying this. I have the car angled tail down, level side to side if that matters.
 
I managed to snap the bleeder valve off years ago when trying to bleed the slave cylinder. So having no real choice, I just did nothing but pumped the pedal a few times and over a day or 2, the air worked its way up and out. :)
 
This could go down in the annals of SCCoA stupidity.

Good news: I figured out what was wrong, and it won't cost me anything to fix.

Bad news: The problem is that I was such a moron I'm hesitant to share the tale.

But, in the tiny chance that there is every another SC owner who does something as dumb as I did, this post will be here to save him the embarrassment.

After we got everything installed back in the car, I took the cap of the clutch master and filled it up.

Without removing the non-porous rubber "cup," I'll call it, that seals the cap. The one that holds a retarded amount of fluid. But doesn't drain. At all. Yeah, this guy. Imagine the second photo upside down and you can see how it sits in the reservoir.

236.jpg


237.jpg


This means that we simply ran the clutch master dry during the bleeding process because I am a dumbass, and was filling a rubber cup, basically, instead of the reservoir that the grommet fits in. So it looked as if the reservoir was totally full, and that the fluid just wasn't going down at all.

Wow. Epic Supercoupe fail.

I only have one more question: given this turn of events, can I bleed the (surely dry) clutch master in the car, or do I need to bench bleed it?
 
Good news: I figured out what was wrong, and it won't cost me anything to fix.

Bad news: The problem is that I was such a moron I'm hesitant to share the tale.

*tale of merely being human deleted - look up if you want to read it!*

I've done worse, and lived to tell of it!

So don't sweat.

At least you figured it out without an expensive shop repair bill. There's THAT.

RwP
 
Since you feel you got it dry, get plenty of fluid, a couple pints, and with a friend, crack the bleeder and keep the reservoir filled.

Oh, stick a clear plastic hose on the bleeder and then when you crack it watch the plastic tube for air bubbles. You may not see any at start, but keep going. Eventually you'll see a big one come through,and if you are lucky that will be the only one.

By doing it this way you avoid breaking down the air bubbles further in the slave by pumping it repeatedly. Just let gravity pull the fluid through which will pull the air bubbles through. if you dump the fluid coming out into a clean container, you can then rerun that fluid through, assuming it isn't full of bubbles.
 
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