E30 Zone

hi.
never done a diy bleeding before so my questions is ...

going to try and bleed the clutch slave cylinder along with the brakes this weekend. how dose the clutch slave cylinder get bleed. should it be bled first or last using the brake or clutch it self ????

will be using the manual 2 man method.

thanks.

use brake peddle for brakes and clutch fo...

well you get my drift

for bleeding the clutch there is a bleed screw just along from the hydraulic line at the end of the cylinder. I've also heard that replacing the slave is a good idea.
www.realoem.com will find you the part number, well you'll have to do all the work, but still....

are you just bleeding or flushing?
just nosey nothing more to add techs wise if doing either.

ps

you can't beat the old two man method imo

you make the tea and he/she does the job.

Thanks TouringTash

now that you mentioned it, i will flush the old fluid out and top with new dot 4.

Any work need to be done to the master cylinder at this point? got slight play at the clutch pedal.

ps
i have have asb make any diffrence to the process?

just read up before I answered reguarding the abs and it says
order of bleeding
rear right
rear left
front right
front left.

it also talks about pressing the brake pedal at least 12 times for cars with abs. this is just before they hold the pedal down so you can open the valve.
then shut valve and repeat the above.

I've cut the above down as I take it this isn't the first time you have bled a system?
from what I gather from reading it all you just do it as normal but press at least 12 times for abs equipped cars.

this isn't a wind up it's what the haynes says.

then again that can be done in an hour so surely local dealer will do it for £50 + fluid?

Brake and clutch systems are completely indipendent,unless you have a LHD version,then the fluid holder is shared.

Is the play in the clutch pedal up and down or side to side?

To bleed the clutch/change the fluid;
Open bleed valve and place a suitable container to catch the fluid.
Pump the pedal,add fresh fluid,pump the pedal until nice clean fluid emerges.
You will find that gravity will do most of the work for you,try not to let the fluid holder's level drop to the bottom.

bit cheeky but is it worth replacing the clutch cylinder as well if its old?
on my 318 if I've held the clutch for a short while the biting point is nearly on the floor.
All other abuse is handled by the clutch in the most graceful of manners.

TouringTash wrote:bit cheeky but is it worth replacing the clutch cylinder as well if its old?
on my 318 if I've held the clutch for a short while the biting point is nearly on the floor.
All other abuse is handled by the clutch in the most graceful of manners.

Your problem reads like a failing master,if you pump the pedal does it feel 'normal' for a while?

yes.
Its fine when changing gears or if I have gone from neutral to first but if I have held the clutch pedal totally pressed, then the biting point will be at the bottom and not its usual higher position.

Is the play in the clutch pedal up and down or side to side?

Up and down.

New clutch master is about £40 from GSF/ECP,slave about £30 I think,point is that replacing both in one hit takes little longer than just doing one and saves having to crawl under the thing to bleed it twice!

Both of you seem to have symptoms of a failing master cylinder.

This is potentialy messy to swap,as it's mounted on the pedal box and is arkward to see/reach/get tools to.Do drain off as much fluid as possible from the slave first,try not to damage the flexi pipe to the slave because they are reported to be main dealer only and expensive...
Clean out the fluid container,I found mine to have bits of rubber seal in it that had floated up the pipe from the master,if left it would ruin the new one quickly.
Master is held to the pedal by a clevis arrangement and to the pedal box with a pair of 8mm bolts.

Slave is just two 12 or 13mm nuts(on the cabbie,there was one of each!Now sorted...)and the flexi connection.

thank you once again daimlerman, the old girl is going in for a bit of welding soon so I'll get the master and slave and knock them out when its lunch break and the cars up in the air.
Now thinking I may as well over haul the front stopping setup....

oh eck this is going to get expensive
but it'll be good for another 15 years