Clutch bleeding BIG issues
 

I was bleeding the clutch tonight (well, attempting to) after installing the Z1 SS clutch line, and had a nightmare of a time, the walkthrough i was following did nothing to enlighten me. So the clutch was pushed super fast, super slow, bleeder open, bleeder closed. And every single DIY online gives a different way of bleeding. Shouldn't there only be one (proper) way to bleed a clutch system?

I see stuff about bleeding the master, then the slave, etc. Cap on, cap off while bleeding. Push pedal and hold like doing the brakes then open the bleeder vs open the bleeder then push slowly and close before bottom. Set timing for pushing the pedal... how is this so F'ing complicated?

So my question is, despite probably putting air into the system everywhere it could possibly be, if I just start over and follow the instructions from the FSM will I be good to go, or do I have to do something different now?

So tempted to just get it flat bedded to Nissan, I don't know how anyone could think this is easier than the brakes :shakes head: Turning out to be the hardest thing I've done on the car to date...

Have you replaced your CMC? I had the same headaches as you until I changed the CMC. Everything was rainbows and puppy dogs after that.

No I haven't, Mitch suggested that as well. Not something I wanna do though, if it came to that I'd likely have Nissan do it. I thought it was mostly when people had aftermarket clutches and/or CSC's that the CMC went though, I'm on stock clutch and everything with only 35,000km on it.

I will say however that the fluid gets pretty seriously dark after 4 years.. it was literally black sludge coming out until it started flushing through.

Bleeding the system is as easy as you think it is. I bet the CMC is pooched. Swapping the CMC out is also easy. Bench bleed it, re&re the CMC, bleed the system. Done. I'm sure you can handle it.

That's so weird, because I never had any signs of it failing or that anything was wrong before I parked the car for the winter. And of course the CMC probably isn't part of the 5 year power train warranty as it is a clutch component. Even though it only lasting 4 years seems ridiculous to me. So are there aftermarket ones on only the (apparently) terrible OEM one?

From djtodd's DIY, this is what i did and it worked fine Ed...

Bleeding the system

Once you've got everything reassembled, the only step left is to bleed the system.
Top off the reservoir, and loosen the bleed nipple on the CSC and let it gravity drain for 5 minutes or so. Be sure to keep it topped off.

After its gravity bled for a while, close the bleed nipple. One person stay under the car, and one person hop in.
With the nipple closed, pump the clutch (slowly) several times. You'll have to manually pull the pedal up at first. Don't worry.

Open the bleed nipple, expelling any pressurized fluid/air. Close the nipple.

Pump several more times, bleed.

Rinse a repeat this until you have a firm pedal, and no air if being bled from the system.
Be sure to keep an eye on the reservoir. It's very small and empties quickly. The last thing you want is to spend 10 minutes bleeding, just to let the reservoir get empty and introduce air into the system all over again.

^ this, also Joe a Zspeed has this down, he gives you the procedure with his upgraded csc, I just threw a new clutch in and here is what I did, gravity bleed for 10 minutes, 10 manual bleeder cracks with pedal pressure, boom.

I felt much the same way when I first changed my clutch fluid. Eventually, I just got my wife to sit in the driver seat and pump for me while I worked the bleeder valve (that's what she said :ugh:).

The method that worked best for me was to have my wife pump the clutch until it was firm, then on the last of usually 3-5 pumps, she would hold it at the floor while I loosened the bleeder valve and let whatever fluid would drain quickly do so before closing it back up. To close it off after the fluid is flushed, I have my wife pump the pedal twice for just a little pressure then I open the bleeder valve with her off the pedal. While the fluid is draining, I tell her to push the pedal slowly while I close the bleeder valve.

I bled nearly an entire 500 mL bottle of Motul RBF600 last time because we had trouble getting a firm pedal. Eventually we got it though :tup:

I installed the Z1 stainless clutch line (and drove it once) before swapping the whole clutch and I actually managed to get a pretty good clutch feel. I used the FSM procedure, but I believe I left the nipple open and hand pumped the clutch slowly while keeping the clutch reservoir filled until I was sure all new fluid was in the system. Then I closed the nipple, pumped the clutch a bunch until some pressure built and then cracked and closed the nipple while keeping the clutch depressed. If there is pressure in the system the fluid should shoot out the nipple. I repeated this process maybe 5 times, and then kept pumping the clutch. By the time I drove the car it felt really firm.

Hope this helps.

Thanks for the replies guys! I will attempt this again today and let you know if it conquers me or I get it.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

If its not gravity feeding atleast a little on its own its pooched. I am not sure how Nissan bleeds these cars on the assembly line but mine was toast.

The issue is that the plunger in the CMC does not move far enough out to open up the port to the reservoir and allow fresh fluid to drain down into the CMC for the next push. I was able to modify mine last year to make it work using a dremel to increase the stroke just a little more. But in the end a new CMC was the answer. Joe at Zspeed has them for pretty cheap.

One way to test it ED. Pull out the CMC and with it in your hands try and blow in the port that goes to your reservoir, you should be able to blow through it no problem.

I never had signs of my stock csc failing either (G37).. Change the clutch out, spend hours trying to figure out why I couldnt build good pedal pressure (of course I didnt do enough homework prior to jumping head first into a clutch job).. Round 2 the following weekend - added Z1 HD CSC, SS line and a new clutch master cylinder.. like stated hilariously above, rainbows and puppy dogs.
Gravity bled for 5-10 minutes, got instant pedal pressure. Still bled it the old fashion way a bunch more, just to make sure.

Ya hopefully tonight it just works, a CMC replacement might be possible by me but replacing my own CSC is absolutely out of the question. With the gravity bleeding, you just leave the clutch pedal alone and open the bleeder to let the fluid flow out?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Well, thanks to a helping hand from Chinook, got the clutch bled successfully tonight! (I believe lol, only driving it next month when the car is reassembled will tell) Thanks for all the tips on here, I think it just came down to doing it slowly and deliberately. I was a bit surprised that even when done the pedal didn't feel as hard as I thought it would, but maybe I had just built it up too much in my mind. Thought it would be harder than the brakes!