348 - Unable to bleed the clutch

Last week, I found that my clutch pedal had gone completely limp. There was no resistance when pushing the pedal down. A 2 year old child can easy depress the pedal.

I wanted to bleed the clutch near the pumpkin but am struggling to do so because the bleeder nut is stuck.

I tried WD40 and penetrating fluid to no avail. I gave it a few whacks with a hammer also.

When I use a wrench on it with force, the whole assembly moves but the nut is not budging one bit.

Please help!
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With a pair of box-end wrenches (or a box-end on the big one and a six-sided socket on the bleeder) you should have no trouble breaking it free. If you have one a small impact gun on the bleeder will do it for sure. Just make sure to hold the fitting and verify which way the gun is turning before you hit it.

 

Tim you lost me - when you say box end on the "big one", what are you referring to by big one?

 

I agree with you about the wrenches , but wouldn´t the impact gun damage the thread?

 

he is saying to pull the drain tube off, place two wrenches or a socket and a wrench on the bleeder and the fitting the bleeder is screwed in to......

 

I have a 3/8" impact gun that I frequently use to loosen overly tight fasteners. Sometimes just a sudden shock will get it done when a wrench might round off the corners. It's not the tool for everything. It doesn't look like there is rust or galling on those threads, they're just really tight. The fitting is attached by a pretty flimsy bracket so it's difficult to apply much torque without the whole fitting moving. It's important to hold it preferably with a box-end wrench to minimize damage.

 

Agree 100%. From the photo it looks good, without any rust, so it sould be easy like you told.

 

This

Hold this part here when you try to unscrew the bleeder.

The bleeder isn't a "nut" as you described it, more of a hollow bolt with a tapered end that seals against a mating taper in the "big one".
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Thanks a bunch Tim.

Your suggestion worked like a charm. I was able to flush 1/5 quarts through the system - got a lot of air and blackish gunk out. I wonder where the air came in from? Must be a leak somewhere.

 

Likely your master or slave cylinder is getting tired and letting a little air in when it retracts. That "gunk" used to be hose lining or seal material.

 

It sounds like your clutch hasn't been bled in years. Maybe many years. I had this with a Corvette a couple of years back. I would suggest that you either take the car out and drive it or just sit and pump the clutch about 100 times, and then put it back up and bleed the clutch again. You'll be surprised how much more "gunk" will come out.

Be sure to check around for leaks. I assume you're using DOT 3 or 4 brake fluid in the clutch, so you need to be concerned about leaking fluid. It is very bad for your paint (it's the best paint remover out there).

 

No - it was bled in 2008 and again in Feb 2009. I am using DOT 4 now - it had DOT 3 earliuer

 

Who filled it with Dot 3?

 

It sounds like it requires a bit more TLC than just a flush then, like new seals and/or hoses in the system as 2NA suggested. Separate hydraulic seals are available through many specialists. Note that if there is a hose from reservoir to clutch master cylinder that these are special hoses, fuel hose won't work and dissolve rather quickly.

 

I would use PB blaster on it , let it sit a few days ,respray let sit a few more days , then give her a try. We use this penetrant on old nuts and bolts on high voltage deadend shoes thats been in the weather for years on end,Works great,Oh try not to get it on painted area's,if so use a good wax cleaner on the overspray,Hope's this helps Harry.