The Stovebolt Site Forums The Parking Lot '60-'66 Trucks bleeding clutch

Hey, simple question for you guys. I have a 61 Apache with the hydraulic clutch. I have just rebuilt the master cylinder, and have put it back in the truck. Bled the brakes the way the manial said, hold pedal down for ten seconds, release, wait ten seconds, repeat 4 to 6 times. Worked great. The manual is a bit unclear about the clutch. I tried it the same way as the brakes...didnt work. My brother and I tried it by having him hold the pedal down while I bled the air out through the slave cylinder. We tried this over and over for what felt like forever. Just keep getting air in the fluid, and the pedal never pressured up. Is there something we are doing wrong?

The procedure should be exactly the same as the brakes:

1. Make sure the master cylinder is either bench bled, or sitting dead level when on the truck so the air can escape.
2. Double check all the fitting to insure everything is tight.
3. Have your partner pump the pedal 3 times and hold it down, while you open the bleeder valve on the slave cylinder.
4. Let your helper know when you've closed the bleeder valve so they can let the pedal come back up.
5. Check the master cylinder often to make sure it doesn't run out of fluid.
6. Repeat steps 3-5 until all air is expelled.

And if that doesn't work, one tip I've used that always seems to get the job done - block the clutch mechanism with a piece of wood or a clamp or anything that will immobilize the clutch fork. When bleeding brakes, the shoes or pads are pressing against the drums or discs allowing pressure to build up and force the air out. Because a clutch fork can move, it can be very difficult to build enough pressure for effective bleeding. Air bubbles can just move back and forth with the fluid if not squeezed hard enough to force them out.

Yeah this sounds like the typical way....only thing I was doing different was I had my brother push the pedal down to the floor and hold it there, rather than pump it 3 times before holding it to the floor. The master cylinder in the truck is sitting dead level, truck is in a garage right now. The clutch fork hasn't even moved yet, there seems to be that much air in the system...which I find wierd because the slave worked before I pulled the master cylinder. I never touched the slave cylinder or the clutch line. Thanks for the advice though...not pumping the pedal may actually be the only thing I did wrong.

Take a short piece of brake tubing screw it in the master cylinder and loop it into the top of the master cylinder about half way into the fluid and slowly pump the pedal until the air bubbles cease then put the clutch line back on and bleed it as normal, might be air locked, hate to say it but maybe it was assembled improperly.

Just for laughs....when I first read the topic my first instinct was to post a message saying 'get a band aid'

Doug

Yeah I wondered if it was assembled wrong. Not alot to screw up though...kinda doubt it. I did have the check valve in there once, but after finding out in the clutch section in the shop manual that I wasn't supposed to put it in, I took the master out and disassembled the clutch side, taking out the check valve. There was also a rubber o-ring that sits at the end at the outlet. The manual also showed that I was not supposed to install this, but seeing how it was stuck far in there, I didnt see how it could cause harm, so I left it in.

Doug, ha ha ha!! "Yeah, uh, hey guys, I was working on the truck and I'm bleeding all over the place here...what did I do wrong? What should I do?" LOL!

Hey, so thanks for the advice guys. I finally got it working tonight, I took the master cylinder out again, (third time, I'm good at this now! LOL) and bench bled it. "Spareparts2" was right, it was air-locked. After reinstalling it, I bled the rest of the system, and now my brakes and clutch work way better than they ever did before. Took the truck out for a bit of a spin. I have sure missed driving it:)