Brake fluid change

[MacKinnon654]

Vacuum at the reservoir opening and pump the pedal per the manual. It worked for me on a system that had been open for several weeks before being refilled with fluid.

The Ford manual states to pull a vacuum and then release it, put the cap on the resvoir and then pump the pedal. You're saying you pumped the pedal with the vacuum still attached and holding?

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[Hack]

The Ford manual states to pull a vacuum and then release it, put the cap on the resvoir and then pump the pedal. You're saying you pumped the pedal with the vacuum still attached and holding?

I did what the manual said. The entire point of my post seems to have been lost on you though.

 

[fatbillybob]

I did what the manual said. The entire point of my post seems to have been lost on you though.

The ford bleed for clutch is another ford inadequacy. Smart manufacturers put a bleeder in the clutch house. Smart racers put an aftermarket bleed line up toward the brake master for easy bleeding and regular service so you don't end up with nasty black fluid in there that under track conditions absorbs water, boils, and screws your clutch action.

 

[Elp_jc]

Hey gang, before the quotes below, has anybody used 'ABS Service Bleed' in FORScan, while bleeding the brakes? If yes, what exactly do you need to do? Activate the piston a little bit when sucking each wheel? I use (manual) vacuum to bleed my brakes, by the way.

I do the same bleeding the clutch.

How the heck did you bleed the clutch without a bleed valve on the slave? Curious exactly what you did. Thx.

The slave cylinder should have a bleed nipple on it.

Yes, it should... but it doesn't .

Vacuum at the reservoir opening and pump the pedal per the manual. It worked for me on a system that had been open for several weeks before being refilled with fluid.

Hey, that's not bleeding; that's PURGING . If the clutch is operating properly, bleeding means injecting new fluid while getting the old one out. Without a bleed valve, you just CANNOT do that. If you pull vacuum on the reservoir, you might suck a little bit of fluid from maybe the hose from the reservoir to the master cylinder, but the great majority of fluid will stay there, especially the fluid in the slave, which is the one you need to get out the most. The vacuum procedure is to eliminate air in the system, so basically purging the system, not bleeding it.

 

[Hack]

Hey, that's not bleeding; that's PURGING . If the clutch is operating properly, bleeding means injecting new fluid while getting the old one out. Without a bleed valve, you just CANNOT do that. If you pull vacuum on the reservoir, you might suck a little bit of fluid from maybe the hose from the reservoir to the master cylinder, but the great majority of fluid will stay there, especially the fluid in the slave, which is the one you need to get out the most. The vacuum procedure is to eliminate air in the system, so basically purging the system, not bleeding it.

The vacuum pulls the air bubbles out of the system. It doesn't remove any fluid.

If you want fresh fluid in the clutch line, just disconnect the line at the side of the transmission and let the fluid drip for a while (make sure the fluid reservoir is topped up). Then you can do the vacuum per the manual afterwards.

 

[Elp_jc]

If you want fresh fluid in the clutch line, just disconnect the line at the side of the transmission and let the fluid drip for a while (make sure the fluid reservoir is topped up). Then you can do the vacuum per the manual afterwards.

Is the line lower than the slave??? Otherwise, you're only going to drain the system upstream of that connection, including the ABS module, which can be a b*tch to purge. Hopefully the line you're talking about is below the slave, but I just changed the oil on my car yesterday, and was looking around the tranny, and didn't see any obvious brake fluid connection, so it's probably higher up, where it won't help to drain the slave. But since space was limited, I didn't scrutinize that thoroughly, since it'll be another year before I need to do it (car is a year old, but bought it 3 months ago). Thank you.

Oh, forgot to ask you: I have a vacuum reservoir to change brake fluid, and also a manual vacuum pump. How exactly do you apply vacuum to the slave? Do you disconnect the line from the brake fluid reservoir, and find an adapter to use a manual vacuum pump like the one I have? Just curious.

 

[Hack]

Is the line lower than the slave??? Otherwise, you're only going to drain the system upstream of that connection, including the ABS module, which can be a b*tch to purge. Hopefully the line you're talking about is below the slave, but I just changed the oil on my car yesterday, and was looking around the tranny, and didn't see any obvious brake fluid connection, so it's probably higher up, where it won't help to drain the slave. But since space was limited, I didn't scrutinize that thoroughly, since it'll be another year before I need to do it (car is a year old, but bought it 3 months ago). Thank you.

Oh, forgot to ask you: I have a vacuum reservoir to change brake fluid, and also a manual vacuum pump. How exactly do you apply vacuum to the slave? Do you disconnect the line from the brake fluid reservoir, and find an adapter to use a manual vacuum pump like the one I have? Just curious.

The line travels down from the clutch master cylinder to the slave cylinder. The fluid inside the slave cylinder would not be flushed, but the fluid from the reservoir and master would. The slave cylinder is the lowest point in the system. It's the best option to get fresh fluid as close to the slave cylinder as possible IMO. The fluid line has a connection on the driver's side of the transmission (at least it does on the GT350 - I'm assuming the GT is the same).

When I swapped from the tech pack Tremec transmission to the track pack version in my GT350 I had that line disconnected for weeks. And I followed Ford's instructions to purge and it worked fine afterwards.

You apply vacuum to the brake master cylinder. The clutch and brake system share the same reservoir. I didn't have a setup to do this at the time. I used a rubber plug from the hardware store with a hole drilled through it. I also had to grind down the diameter of the plug to get it to fit properly. That setup worked fine for me in pulling and holding vacuum on the system.

 

[Elp_jc]

Thank you for your input. I figured the slave has to be the lowest point, so can't be bled indeed. But yes, better to bleed some fluid than nothing at all, I guess. As far as line connection location, I'm sure they're different since your tranny is a Tremec and mine a Getrag MT-82D4. I didn't see anything visible on mine, so it's probably higher up, which means it'll be a b*tch to disconnect. Hope I missed it, but just like you said, the slave has to be the lowest point in the system, which means the line has to be in the upper part of the transmission.

As far as a cap to apply vacuum, the best approach is to buy a cap for pressure bleeding, and just use vacuum instead. May I ask how long you need to apply vacuum? And how much vacuum do you need to apply? Thx.

 

[nbjeeptj]

I run Motul 660 in mine and have run about 16 track days with an average of 5, 20min sessions per day and only bleed the fluid in the calipers every 3rd track day. The fluid should be per Motul be changed yearly and mine is about a year old so I plan to do that this weekend, but since I have bleed it aprox 5 times and topped it off there is prob no need for that.

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