Another clutch bleed thread

[weedshoes]

Long story short the guy who was doing my engine rebuild and install got injured and could not finish the car. I have it back now and I am getting the last few things buttoned up. The car is a 1995 M3. I can not get the clutch to disengage i.e. the pedal does nothing. He says that using a power bleeder to bleed the clutch he could get it to work for a while until it would leak air back in and no longer disengage.

Today I put on a new slave cyl and am trying to get the air out. I tried a one man bleeder tube with a check valve; opened the bleeder with the hose on, slowly moved the pedal back and forth a half dozen times and closed the bleeder. The pedal felt good after this but still no disengagement.

After that I removed the slave from the transmission and held it at the 45 degree angle with the nipple up, compressed the rod, cracked the bleeder, closed the bleeder, let the rod out and repeat 4 or 5 times. Still no luck.

I did notice that as I compressed the rod of the new slave it made gurgling noises (bleeder closed). Does this mean there is still air in the system or is this normal?

[TXBDan]

Get a Motive power bleeder. Best money you'll ever spend.

(you shouldn't be pumping the pedal with the bleed screw open, only depressing. You need to close it before you lift it again)

[weedshoes]

Get a Motive power bleeder. Best money you'll ever spend.

(you shouldn't be pumping the pedal with the bleed screw open, only depressing. You need to close it before you lift it again)

Definitely considering a power bleeder. I only pumped the pedal with a check valve on the nipple, should be safe that way.

[Ex36]

The clutch can be a major PITA. I've tried the power bleeder before myself. And failed. The only tried-and-true method for me is the Old Skool 2-man method (or one man, one kid works fine, too!).

[weedshoes]

Just tried the out of trans bleed procedure again to no avail. Also ordered a new master cylinder. Pedal feels fine, and doesn't sink to the floor. What else could I check to see why it will not release short of dropping the trans?

[emccallum]

Make sure everything is hooked up properly and the slave is engaging the fork. My wife just isnt good at helping bleed brakes/clutches etc. So I use a power bleeder most of the time. However the method in this video has served me well on more than one BMW clutch. Air rises and getting it out of the clutch system is tough, so doing backwards makes a lot of sense. HTH:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wdf--suwqw0

[weedshoes]

Pressure bleeder came in today. Do I need to worry about this thing blowing off the line from the clutch master to the res?

[emccallum]

Pressure bleeder came in today. Do I need to worry about this thing blowing off the line from the clutch master to the res?

Did you watch the video I posted? Go to HF and get a cheap oil can and bleed from the bottom up. It is hard to bleed a clutch from the top down. Be careful with the power bleeder you can make a mess pretty easy and brake fluid is good at removing paint.

[weedshoes]

I did watch it. Thank you for posting it. That is going to be plan B if the pressure bleeder does not work. My reason for trying the pressure bleeder first is the BMW master tech and instructor who was working on my car for me said a pressure bleeder is how he was able to get it to work for a little while until air got back in. I'm trying to replicate what he did to confirm for myself that it's hydraulic and I don't have to drop the trans. He said he put 25 psi to it with no issues.

[Hova]

The clutch can be a major PITA. I've tried the power bleeder before myself. And failed. The only tried-and-true method for me is the Old Skool 2-man method (or one man, one kid works fine, too!).


This has been my experience as well. Two person system seems to be the best outcome. One person under the car with a wrench opening the bleed as the person inside is pressing the pedal. Just before it bottoms out, close the valve. Pull the pedal up slowly. Repeat until no air is present. Just have to keep track of the fluid level. It empties faster than you expect.

Motive bleeder is awesome too though:
https://www.amazon.com/Motive-Products-European-Bleeder-Adapter/dp/B0002KM5L0

[NoLastName]

With clutch hydraulics the reverse bleed procedure is easier and simpler than a pressure bleeder. It's very effective. Hard to bleed the clutch line from top down.

15psi is recommended starting pressure for a Motive bleeder. 20psi is maximum. I would not go to 25psi for fear of damaging the plastic reservoir. But that's me... I try to keep mine in the 10-15psi range.

[tjm3]

The best and cheapest way to bleed the clutch system is a 60cc syringe ($2) or bigger, fill with brake fluid and push the fluid backwards through the bleeder, through the slave and into the master and reservoir.
Works first time, every time. I probably wouldn't re-use the syringe for any health care procedures after that.

[jayjaya29]

I know EXACTLY why this is happening. Your brake fluid reservoir isn't filled up enough. The clutch pulls from a separate baffle in the reservoir, need to almost overfill the reservoir to get the clutch side filled up.

Use a bright light to see the partition in the reservoir and make sure where the clutch line is attached has enough fluid when doing the bleeding.

[weedshoes]

I wish it was that simple, jaya. Got the pressure bleeder hooked up today which allowed me to notice some things.

Fluid level goes up when I push in the clutch, and bubbles come out at the beginning of the pedal stroke. 1000+ pedal strokes later I think I have confirmed a bad master.

What do ya'll think? I know the fluid has to be going somewhere for bubbles to keep coming up but I can't for the life of me find where it's going.

[LockDots]

Have you checked the carpet just under the clutch where the piston comes through the firewall?

Sent from my Pixel XL using Tapatalk

[weedshoes]

Dry as a bone.

I went to change out the master tonight, only to find that my car has a threaded master and line. My new master is the updated one with the clip. I have a ChaseBays clutch line that I had gotten to swap my 3235i, but now I have to use it in the M3. Getting this line routed was easy. Getting it to fit the master was a pain in the ass. I had to shave the inside of the master where the line goes in for it to fit; major pain, I hope I didn't scratch up the inside where the o ring sits and I hope the brake fluid I poured through it flushed out the debris from shaving. Master is currently sitting in the car with the line clipped in and routed through the firewall. Tomorrow after work I'll finish the install and bleed. Hopefully this gets my m3 back on the road after 3 years.

[golgo13]

Are you doing this with the slave removed as per factory specs?

[weedshoes]

Bleeding? Not with the pressure bleeder, yes manually.

[weedshoes]

Now with a new master, slave and line I have no bubbles coming up after bleeding with the pressure bleeder at 25psi then another manual bleed with the slave out. Should I be able to turn the rear wheels by hand with the clutch in? I think I should.

[NoLastName]

Should I be able to turn the rear wheels by hand with the clutch in?

Yes, unless you've left your parking brake engaged.

[weedshoes]

I went ahead and ordered the bavauto slave holder so I can pressure bleed it out of the trans with the nipple up. last resort before dropping the trans or paying someone with a lift to do it.

[weedshoes]

I feel terrible having left this thread for so long with no resolution. The e34 m5 clutch disc has markings for engine and transmission side. When installed with a JB racing flywheel in an e36 you are supposed to ignore the markings. The guy who put the trans back in after the rebuild initially did not get that memo apparently, so the clutch disc had just about welded itself to the transmission input sleeve that the TOB slides on. New clutch was put in the other way and problem solved.

[Carpy2]

Been looking at flywheel and clutch options recently and it seems they say what you found out -- M5 clutch goes in "backwards" with JB/UUC flywheels, springs facing the flywheel. Glad the problem is solved though!!

[blckstrm]

I feel terrible having left this thread for so long with no resolution. The e34 m5 clutch disc has markings for engine and transmission side. When installed with a JB racing flywheel in an e36 you are supposed to ignore the markings. The guy who put the trans back in after the rebuild initially did not get that memo apparently, so the clutch disc had just about welded itself to the transmission input sleeve that the TOB slides on. New clutch was put in the other way and problem solved.

Better late than never! This is guaranteed to help someone down the road.