If you're emptying the system, flush it through with isopropyl alcohol 'till
it comes out clear. I also do this on brakes and it makes working with the
parts much more pleasant, as well as cleaning out ALL the crud in the lines
and cylinders.
I have a length of clear flex tubing that fits firmly over the bleed nipple,
and a plastic peanut butter jar with two holes in the lid -- one just big
enough for the tubing, the other is a pinhole to let air escape. the tubing
runs to the base of the jar, and I put 1/2" to 1" of fluid in the jar when
bleeding, to suck fluid back, instead of air.
Stick this on the bleed nipple, loosen 1/2 turn or so (the tubing should
stay on if you're careful) and PUMP AWAY. just keep the reservoir from
running dry.
To bleed with this setup, get someone else to pump, and as soon as you see
no air bubbles, you can tighten the bleed screw. If they pump quickly, it
will get the air trapped in the high spots because of the turbulence of the
fluid.
Gregory W. Smith http://www.cvn.net/~gsmith
Member, Central Pennsylvania Triumph Club
1980 Spitfire 1500 "for the wife" :)
1980 TR7 Spider v8 (in progress)
1980 TR7 30th Anniversary Edition (deceased)
-----Original Message-----
From: owner-spitfires@autox.team.net
[mailto:owner-spitfires@autox.team.net]On Behalf Of SpitfireKP@aol.com
Sent: Tuesday, February 09, 1999 10:23 PM
To: Spitfires@autox.team.net
Subject: I have some clutch problems too - please advise
I am having a problem with my clutch. After a little bit it stops working. I
rebuilt the master cylinder less than 1000 miles ago, the clutch itself has
less than 1700 miles, and everything used to work. I remember the sticking
point used to be much higher up on the pedal travel. Now it is very close to
the floor. Except that, it works fine when I get in the car, but as I use it
more, it stops disengaging. After being stuck in traffic today for 40
minutes,
it just stopped working. It disengaged enough that I could take the lever
out
of gear, but I had to match the engine speed to engage the next gear. Not a
lot of fun. When it flares up, first gear is very hard to engage, and it
takes
two pushes to get it in gear. I assume the first is the synchro, and the
second is the actual gear.
I bled the system when I rebuilt the master cylinder. It does not appear
that
there are any leaks. My hunch, which could be very wrong, is that it is the
hydraulic fluid. I don't know what is in there. It is a conglomeration of
whatever I could find in my garage. Could it be that I have a bad mix, or
that
the quality is just too low. I plan on emptying the entire system this
weekend, and replacing the fluid. Any advice would be appreciated.
Kris Powell
1974 Spit 1500
|