Has any one change the clutch fluid recently? There use to be a thread by the Canadian gentelman screen name pit viper/snake venom, but the dyi is lost. There were some old threads that I searched but directions are uncleared. Can someone help me out please? Billman?

 

snake venom ftw

 

theres a DIY somewhere..

what do u need to know?

how to do it?

i like the gravity bleed method

open the master cylinder and suck out all the old fluid with paper towels or turkey baster.. get as much of the dirt out as you can.. then top it off with fresh fluid

get under the car

connect a tube (so u dont get brake fluid everywhere) to the bleeder valve. i think 1/4 inch tube fits perfectly. i THINK the valve is a 8mm so use a 8mm wrench to open it up untill the fluid starts flowing... obviously the more u open the faster it bleeds.. careful not to remove the valve completely

then just watch the master cylinder and refill as the fluid drains... going through 1 bottle of dot3 brake fluid should be plenty. DO NOT ALLOW THE FLUID TO GET TOO LOW OTHERWISE U WILL LET AIR GET INTO THE LINES

get back under and close the valve, top off the cylinder and you should be good to go.



did i miss anything?

 

great writeup--you got it down--I'd just add to make sure to be careful with the brake fluid around your paint---wipe it off immediately if you spill any as you refill the master cylender--it's will etch the paint if not wiped off

 

you, you shouldn't open the valve too much, it invites bubbles to enter through the valve...

a small loosening, and when you see fluid exit, that should be enough.

snake venom!!!! that was hilarious. xviper is his name...

pit viper was pretty funny too.

snake venom...lol

 

snake venom ftw

 

It also helps to lightly tap on the slave cylinder with a wrench while gravity bleeding, as it will get dislodge any small air bubbles that may be stuck to the inside of the cylinder.

But if you're just changing the fluid out, you shouldn't have any air in there anyways.

 

Thank you all for your replies. Yes his screen name is xviper. I know it was some kind of snakes screen name. Xviper diy is very helpful with pictures. So I open the bleeder valve on the driverside near the transmission. It should look like the brake bleeder valve with the black rubber cap. Let the valve open while the fluids oozes out, then tighten the bleeder valve and lift up the clutch pedal. This part is different from the brake bleeding procedure because the clutch pedal does not come up by itself. Billman and some others favored the gravity bleeding method, thus there is no need to have a second person to depress the clutch pedal and pull it back up. Here is the part that I am confuse, the gravity and two persons bleeding procedure do not change the clutch engagement point correct. The clutch needs to be adjusted for different degree of engagement. I am happy with the clutch engagement point right now and I do not want to mess it up by changing the fluid. I am going to do this in a couple of weeks along with the brake fluid and I will take pictures to post it up for others to see. Too bad that xviper dyi is no longer available. The owner manual does ot say when to do this, but I think once every 3 years is ok like the brake fluid, unless we track the car alot to do it once every year or sooner.

 

^
you will not change the clutch engagement point by bleeding your clutch fluid, no matter which method you use.

you should bleed the clutch more often than every 3 years...

the clutch master cylinder gets dirty really quickly, and in due time will cause a leak.