Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums General Troubleshooting clutch speed bleeder ?

Hi

I asked this in the Brakes forum, nobody answered, so I guess the forum was wrong

It seems I'll have to bleed the clutch (and the brakes) - is there a way to speed-bled the clutch (is there a speed bleed valve available for it ?)
I'll have to do it on my own and I don't feel like running back and forth 30 times

Thanks

Tivadar

Firstly you can't do it by yourself without having speedbleeders. If you just opened it and pumped it and then let you foot off the pedal it will suck in air.
You can either rent a Mighty Vac from your local parts store or other wise ask Terry Haines to give you the spec on the clutch bleeder screw as I am sure he has them lying around. You want to know the thread pitch and length of the speed bleeder in order to get the right one. It must be small though.I think it uses a 8mm wrench from memory, so the thread will be close to 5-6mm I am guessing. And I don't know off hand whether speed bleeders makes them that small.

Mighty Vac's rock (or do they suck?)! If you go to AutoZone and get there "OEM" generic branded brake pump kit for 30 dollars you will see it is a real Mighty Vac kit. It has all the attachments and a gauge - IIRC the Mighty Vac branded kit price is like 50 - 60 bucks so it's a sweet deal.

You can use it bleed brakes/clutch, check manifold vacuum, check EGR, check FPR. Anything that involves measuring or aplying suckage

Just a warning - our brake bleeders seem more prone to leak air around the threads than others I've used it on - some plumbers putty put at base of bleeder helps immensely - just make sure it wont get sucked in to contaminate things. Never had any trouble with clutch bleeder though.

Vacuum pumps on the bleed screws on the Contour suck 'cuz they leak air around the threads.
However I disagree about the 'can't do it alone': The clutch is a breeze. Using a stick to hold down the clutch.. You pump the clutch a LOT then at the last stroke down use the stick to hold it down... Then jump out and open the bled screw at the tranny. The fluid will rush out down the tube to a bottle, and then you close the bleeder, go back and pump the clutch again and repeat the whole thing like 4 times and the clutch is great. The last time I open the bleeder I close it before the pressure is completely gone so I am SURE no air gets in.
The brakes also alone. The bleeder open, pump the brake pedal a lot of times forcing the fluid out and clean in, then the fluid will still come out by gravity and the final couple of inches of fluid out the tube on the b;eeder, I let go by gravity, then close and open to get that last tiny tiny bubble out of the bleeder and done.

I found that all I needed was a long piece of Tygon tubing sitting in a jar with some brake fluid.

Loosen the screw and pump the pedal once. The fluid will continue to flow out until you tighten the screw. Maybe I have a faulty master cylinder.

David

I do both the brakes and the clutch myself the cheap way.

Buy a kit that consists of a tube running to a plastic bag. Attach the tube to the bleeder, hang the bag from the hood with a bent wire hanger, open the bleeder, pump the clutch pedal, close the bleeder, remove the tube, refill the reservoir. The sealed tube/bag creates a natural vacuum that keeps air from entering.