having trouble bleeding a bert??

I just bought a rocket and I am trying to bleed the clutch and no matter what we try it will not bleed. we are still getting a lot of air out of it. the transmission has been gone through and they couldn't find anything wrong with it. it has a brand new master cylinder. we tried letting gravity do the work. we tried using a vacuum bleeder. still no pedal at all. if you pump it once, you get decent pressure out of the bleeder. if you pump it up 4 or 5 times, you get nothing. we cant find any leaks anywhere. any ideas? thanks in advance for the advice.

If master cylinder is the highest point in system, I have the best luck of not using the bleeder on trans.
depress pedal once slowly then let off. Should hear air bubbles in reservior. wait until stop hearing, then depress pedal again. Keep doing this until you get solid pedal or no longer get air in reservior. If pedal still feels a little spongy, check lines for high spot in routing. sometimes will trap air in these spots. May have to be patient but air will always come to high point.
Good luck.

Mine is kind of a pain also. I usually take a large syringe and a small chunk of tube. Sort of a reverse bleed, push it from the bleeder on the trans into the master cylinder. I typically do that, then bleed the usual way once, then push some more into the master cylinder and it's good to go.

I have also seen some issues with the master cylinders also (brakes and trans) if they get a bit of air in them, for what ever reason, sometimes the air doesn't like to leave them.

I put a remote bleeder in car . The bleeder is the higher the pedal. Never a problem . But it you have a bleeder just on the transmission then try bleeding the line to the transmission from pedal to transmission .

thanks for the input guys. I tried using a pump to push fluid through the bleeder to the mc and it didn't seem to help much. im gonna try again tomorrow and see what happens, its frustrating.

Maybe your bleeder is partially plugged, not working as it should?

Take the 4 bolts out of the bellhousing and rotate the trans until the bleeder is at the highest point. Then bleed normally, like a brake caliper.

Try screwing the rod of the master cylinder into the pedal more . The plunger might be past where it needs to be to let fluid go down . Iv had this happen , thought it was hopeless but was a simple fix !

Vacuume pump on the bleeder will usually do the trick.

Looks like everybody on here has been frustrated at one time or another bleeding their transmissions. Taking the bolts out and turning the trans is a reply I havent seen before and seems like it would help. I always have had good luck by opening the bleeder BEFORE its pumped and having the person in the car just press the pedal down and hold it. Then I tighten the bleeder, have them let off the pedal, I open the bleeder again, have them press the pedal down once again and I tighten the bleeder again. I'll do this 4 or 5 times, then have them pump it up and bleed like you'd normally bleed brakes. When the person in the car is pumping the pedal to bleed it, make sure they are letting the pedal come all the way to the top between strokes...I have my guy lift his foot off the pedal on every stroke. Never had to wrastle mine too long doing it like this.

My favorite trick is to...
1. Put a short hose on the bleeder and put the other end submerged in a bottle of brake fluid.
2. open the bleeder and have someone slowly pump the pedal. (Do this until there are no bubbles being pushed out)
3. With foot off the pedal Close bleeder.

I used an an old cap and drilled a hole in it to accommodate a bolt in tire valve to pressure bleed the brake system.

All I do is place the modified cap on the M/C and set the bail, connect an air tank with a locking type valve, push about 20 PSI in the M/C and open the bleeder for two or three seconds and close the bleeder. I do this for brakes too.
If you attach a small rubber hose like a vacuum hose to the bleeder, just push it over the bleeder, the fluid can be redirected to a container. I use a errant soda pop bottle to collect fluid. I also epoxied a magnet to it so it would stick the rotor and it really makes things mess free.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by ALF401

Take the 4 bolts out of the bellhousing and rotate the trans until the bleeder is at the highest point. Then bleed normally, like a brake caliper.

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Do what he says. I rebuild quite a few berts and a lot of them have the bleeder lower than the top of the bore diameter when looking into the piston bore of the tail housing, resulting in trapped air that can't get out.

thanks for all the help guys. Im thinking it had a kink in the line because we changed the line and it bled fine

I gravity bleed mine. Fill the master cylinder, crack the bleeder loose and let it sit for a while. Once it starts leaking out the bleeder tighten it, top off the cylinder and you're good to go.

One of the weirdest ways i seen to bleed one is this, the master cylinder is to small for the volume needed.

So, pump the pedal till you get fluid coming out the bleeder. Let is sit a minute, then pump it 3 times real fast, hold the pedal down to the floor and close the bleeder.

Sounds like it wont work i know, but it actually works well. Makes a big mess too, but the key is pumping the pedal quickly, and creating enough volume.

We use a vacuum type bleeder now, but have used this way many times.

Here is another quick tip I use an oil pump can filled w brake fluid put a hose on it open bleeder put hose on bleeder pump until you see fluid in reservoir then bleed normally. Works good I never had muck luck with the miti vac type bleeders.