Clutch won't bleed properly

spearfish25

I've read through the other threads but can't find a clear reason for why bleeding the clutch can be so damn troublesome.

Went about bleeding the clutch today with a friend. Clutch was nice and firm to start...just wanted new fluid in there. So he pumped 3-4 times and then held the pedal down. I cracked the bleeder, got a rapid shot of fluid out, and closed it. The pedal then stayed floored and we couldn't get the system to prime again. About 8000 clutch pedal pumps later, we still couldn't get pressure to build. I finally attached my Motive brake bleeder to the clutch reservoir (won't lock but seals, so buddy held the bleeder adapter down on the clutch reservoir) and pressurized the system. Got some slow dripping with the bleeder valve open at the bottom and then closed it up and removed the pressure bleeder. The pedal would then firm up with about 50 presses, but cracking the bleeder valve gave a shot of foamy fluid and then nothing at all. 200 pedal presses later we'd have pressure again but then just a shot of foam spritz from the bleeder valve. Not feeling like it's bleeding correctly. We finally got the clutch pedal firm again and just called it. Drives fine, but I still think there must be air in it.

What methods have worked well for you guys? Following the service manual method, it's a pretty finicky task.

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2013 Cadillac V-Wagon, RIP Z