1989 Chev S10 - No Clutch Pedal

[tony1981]

HAD A SLIGHT PEDAL COMING IN, NEDDED A NEW CLUTCH MASTER & SLAVE CYLINDER, CAN NOT GET CLUTCH PEDAL

[Tim Martin]

Ok. So you replaced both the master and the slave cylinder. Bleeding the air out sometimes can be a real bear. I have tried differing methods. The normal method of using an assistant to depress the clutch pedal while opening and closing the bleeder screw on the slave. Sometimes that will not get the air out. Then what I do is sit myself in the seat and stroke the clutch pedal very rapidly for a number of strokes, say 12-15 strokes. Then I hold the pedal to the floor for a few seconds and repeat this process as often as it takes to get a good clutch pedal. Make sure to keep the master reservoir full of clean brake fluid.

hth

[ricmorin]

I've purchased the Phoenix tool that injects fluid from the slave end back to the master. I've needed it on occasion. This might be one of them.

[brianp87]

If the slave can be accessed and worked soemtimes we have had to work them like crazy. Or on some old ford rangers were there not accessibly you wanna beat your head on a rock.

[a&mauto]

Our brake fluid dispenser screws on top of a one gallon brake fluid jug. It is a pump. We use a piece of vacuum line hooked up to the slave and pump the air up into the master. This works most of the time, even on Rangers.

[brianp87]

hmm whats the brand on that. The bg machine I have doesnt do that it pushes it the other way

[liljoe]

Lots of times, I just remove slave sylinder with line still attached to it and turn slave cylinder so it is pointing to the ground. Work the push rod in and out several times( most of the time you push it in and it pushes itself back out), this will push the air up and out of the slave cylinder. Most of the time I do not even crack a bleeder screw.

[steven kiser]

they are a pain in the breezeway. i have a power bleeder i use and pressure bleed it through the bleeder screw forcing the fluid up into the reservoir. before i had the bleeder i would open the bleeder screw, depress the pedal all the way to the floor, as slow as possible without loosing the fluid drip let the pedal up slowly. when it was all the way to the top let it drip for a minute or two and close it off. there was a good possibility even after that the pedal would be non existent. i would reach in with my hand and pump the crap out of the pedal until i started to feel pressure. leave it alone for a while and come back to it. for some reason there was a 75% chance the pedal would be fine. if not i would do this again and walk away. the second time was always a charm. if you can afford it purchase a pressure bleeder. i have one that plugs into a wall plug and i push 15lbs of pressure through it. i made a reverse bleeder with a blow gun and a piece of vac line. i use it exclusively with the bleeder.

[jbadenoch]

Sounds like an air issue, however, was the flywheel machined or replaced? I've seen over machined flywheels cause similar issues.

[steven kiser]

the fly wheel may be the issue but i'm going with air. if you're thinking the disc may be installed backwards it isn't. if it was we would be reading about a hellish noise when you started it. bleeding these is a pain in the butt. it will make you second guess every aspect of the job. in the future dorman makes replacement kits that are ready to go or at least come with instructions on how to bench bleed and install. if you've tried pressure bleeding from above and still have no luck (will happen) attach it to the bleeder screw, depress clutch pedal, turn bleeder on, slowly raise pedal after fluid starts to fill reservoir and shut it off after pedal is completely released. close bleeder and try pedal. don't be discouraged if it still is junk. you may have to pump it until your arm is ready to fall off (i kneel next to the truck and use my hand) for a better feel for the pedal. i've had some so sensitive that they were working and i would have bet they weren't. i've had a few that weren't working when i left for the night and were fine in the a.m.