About to bleed my ZF S6-40. Any advice? - ZR-1 Net Registry Forums

MuRCieLaGo · 04-08-2016

My 6th speed grinded twice in a row yesterday morning, then never grinded again. However, I didn't like that. Car is now stored until transmission fluid and clutch fluid are changed.

So I just bought 700ml of Valvoline SynPower Dot 4 brake fluid.

Do I have enough? Is my process alright?

1. Disconnect battery.
2. Remove ECM (slide it off or remove nuts, just use easier way).
3. I will see a reservoir for brake fluid, and one for clutch fluid (is it clearly indicated which one is which one?).
4. I will ask somebody to stroke the clutch pedal several times, then keep it pushed to 100%.
5. I will crawl under the car which WON'T be perfectly level unfortunately (is it that important to have it level?) and I'll find that clutch bleeding screw (where is it?). First time I will remove this screw, I will wrap it with Teflon 5-6 times.
6. Repeat process 4-5 to get rid of that old fluid as much as I can. I won't let it go lower than LOW in the master cylinder.
7. Fill with new brake fluid.
8. Repeat process 4-5 until there's no more air in the system and until there's only new fluid.

Karl · 04-09-2016

That won't work unless you have a reverse flow brake bleeder. If you drain the clutch fluid from the bottom you will most likely get lots of air in the slave cylinder.

I changed mine about a month ago (slave cylinder) and I could not get the air out unless I did a reverse fill.

Im sure somebody with more experience will chime in.

Hopefully you will get the problem fixed with minimal effort.

MuRCieLaGo · 04-09-2016

Bad night in the garage. Bleeding screw broke. But there was DEFINITELY air in the system.

So I ordered both new master cylinder and slave cylinder. Is it overkill?

RussMcB · 04-09-2016

I don't have much to offer except I swapped out my slave cylinder a few months ago and it went surprisingly smooth. My wife pushed the pedal, I bled it from below and my pedal height seems fine.

I did bench-bleed it before installing. That may have helped.

I was prepared to bleed the slave after connecting it to the hose, but before bolting it in place (in case I needed to manipulate the slave cylinder to get the bleed screw on top), but that wasn't needed.

I only changed mine while it was up high on jack stands while installing headers. It looked crusty, so I figured I'd better do it when it was convenient, before it was a problem.

Perhaps you could let it self bleed by hooking up a hose to the bleed screw, opening the bleeder, keep the master full and let gravity do the work.

I didn't change the master, and bought the slave cyl from a local Napa.

Good luck.

Karl · 04-09-2016

http://www.powertorquesystems.com/Contact.htm

This guy is a option to have your slave rebuilt. He rebuilt mine.

MuRCieLaGo · 04-10-2016

Quote:

Originally Posted by Karl

http://www.powertorquesystems.com/Contact.htm

This guy is a option to have your slave rebuilt. He rebuilt mine.

Brand new Master cylinder and slave cylinder cost me $80 on eBay! However I don't get the reverse bleeding thingy. In the FSM it's much more simple...

Quote:

Originally Posted by RussMcB

I don't have much to offer except I swapped out my slave cylinder a few months ago and it went surprisingly smooth. My wife pushed the pedal, I bled it from below and my pedal height seems fine.

I did bench-bleed it before installing. That may have helped.

I was prepared to bleed the slave after connecting it to the hose, but before bolting it in place (in case I needed to manipulate the slave cylinder to get the bleed screw on top), but that wasn't needed.

I only changed mine while it was up high on jack stands while installing headers. It looked crusty, so I figured I'd better do it when it was convenient, before it was a problem.

Perhaps you could let it self bleed by hooking up a hose to the bleed screw, opening the bleeder, keep the master full and let gravity do the work.

I didn't change the master, and bought the slave cyl from a local Napa.

Good luck.

So you're saying that you bled the clutch hydraulic just like you bleed brakes?

Thanks!

RussMcB · 04-10-2016

Quote:

Originally Posted by MuRCieLaGo

So you're saying that you bled the clutch hydraulic just like you bleed brakes?

Thanks!

Yes.

Racinfan83 · 04-10-2016

Quote:

Originally Posted by Karl

http://www.powertorquesystems.com/Contact.htm

This guy is a option to have your slave rebuilt. He rebuilt mine.

+1 for this !! At least read his site before you install the ebay parts.
And do yourself and others a favor and send the old one to him (don't throw it away) - either so he can rebuild it to sell to one of us or send back to you. I have been working with Jim on my clutch deal and he is one of the best guys there is...

MuRCieLaGo · 04-10-2016

Quote:

Originally Posted by Racinfan83

+1 for this !! At least read his site before you install the ebay parts.
And do yourself and others a favor and send the old one to him (don't throw it away) - either so he can rebuild it to sell to one of us or send back to you. I have been working with Jim on my clutch deal and he is one of the best guys there is...

Would have sent it to him (even ZFDoc suggested me to do so) but I live in Canada and it would have been 2 trips in USA for this and I didn't want to.

twowire · 04-11-2016

I've replaced one many years ago and got it from the local auto store as an oem replacement. It left me stranded so I changed out the oem unit. Loss of clutch fluid somewhere (didn't find where). Driving down the road and no more clutch - luckily it was a back road and found a place to stop. It was strange. Looking at both at the time, the oem unit seemed cheap with thin metal where the aftermarket unit was beefy. I think it was from Autozone, but it looked/worked better than the oem one.

04-08-2016	#1
MuRCieLaGo Join Date: Aug 2014 Location: Trois-Rivieres (QC) Posts: 473	About to bleed my ZF S6-40. Any advice? My 6th speed grinded twice in a row yesterday morning, then never grinded again. However, I didn't like that. Car is now stored until transmission fluid and clutch fluid are changed. So I just bought 700ml of Valvoline SynPower Dot 4 brake fluid. Do I have enough? Is my process alright? 1. Disconnect battery. 2. Remove ECM (slide it off or remove nuts, just use easier way). 3. I will see a reservoir for brake fluid, and one for clutch fluid (is it clearly indicated which one is which one?). 4. I will ask somebody to stroke the clutch pedal several times, then keep it pushed to 100%. 5. I will crawl under the car which WON'T be perfectly level unfortunately (is it that important to have it level?) and I'll find that clutch bleeding screw (where is it?). First time I will remove this screw, I will wrap it with Teflon 5-6 times. 6. Repeat process 4-5 to get rid of that old fluid as much as I can. I won't let it go lower than LOW in the master cylinder. 7. Fill with new brake fluid. 8. Repeat process 4-5 until there's no more air in the system and until there's only new fluid. Last edited by MuRCieLaGo; 04-08-2016 at 10:38 PM.

04-09-2016	#2
Karl Join Date: May 2013 Location: Chicago Posts: 980	Re: About to bleed my ZF S6-40. Any advice? That won't work unless you have a reverse flow brake bleeder. If you drain the clutch fluid from the bottom you will most likely get lots of air in the slave cylinder. I changed mine about a month ago (slave cylinder) and I could not get the air out unless I did a reverse fill. Im sure somebody with more experience will chime in. Hopefully you will get the problem fixed with minimal effort. __________________ 1993 ZR-1 #211 Yellow On Beige Beast #2 1992 ZR-1 #427 Black On Black Sold 1985 L98 Blue On Blue Sold

04-09-2016	#3
MuRCieLaGo Join Date: Aug 2014 Location: Trois-Rivieres (QC) Posts: 473	Re: About to bleed my ZF S6-40. Any advice? Bad night in the garage. Bleeding screw broke. But there was DEFINITELY air in the system. So I ordered both new master cylinder and slave cylinder. Is it overkill? Last edited by MuRCieLaGo; 04-09-2016 at 11:21 PM.

04-09-2016	#4
RussMcB Join Date: Jan 2015 Location: Marietta, GA USA Posts: 1,160	Re: About to bleed my ZF S6-40. Any advice? I don't have much to offer except I swapped out my slave cylinder a few months ago and it went surprisingly smooth. My wife pushed the pedal, I bled it from below and my pedal height seems fine. I did bench-bleed it before installing. That may have helped. I was prepared to bleed the slave after connecting it to the hose, but before bolting it in place (in case I needed to manipulate the slave cylinder to get the bleed screw on top), but that wasn't needed. I only changed mine while it was up high on jack stands while installing headers. It looked crusty, so I figured I'd better do it when it was convenient, before it was a problem. Perhaps you could let it self bleed by hooking up a hose to the bleed screw, opening the bleeder, keep the master full and let gravity do the work. I didn't change the master, and bought the slave cyl from a local Napa. Good luck.

04-09-2016	#5
Karl Join Date: May 2013 Location: Chicago Posts: 980	Re: About to bleed my ZF S6-40. Any advice? http://www.powertorquesystems.com/Contact.htm This guy is a option to have your slave rebuilt. He rebuilt mine. __________________ 1993 ZR-1 #211 Yellow On Beige Beast #2 1992 ZR-1 #427 Black On Black Sold 1985 L98 Blue On Blue Sold

04-11-2016	#10
twowire Join Date: Sep 2014 Location: Florida Posts: 31	Re: About to bleed my ZF S6-40. Any advice? I've replaced one many years ago and got it from the local auto store as an oem replacement. It left me stranded so I changed out the oem unit. Loss of clutch fluid somewhere (didn't find where). Driving down the road and no more clutch - luckily it was a back road and found a place to stop. It was strange. Looking at both at the time, the oem unit seemed cheap with thin metal where the aftermarket unit was beefy. I think it was from Autozone, but it looked/worked better than the oem one.