Jim Grant's Tech Tips
88
Ford Bronco II, Clutch Problems
Q: How can you get your clutch pedal back to
normal? I had air in my lines on my '88 Ford Bronco II 2.9 5 speed and
decided to bleed the lines. Upon bleeding it I couldn't get a clutch pedal
back. Initially I got a decent amount of air out, then it wasn't much
pressure at all. Is there some kind of trick to this? I had trouble with
motorcycle hydraulic clutches before but nothing this bad.
A: Getting
the air out of hydraulic clutch systems can be difficult even for the
most experienced technician. A problem we see frequently with older vehicles,
is that the clutch pedal does not fully return. This, inadvertently, covers/blocks
a critical port inside of the clutch master cylinder. This port must be
exposed to allow fluid in the reservoir to fill the hydraulic line and
clutch slave. If the port is covered or partially restricted you will
have difficulty removing/bleeding air from the clutch system and will
have difficulty building pressure in the system to release the clutch
properly.
|