Replaced leaking clutch slave cylinder. Clutch pedal now completely dead. Bleed slave with pressure bleeder. No luck. Clutch pedal goes down and stays down. No resistance up or down. Brake fluid reservoir full. How do I go about bleeding the clutch to solve the problem and make clutch work properly??

 

I've haven't bled the clutch on my MCS yet, however the procedure is probably similar to that of my old M3. It's been a while, but this is what I remember:

Pumping the clutch pedal a bunch of times with your hand might help. I had to pump mine ~80 times in my M3 to get some resistance back. In time, the resistance should come back to normal. The pressure bleeder should've done it's job, but if you want to do it the convential way, try this method: open bleed screw, push pedal to the floor, tighten bleed screw. Slowly pull clutch pedal up. Repeat the process a few times until all bubbles are gone (open, floor, close, pull up pedal). And then pump away until you can't feel your arms any more.

And make sure that the brake fluid remains above the clutch passage when using the pressure bleeder.

 

I think there is a special tool that holds the piston in while you open the valve and pump out the air.

 

There probably is.
Maybe use a ziptie or anything you can to keep the slave cylinder piston from moving while you bleed out the air. You'll never get it to bleed properly if the slave cylinder piston is moving.
I haven't done it on a MINI yet, so I don't know what kind of room you have down there, but have done it on a BMW that way and it worked.

 

Insert a wooden block (I used a 1" piece cut from garden stake, can't remember dimension) between the plunger and the piston...this takes up the slave cylinder's travel...proceed to bleed the clutch slave...this should be done after all the brakes are bled...

 

I hate to res an old thread, but I'm having trouble with my clutch after the dealership replaced my slave cylinder last week.

Now the clutch engages very quickly (nice) but the engagement point is at the extreme bottom of the pedal's range. To get it into first gear with no resistance, I have to realllllly push the pedal against the bump-stop. If I just depress normally, I get some resistance/slight grinding when I shift from neutral to first.

The clutch is self-adjusting... so how would you fix this? I'm under warranty, but going in for service is a PITA.

Thanks!

 

The fix is simple. After going to a dealership and having the slave cylnder replaced, the car came back with them telling me I need a new clutch. Mini has never trained the techs in the proper way to bleed the cylinder. You have to detach the slave cylinder from the car and turn it to where the bleeder valve is not taking in air when you bleed. When it's on the car, the position of the valve allows air to come in. As long as it's bled in that position, there will always be air in the system. The tech at the dealership went through 2 quarts of fluid and gave up. I got the car back with no pedal. I took it to Lucky Dog Garage. It was fixed in 15 minutes.

 

I've heard that there is a special MINI tool that you need (or you can use a block of wood in the proper dimensions) to hold the slave cyl. in a compressed state before the bleed... essentially reducing the volume of the slave cyl. to nothing and removing that cavity where air might hide.

So you think it's just a bad bleed?

 

I pumped the clutch 60-80 times this morning and the engagement point seems to have lifted just a bit. When my left leg stops convulsing, I'll try it again. Perhaps the self-adjusting mechanism just takes a few cycles to settle in or perhaps I just dislodged the air-bubble and moved it to a different place...

 

See post #5...

 

my f 150 's famous for this . it will in time lose the air . how ? search me .conventional bleeding even with a jar full of fluid and the hose deal didn't do it .

 

The original problem w/ my slave cyl. was that fluid was leaking out of the system and into the dust boot.

I'm just trying to settle the clutch so I don't have to smash it into the floor to get a smooth shift. The high number of cycles this morning seems to have helped settle it a bit.

 

Is this after you take the slave off the tranny? And did you use a power bleeder?

 

I just had my slave cylinder replaced last week as well. When I went to pick the car up, it almost felt worse than it did before. The engagement point was almost at the floor and there was hardly any pedal pressure. Now though, 2 days later, it feels fantastic...like a new clutch. There is nice solid pressure and the engagement point has come up closer to the top. I was ready to take it back, but saw an improvement the more i drove. I'd safely say that it is self-adjusting. Just give it time.

 

No...slave cylinder stays put...insert block after brake bleeding and proceed to bleed clutch cylinder with the same power bleeder

 

I make the original post on this subject. After much trial and error and thinking, I came up with the answer. Cosmic Purple's reply is the correct, easy answer. You must take the slave off the car and bench bleed it with the bleeder nipple in an elevated position so air with go to the top, where the bleeder is. Manually push the plunger all the way back and forth several times with a short tube going to a supply of brake fluid. This will evacuate all the air. Close off bleeder and attach fluid line to slave, then bolt into place. There should be no air anywhere, and further bleeding unnecessary.