Bleeding hydraulic clutch system

castlejoe · Oct 15, 2014

I recently had to replace my transmission and clutch in my 1996 ranger, I replaced the slave cylinder and also had to replace the line to the slave so now I have air in the system and I tried the joke of taking the plunger out of the master with it still in the truck but no fluid came out. I have bled the system down at the slave and got a few bubbles but they stopped, I really need to get this truck done any suggestions?!!!!!!!

2004xlmiller · Oct 15, 2014

watch these video's, they are spot on and will def help you get it done right. have to pull the system though, easier than you think. taking the inner fender out really helped. good luck!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HgNTDGwcjZc

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=91IYY_YENRw

FritzTKatt · Oct 15, 2014

Push the clutch. Just like brakes... leave the top off the master cylinder.

2004xlmiller · Oct 16, 2014

FritzTKatt said:
Push the clutch. Just like brakes... leave the top off the master cylinder.

Not that simple since ranger master cylinders are at an angle, they get air pockets and cannot be bled in the truck well at all.

rangerin · Oct 16, 2014

2004xlmiller said:
Not that simple since ranger master cylinders are at an angle, they get air pockets and cannot be bled in the truck well at all.

+1 When I bled mine, I pulled it and the bleeding took 5 minutes. Pulling it and re-installing it, maybe 10 minutes.

AgPete139 · Oct 16, 2014

Remove the clutch pedal / master cylinder. Angle it upwards, and get the bubbles out that way. It takes more than 5 minutes, but ok.

It's really the only way to remove the air, aside from bench bleeding it outside of the truck.

FritzTKatt · Oct 16, 2014

Is there any way to remove the pushrod without destroying it?

AgPete139 · Oct 16, 2014

There's a circlip in there, I believe. But, you don't need to remove the whole piston for that. It's an unnecessary step.

Broncojumper87 · Oct 16, 2014

I had the same issue with my b2 basically i would push the pedal down and release it as fast as possible pretty much just slide your foot off the side it kind of bounces when it gets to the top

Hodgie · Oct 16, 2014

Bench bleed it and be done in 15 minutes. Use a 2X4 to mount the reservoir to and a screwdriver to depress the master. Video is in an above post it's is by far the easiest and fastest considering it works and all the other suggestions are iffy

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

wiesket · Oct 16, 2014

Pull the system and follow the instructions in the video. I have done it a number of times now for myself and a few others. They could not believe the bubbles coming out, even after they thought they had done a very good job bleeding. It's the best way to go.

DPDISXR4Ti · May 21, 2020

The linked video is very good but what's the story on the requirement to remove the rod portion? I've got the whole assembly out of the car - can't I just pump the attached rod instead of using a screwdriver directly on the piston as shown in the video? This is a '89, so no circlip on the rod assembly; it's one of those clips like you find at the end of the speedo cable that never wants to come apart.

Shran · May 21, 2020

You sure can, sometimes it's easier to leave the push rod off on a new master cylinder and bleed it with a screwdriver like in the video because you have more clearance while installing it... but it can be done both ways.

FWIW you can remove the pushrod from the master pretty easily, just cut up a piece of thin metal and bend it around the rod, and drive it in so that it disengages the clips. I use a little piece of a license plate. The clip is a little three finger deal like you'd find holding a fuel line on.

DPDISXR4Ti · May 22, 2020

Shran said:
You sure can, sometimes it's easier to leave the push rod off on a new master cylinder and bleed it with a screwdriver like in the video because you have more clearance while installing it... but it can be done both ways.

Okay, got it. It didn't make sense to me why he was seemingly so adamant about leaving the rod off, but when I re-listened again it seems it was just to make installation easier. But I had no issues taking the assembly out and in with the rod in place (with the switch assembly removed).

All that said, despite doing what I thought was a thorough bleeding, I have no clutch. I'm going to try vacuum bleeding with my Mity-Vac. I have an extra reservoir cap so I'm going to put a barbed fitting on that and see what I can make happen.

Bleeding hydraulic clutch system

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