Do you complain about bleeding the X clutch?

I did, once upon a time. But I've learned to count my blessings. I just finished flushing the clutch hydraulic fluid in a Ford Ranger (great little pickup in many other ways).

Now, I can forgive them the concentric slave cylinder which means that you have to drop the transmission to get at the slave... after all, a slave will probably last as long as the clutch and release bearing.

But what possible failure of common sense could have led Ford to design a system in which the master cylinder is mounted almost vertically, with both the low pressure line from the reservoir and the high pressure line to the clutch at the bottom? You can pressure-bleed or gravity-bleed or vacuum-bleed or reverse-bleed a gallon of DOT-3 through there and the air bubble at the top of the master won't go anywhere.

You are supposed to bleed it before you install it I think. Last one I did I ended up going under the dash with a pair of snap ring pliers and removed the snap ring holding the piston in. That allowed me to slowly back the piston out of the bore until the air escaped then quickly push it back in. Kinda messy but it worked.

Matthew said:

You are supposed to bleed it before you install it I think

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Indeed you are, but I was dealing with a situation in which air had been accidentally introduced into the system after it was in place. (No, I don't want to talk about how that happened).

Last one I did I ended up going under the dash with a pair of snap ring pliers and removed the snap ring holding the piston in. That allowed me to slowly back the piston out of the bore until the air escaped then quickly push it back in. Kinda messy but it worked.

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Yep, that's what I did too. I am never going to complain about the X1/9 clutch again. Never.

Ford Ranger Pick-up?

If it was a Jeep with that set up, you'd bleed the system before you tipped the thing back on to its wheels.

Does anyone know if a power bleeder works to get the air out? I recently had my master cylinder replaced and it feel like I have some air...

ecohen2 said:

Does anyone know if a power bleeder works to get the air out? I recently had my master cylinder replaced and it feel like I have some air...

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On an X1/9 or a Ford Ranger?

Power bleeding works fine on an X1/9 clutch, especially if you raise the rear end of the car a bit at some point in the process. On a four-speed the slave is positioned with the bleeder is on the so you may want to unbolt the slave and twist it sideways to get the bleeder on top for a moment. It also helps to take the reservoir out of its bracket, hold it up as high as you can to encourage air in the low-pressure line to migrate up and out before you start pressure-bleeding. I find this especially easy because I've replaced my reservoir-to-master lines with transparent Tygon tubing so I can see any air in these lines.

mid79 said:

If it was a Jeep with that set up, you'd bleed the system before you tipped the thing back on to its wheels.

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I considered putting a chain around the driver's side front axles, hooking the other end to a construction crane, and lifting the truck completely off the ground, letting it swing back and forth nose up in the air while I bled the clutch.

The way to bleed

is to tie a bungee cord around the pedal and pull the pedal up when released, do not let the clutch to remain in the depressed position while you release the pressure.
I hope I said it clear enough.

Bleeding the clutch slave in the k20 swap'd X is interesting. The slave sits parallel to the firewall behind the driver and the bleeder screw (on mine) points to the passenger side. You can't see it, but you can reach pretty easily. You can actually bleed it while in the driver's seat, slight contortionistic position of my right arm, but it can be done.

hey Matthew

you have a beautiful X1/9 there!

Thanks. It does photograph beautifully but is a bit more roughed up than it appears.