So i bought a 1997 Cavalier RS the other day for $250. 2.2 with isuzu. the guy said it needed a clutch, windshield wipers park in the "up" position, wiper fluid reservoir leaked, headlights didn't work, ABS light on, etc. i test drove it, and the clutch was fine, the reservoir was just out of fluid and needed bled. Drove it home(had to pump the clutch about 4 times to shift gears), and fixed everything else wrong with it, except the clutch. I went to try to bleed it tonight. sprayed some WD-40 on it, and waited. went to crack it open, and she snapped right off. Luckily, the bleeder didn't crack open before it snapped off, so it's still a closed system. Any ideas how i can bleed the system successfully, without pulling the trans and replacing the slave? And on a side note, if the reservoir was out of fluid, would it have leaked out somewhere, or how would it just disappear? It doesn't seem to have any leaks. When i pump the clutch, i don't hear or see any fluid anywhere dripping.
"If I'm not back in 5 minutes...just wait longer"
I would suspect that if the fluid were low, there is probably a leak somewhere. If you buy a vacuum bleeder you can bleed it through the reservoir. Bleed it, refill it, and watch it closely for any level drops.
How would one go about bleeding the system without opening the bleeder valve though?
"If I'm not back in 5 minutes...just wait longer"
If it were me id try a left handed drill bit or an easy out.... Ive had this happen to me and have been lucky enough to extract it.... But as previously said if its low its going somewhere.... More then likely its the slave cylinder and its connected to the bleeder so you get a new one when you do it....
Erik Packard
Cavalier Zzzz...24 wrote:How would one go about bleeding the system without opening the bleeder valve though?
There are adapters that go on your reservoir and you apply a vacuum and it sucks the air out. Check out
Mityvac.com, they have all the @!#$ listed there.
Sparkey05 wrote:Cavalier Zzzz...24 wrote:How would one go about bleeding the system without opening the bleeder valve though?
There are adapters that go on your reservoir and you apply a vacuum and it sucks the air out. Check out Mityvac.com, they have all the @!#$ listed there.
I unhooked the vacuum hose going into the brake booster, and hooked it up to a plastic line, ran it in the top of a water bottle(drilled water bottle cap out to fit the line tight), and halfway down the bottle, i drilled another hole and put another hose going from there to a spare wiper fluid cap, and held the cap onto the reservoir. started the car , and it sucked away. Couldn't tell if it sucked any air pockets up or not, but after awhile, the clutch felt a little more firm. Can't see any leaks...but after a bunch of driving and pumping the clutch on a bumpy road, seems like i vibrated some air bubbles up. seems pretty firm now. I'll have to check tomorrow and see if it leaked, or lost the firmness. I'll keep you updated.
"If I'm not back in 5 minutes...just wait longer"
Clutch still feels good, doesn't seem to have any leaks. Fluid was pitch black in the reservoir. I'm just going to keep soaking up the fluid in the reservoir with a rag when it gets black from the old fluid mixing with it and adding new fluid until it starts getting more clear. Thanks for the vacuum bleed idea, it helped alot, and saved alot of time
"If I'm not back in 5 minutes...just wait longer"
