Clutch bleed apprehension

THE BULL

At the end of the day this is a standard MC and CSC or Slave.
An even more simplistic approach, this is just a hydraulic system.

The reason why folks have a hard time with these:

• The shape of the line tends to trap air
• The clutch softner main culprit (circular piece that attaches to the hard line) all that it is is a chamber that restricts volume by using a restrictor like turbos.
• This chamber does not like debris at all and once debris enters it's really difficult to clean just by fluid exchange.
• Incorrect shaft or pedal lenght
• Lack of bench bleeds
• Deteriorating CSC will make bleeding difficult as well

I recently did a VHR swap on a 350z using 370z pump, CSC and line.

16k mile donor and a brand new CM, had bleeding issues. Little to no fluid coming out of the bleeder. Better flow coming out the CM but not enough.
I deleted the clutch softner and was able to get better flow to the CSC but it barely moved.

In the process of trying to bleed the new CM with the bad line/sofner I killed it. Exchanged the CM for a new one. Bench bled it and installed the cover nipple on the CMC to prevent fluid or air to go into it.

Once installed I set rod length to max and loosened all of my fittings and started pumping. I would get small bubbles as I would pump and once they would disappear I would tighten. Clutch bleeding was a success

Now the next issue was my engagement was about 1/8th of the way from the top and felt like it would work however I would get some stickiness when I would pump all the way.

The issue ended up being that now the rod length needed to be scaled back a few turns and she is golden now.

I took the opportunity of this to make that hardline as straight as possible.

I realized that in all of my MT cars almost all of my clutch hydraulic problems would disappear when I would install a direct braided hose and ditch the softner.

NissanParty

I did this today after I changed my brake fluid. I did the gravity bleed, it was very easy and I had no problems.

I was surprised to see sludge in the bottom of the reservoir after I sucked the fluid out. So I added more fluid in and stirred it up and sucked it out a few times, then I wiped the inside of the reservoir out with a rag. I was also surprised when I started the bleed that the clutch fluid that was in there looked almost the color and opacity of peanut butter. It was not clear fluid, it was like peanut butter, maybe a little lighter.

I put a whole bottle of Motul 600 through it. Everything was fine with brakes and clutch on the test drive.

Thanks for all the help everyone, I am going to replace the clutch fluid more often. The car has 24,000 miles on it and I am guessing this is the first time the clutch or brake fluid has been changed. The brake fluid wasn't too bad, but there were some bits of rust and sediment in the fronts. Glad it is all fresh now.

nis350

does the fluid start dripping once you loosen the drain bolt or you have do something to get it going?

how long does it take to drip through the fluid in the reservoir assuming it's at the max level? Thanks.

NissanParty

Yep it started dripping right away I didn't have to do anything. Just have the reservoir cap off and make sure it's full, I cracked it so it was coming out really slowly. I jacked up the driver side of the car and took the front wheel off to get under there easier.

I did not touch the clutch pedal or anything else, just kept adding fluid in as it drained down slowly. It probably took 30 minutes to get through the bottle, by the end it was nice and clear.

nis350

thanks....