can someone tell if there's air in the master cylinder if....?

[Eldorado]

I learned a long time ago - if it can be either a cheap fix or an expensive fix, start with the cheap and work your way up.. which is why I haven't bought a new master/slave cylinder yet...

wanting to learn how to bleed the clutch right, I took it to a local auto shop today - Speedy, actually - and asked them to bleed my clutch for me hoping that a good bleed was all it needed and a new master/slave cylinder were not in my future.. the guy hoisted it up, loosened the bleed nipple, and let some drops of brake fluid drip out... he tightened it back up saying that there was no air in the system and that I needed a new master/slave...

I asked him if it would be possible that air was trapped elsewhere in the system, not right at the bleed nipple, and he said no - if it was anywhere it'd be there...

They let me go free of charge, and I drove it home.. the clutch seemed more firm... not perfect, but better... it wasn't giving out as easily, and seemed to have more resistance..

so would you have made the same assessment that he made by seeing a few drops drip out like that? or would you have done something differently?

[Taz's Master]

If I were you, I'd jack up the car (rear higher than the front, as per SoCal's advice), get some fresh brake fluid and a partner and bleed the clutch more thoroughly.

[Eldorado]

yea, that's what I asked the "pro" to do, but he told me it wouldn't help.... I just wanna know if u guys all agree with his assessment, or if I should go somewhere else..

I'm not knowledgeable enough to do this on my own yet...

[SoCal Driver]

What? Jack up whos rear???

I found that even with new clutch cylinders brake fluid will flow down hill from the reservior, through the clutch master and out the bleeder on the slave.

I ran into having to bleed the clutch master by loosening the line out the front -- the one that goes to the slave. back it off a just enough to force fluid out with the clutch pedal. When the pedal reaches the floor close the fitting firm but not tight. Pull the pedal back slowly. Repeat this a few times watching the fluid level in the reservior.

The line feeding the clutch master should not have an upward bend in it. This traps air. The line should bend gradually down to the clutch master.

Put some rags under the fitting to sop up the fluid.

This may or may not work if either of the cylinders are bad.

[Eldorado]

great advice socal..

so basically, use the line coming from the master to the slave as the bleed point? I could do that... hopefully :S lol *crosses fingers*

I'll also check the line feeding the clutch master.... is this the braided white line coming from the resevoir?

[SoCal Driver]

Bleed the clutch master after the air in the slave is bled out.

[Eldorado]

the guy opened up the slave today and fluid was dripping out...
does this mean there is no air in the system? he told me there wasn't... should I believe him?

also - is the line feeding the clutch master the braided white line coming from the resevoir?

[SoCal Driver]

Should be braided blue/green. If it's white it may have been the black braided fuel line hose that has oxidized from the brake fluid. This will also cause bits of the rubber to jam up the clutch master cylinder. So it is possible that the clutch master is junk and needs to be replaced along with the hose. What color is the fluid in the brake reservior?

[Eldorado]

fluid in the resevoir is green - just like the day I bought it 6 weeks or so ago...

my bad - it *is* blue... (I was just going off memory before)

[SoCal Driver]

Just so I don't have to keep back tracking your posts to find out what year and model your 944 is please add it to your signiture line.

[Eldorado]

done and done..