Clutch bleeding issues, Help!!
 

Just put new slave and clutch in my 96 F-150 I-6 4x4. Started bleeding with half pedal, enough to start in gear but not shift at all. Bled and bld and bled followed by a lil more bleeding. Read somewhere the master will trap air and you have to remove it from the firewall and tip the resevior end up higher. Did this put the master back on the firewall and tried bleeding again. Shortly therafter it got worse!. Now I push the clutch pedal and it sucks itself right down to the floor! You have to pull it back and now I am getting next to nothing out of the bleeder valve since the pedal just sucks itself right down. I am out of fluid for the night, the resevoir is full and the bleeder is cracked, let it set like that overnight. What else can I do? Opinions please.

Re: Clutch bleeding issues, Help!!
 

Those Fords can be a pain. The best way I have found is:

bleed all the air you can get out with the bleeder. Then, pump it full stroke as fast as you can, then walk away for 1/2 hour. When you come back to it, only "twitch" the pedal repeatedly, just barely moving the master cylinders piston until you start to feel resistance. This will bring air out the top, instead of trying to push it downstream.

Pump/ walk/ twitch/ try repeatedly until you get a pedal. Sometimes the "last little bit" I will drive out- seems to help bouncing down the road.

Re: Clutch bleeding issues, Help!!
 

get a large syringe from a vet/farm supply and a 6" or so piece of vacuum hose. remove master cap, open bleeder (pedal up of course), and push fluid into slave. the fluid will push the air up into the master reservoir where it wants to go anyway. this works flawlessly for me. I just did a 95 Civic last week.

as a side note, when bleeding drum brakes after you install new wheel cylinders I adjust the shoes up TIGHT. this way the fluid meets a dead wall and the hydraulic system isn't trying to move the shoes. does that make sense?