[srracer]

I'm going through all the service items I've been meaning to get to ever since my car hit 100K miles. Changed the plugs & wire, diff fluid, trans fluid, etc. etc.

No problems with any of that.

This afternoon I went to use my new Motive Power Bleeder to flush and replace the clutch fluid. Hooked it all up, pumped to 10 psi, cracked open the bleeder screw and.......nothing.

wtf?

Motive was holding pressure, so I bumped it up to 15psi.. still nothing..

So I unscrewed the bleed screw some more... and some more... and some more.. and when I could tell that the damn thing was almost off, I hear the hissing of what is definitely brake fluid and air rushing through the power bleeder and slave cylinder and then brake fluid starts pouring out the bottom of the bell housing. hmmph.

So I threaded the it back in a little by hand so I could relieve the pressure from the bleeder. Then I went to take the bleeder out completely, figuring that it must have been clogged? (the rubber boot was still on and in good shape and the tip of the bleeder looked new) and I made a colossal bone head move and accidentally dropped it into the bellhousing. As I think about it now, it seems as if the bleeder was probably soundly threaded into the stupid extension tube and therefore never really opened up.

I spent a couple of minutes trying to fish it out with a magnet, but figured I'd come here to see if anybody has any ideas short of pulling the transmission out.

I've tried looking for some pictures of the stock bellhousing/slave cylinder to see if I could figure out what nook it might have fallen into, but haven't found any really good pics..

Any ideas?

-Chris

 

[srracer]

Holy hell, I got it!

It was clogged with rust/crud. Cleaned it out with some drill bits and managed to get it threaded back into the slave cylinder from outside the bellhousing.

Pics and writeup to follow for any poor bastard who ends up in a similar boat in the future.

-Chris

 

[heavymetals]

Now you know why I recommend a remote bleeder install when you do the clutch, or anytime you remove the bell housing.

 

[lollygagger8]

Did you get it out with the magnet, or what?



+1 on a remote bleeder!

 

[odla]

yea man where are the pics.

 

[srracer]

Sorry - life has been nutty this past week.

OK, so I tried a couple of different ways. I thought this would work better:

But it kept getting stuck on a bolt local to the 'drop zone'.

So I fashioned this:

I knew that my only alternative was pulling out the transmission, so spending an inordinate amount of time trying to defy Einstein's famous phrase* seemed worth it.

After a bit of fishing I felt something move against the magnet and when I pulled it up, I had the bleeder screw. It was crudded up pretty good.

I cleaned it out with some (small) drill bits I had and was able to re-install it. But I did add another small hole in the nipple end of the screw so that I could thread some safety wire through it and not drop it again when I installed it.

If I ever had to, god help me, do it again - then I'd recommend fishing line instead of safety wire. Trying to turn the bleeder screw with the safety wire was tricky.

Hope this helps,
-Chris

*"Repeating the same thing over and over again and expecting different results is the definition of insanity"

 

[Thomas M]

As I think about it now, it seems as if the bleeder was probably soundly threaded into the stupid extension tube and therefore never really opened up.

Sorry to resurrect the dead here, but I have been having a similar issue where I can not get fluid to come out of the end of the slave bleeder tube. I can only get it to leak into the bell housing. Where is the bleeder supposed to open/break from? Right at the top where the wrench indents are or somewhere else? If it is at the top/end, I guess I need to figure out a way to keep the extension tube seated to the slave… that should be fun.

 

[CadzillaTN]

It opens at the slave. As you see above, the piece you put the wrench on is merely a 3-4" extension.

Water can travel down that extension and rust the hole where the fluid travels up and out.

As long as you are cracking it open and shut at the right time you are still bleeding it just don't turn it more than enough to crack it open, like 1/2 turn at most.

 

[Thomas M]

In theory fluid is supposed to come out of the end of the extension though, right? I guess I'll work on it with some carb cleaner or something.

 

[Overd0s3]

Wait, why are you guys taking out the bleeder screw? It needs like 1/2 a turn to let the fluid out?

 

[Thomas M]

Is this how it works? If so I see how it can get gunked up.

 

[CadzillaTN]

No that's a speedbleeder. Just think of our bleeder like a standard bleed screw, just 4" long.

 

[Thomas M]

I guess I am trying to figure out how fluid comes through to the end of the tube if there is a metal cone at the mating surface with the slave. I need to unclog mine.

 

[Andringa]

I guess I am trying to figure out how fluid comes through to the end of the tube if there is a metal cone at the mating surface with the slave. I need to unclog mine.

If you look at the pic that CadzillaTN posted, you can see that the threads don't go all the way down. If that bleeder was cleaned up you would see a small hole in the section between the cone end and the first thread.

I'm dealing with this same issue, my bleeder is plugged up, at least now I know that it's possible to remove/clean/replace the bleeder with the trans in the car.

 

[Thomas M]

Thanks, so basically the same as the speed bleeder but with no check ball and spring.

If you look at the pic that CadzillaTN posted, you can see that the threads don't go all the way down. If that bleeder was cleaned up you would see a small hole in the section between the cone end and the first thread.

I'm dealing with this same issue, my bleeder is plugged up, at least now I know that it's possible to remove/clean/replace the bleeder with the trans in the car.

 

[Larimer]

If you look at the pic that CadzillaTN posted, you can see that the threads don't go all the way down. If that bleeder was cleaned up you would see a small hole in the section between the cone end and the first thread.

I'm dealing with this same issue, my bleeder is plugged up, at least now I know that it's possible to remove/clean/replace the bleeder with the trans in the car.

Isn't that just going to let fluid leak into the bellhousing from the slave? Seems like a bad idea to me if it were to get on the clutch or flywheel.

 

[CadzillaTN]

I wouldn't do it for a long time but wouldn't hurt just to get some fluid through the slave. It falls down the side and to the bottom, right out the hole. The bell near the hole is angled too, so it doesn't pool. I don't see how the clutch could pick it up in this scenario. Just don't go slamming the pedal down on the purge stroke.


I botched my initial remote bleeder install and it leaked slowly for about a month at the slave entry point. No ill clutch effects, the fluid dripped down and out the bell. Granted this was a slow leak and not a full multi reservoir bleed job amount, but you're only aiming for temporary relief here.

 

[Andringa]

Isn't that just going to let fluid leak into the bellhousing from the slave? Seems like a bad idea to me if it were to get on the clutch or flywheel.

Yeah, it would leak a bit of fluid while the bleeder is out, but I wouldn't think it would leak all that much if you leave the resevoir cap on and don't step on the clutch.

Right now the only way I can bleed my clutch is to back the bleeder out far enough that it leaks around the threads and comes out the bell housing.

 

[shadybx7]

thanks for all the info in here.. ill be bleeding my 05 this weekend

 

[STS-CTSV]

Holy shit I just dropped the bleeder into the bellhousing as well. What a pain in the ass. The bleeder was clogged so I couldn't bleed anything out. Guess I'm going magnet fishing...