Hydralic clutch bleeding

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I have a 2010 6sp manual Genesis Coupe. The clutch is very hard to get all the air out of the slave cylinder. What's the best way to bleed the clutch?

The bleeder screw is between the clutch master cylinder and the slave cylinder. The slave cylinder is on a dead end piece of tubing. If there is air in the slave cylinder how do you get it out?

Especially if you have the car jacked up with the front higher. I'm thinking it needs to be higher in the back so the air bubbles will travel from the slave cylinder to the bleeder screw.

Does the level of the car come into play?

Here's a pic of the slave cylinder.

$_57.JPG
 
Take the reservoir cap off. Pump the clutch pedal fast about 20 times and on the last stroke, continue holding in on the pedal while a helper quickly opens and quickly closes the bleed screw. You may need to do it a few times. Some air will often reverse bleed it's way out to the reservoir in time.
 
The fluid reservoir is the same as the brake master cylinder.

I have done the above and it never seems to work great. Also seems to get worse with time.
 
Last car (a Volvo) I had with such a clutch had a bleeder on the slave cylinder. It would gravity bleed. I'd Google the car and see if there is a Utube. The manufacturer probably expects the air in the cylinder and tubing after the screw to work its way up and out.
 
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If you gravity bleed it you just end up draining the reservoir. The bleeder screw is on a fitting on the end of the pipe in the picture above. So it is not on the end of the line.

My '08 Accent has the bleeder screw right on the external slave cylinder but has a separate throw out bearing internally. It just uses a fork to actuate it. The Gen Coupe slave cylinder is a bellows like affair that acts directly on the clutch disc.
 
I like Skyactiv's suggestion. My MG needs a similar procedure, simply because the hose rises above the master cylinder, and an air bubble gets stuck there. It's impossible to bleed without stomping fast on the clutch several times. The bubble either burps its way into the master cylinder reservoir, or finally gets displaced down into the slave.
 
Or use a syringe with a hose and clean fluid and "reverse bleed" it back to the reservoir. Will actually work better after doing the best possible "normal" bleed procedure to fill the system and remove as much air as possible - then reverse bleed to remove the last remaining air out of the system with a little backpressure into the system.

BurrWinder
 
The best way to do it I've found is, have someone sit in the car and push the clutch pedal in, then you unscrew the bleeder and let fluid run out, and then quickly screw the bleeder back in, then have the assistant take their foot off the pdeal. You need to attach clear hose to it so you can see air bubbles. Continue this procedure several times (might take 20 times to get fluid fully through the line and to the slave to push all the air out) until no more air bubbles come out and make sure to keep topping off the master cylinder reservoir (don't let it go dry).
 
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The other thing that works well if it hasn't filled with fluid yet and has alot of air in it is to snug up the bleeder finger tight and then just loosen so it will flow - place your finger over the hole on end of bleeder and have your assistant pump the pedal smoothly and completely until fluid pushes your finger off the end of the bleeder. Then snug up bleeder gently to seal and proceed to bleed out normally.

BurrWinder
 
The problem is when installing one for the first time. This is what I did two years ago. It was new and had no fluid in it.

So it naturally was filled with air. With the bleeder being 6 inches or so from the actual slave cylinder how do you get all the air out?

If I just open the bleeder a bit the brake/clutch master cylinder will completely drain with enough time. When I push the pedal down it just pushes fluid into the slave but how is it suppose to get the air out as the air is trapped by the fluid in the slave cylinder?
 
The bleeder in these clutch and brake systems is always supposed to be at the highest point in the component being purged so that the pressure of the fluid works along with mother nature to extract all the air. USUALLY this is the case... but sometimes there are some that don't always bleed out in the way that they should. This is when you may have to get a bit more creative in the methods used to ensure a COMPLETE air removal job. Or verify you do not have a bad component letting air IN - such as a bad master cylinder for clutch or brake... it does happen !

BurrWinder
 
That's what I asked originally.

Next time I do it I'm going to jack the car up from the rear.
 
Looks like the bleeder is on the driverside if the photo is properly oriented. Try jacking the drivers side up.

The bleeder is on its own line. The hydraulic feed line is separate and not pictured.
 
Here's the cylinder I took out. The thing on the pipe end fits into the bleeder block and is held in with a clip.

coupe-thow-out-bearing-cylinder.jpg
 
i don't know anything about genesis car's i assume made by hyundai? but i can tell you about GM and the 1998-2002 camaro/firebirds having a similar type clutch slave cylinder.

GM15046288.jpg


think logically a second about GM and how it might be done on the assembly line, and the thought or lack of thought that was put into things. a car rolls off the line every 10 minutes or something, fast enough you know 2 or more technicians aren't bleeding the clutch system on the assembly line. there is a quick disconnect fitting on the gm slave and also on the end of the line coming from the clutch master cylinder, both units are sealed when disconnected so now brake fluid escapes. the gm slave comes already filled with brake fluid and bench bled from the supplier, and is then bolted onto the transmission prior to assembly of the trans to the motor. if u ever watch how it's made, it's very common for automakers to roll the drive train separately down the line then marriage it with the body... with the body having the clutch master cylinder and line hanging down which is also pre-bled. so once those two halves of car come together, 1 guy simply plugs the clutch line hanging into the slave cylinder fitting barely protruding from the trans. the design was crafted for manufacturing assembly and never for the mechanic at a dealership working on the car. to properly service the slave you need to drop the trans and remove the slave and bench bleed it. like you noticed (which nobody else ever does) is how the bleeder on the slave is orientated and if you have the car level on a lift with slave/trans installed on car there will always be an air pocket in the highest point in the slave because the bleeder valve is not the highest point on the slave when installed in the car. now if you can orientate the car so that the bleeder valve is the highest point then you might have a chance, however don't forget about air anywhere in the line up to the clutch master cylinder. 1 pump of the clutch pedal pushes very little fluid, any air in the line is going to move a few inches then bubble back upwards... which is why "gravity bleeding" is ridiculous.
and you can read countless threads on forums about people bleeding their clutches and still having problems, this is why.
when you bench bleed a slave, you fill it with brake fluid and ensure there is no air in there, then compress the slave and quirt out excess brake fluid. then install it on the trans, the slave will be completely sealed and more importantly fully compressed so when u install the trans the slave doesn't hit the clutch and prevent mating the trans to the engine/bellhousing. with no air in anything, you connect your clutch hydraulic line and the slave expands under because of it's spring and sucks down clutch fluid from the master, then all you do is top off the clutch master resevoir.
and why is there what looks like a half clam shell in your pic?
 
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The level of the concentric slave cylinder to the bleeder is where I think my problem is. The last time I bleed it I jacked it up from the drivers side out in the driveway. But the driveway does have a slope that would still have had the front end of the car higher. Maybe I should turn the car around or try just jacking it up from the rear. I don't know if I can get under it if I jack it up from the rear though.

The clutch master cylinder actuated by the clutch pedal is no problem with air as it is open to the main brake master cylinder with a large supply hose.

Here's a pic of the setup from the manual.

concentric-slave-cylinder-bleeding.gif
 
Originally Posted By: 1 FMF
i don't know anything about genesis car's i assume made by hyundai? but i can tell you about GM and the 1998-2002 camaro/firebirds having a similar type clutch slave cylinder.

GM15046288.jpg


think logically a second about GM and how it might be done on the assembly line, and the thought or lack of thought that was put into things. a car rolls off the line every 10 minutes or something, fast enough you know 2 or more technicians aren't bleeding the clutch system on the assembly line. there is a quick disconnect fitting on the gm slave and also on the end of the line coming from the clutch master cylinder, both units are sealed when disconnected so now brake fluid escapes. the gm slave comes already filled with brake fluid and bench bled from the supplier, and is then bolted onto the transmission prior to assembly of the trans to the motor. if u ever watch how it's made, it's very common for automakers to roll the drive train separately down the line then marriage it with the body... with the body having the clutch master cylinder and line hanging down which is also pre-bled. so once those two halves of car come together, 1 guy simply plugs the clutch line hanging into the slave cylinder fitting barely protruding from the trans. the design was crafted for manufacturing assembly and never for the mechanic at a dealership working on the car.


^^^Which is precisely why mine got a remote line speed bleeder installed to it at the very first clutch change!
wink.gif
 
Originally Posted By: SHOZ
I have a 2010 6sp manual Genesis Coupe. The clutch is very hard to get all the air out of the slave cylinder. What's the best way to bleed the clutch?

The bleeder screw is between the clutch master cylinder and the slave cylinder. The slave cylinder is on a dead end piece of tubing. If there is air in the slave cylinder how do you get it out?

Especially if you have the car jacked up with the front higher. I'm thinking it needs to be higher in the back so the air bubbles will travel from the slave cylinder to the bleeder screw.

Does the level of the car come into play?

Here's a pic of the slave cylinder.


Sounds like a really dumb design. Have you tried getting your hands on a copy of the factory service manual for your car? They must have a "proper" procedure written out in there for the techs to use. Perhaps someone on one of the forums can look it up for you and send you the relevant pages if you don't have one.
 
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