Hi. Did a 6 spd swap into a 2002 r50. Can't get the clutch bled cos the slave cyl bolts are completely frozen and rounded off at this point. Anyone have any luck bleeding with the cyl in place by pushing in the rod to remove the air? Otherwise I guess I'll have to get out the cutting torch, lol. TIA, Ron.

 

Take a die grinder with a cutoff wheel, and make a slot in each bolt. Then take an impact screwdriver and see if you can get the bolts out.

Or, you can go to most autopart stores and buy a set of special sockets that are made to get out rounded off bolts....you beat the socket onto the head of the bolt with a hammer....the teeth dig it, and then you can back the bolt out.



If it was me, I would just try compressing the cylinder all the way, bleed it, and see how it works. Also, wedge a board against the pedal in order to hold it down overnight...that will squeeze the last little bit of air out.

What ever you do, don't get out a cutting torch......

 

Thanks for the tips. The "Powergrab" sockets didn't work. Not sure there's room to get a cutoff wheel up to the higher bolt head to cut a slot. I'll try to bleed in place and push the piston in. Frustrating that such a seemingly simple operation can waste so much time !

 

You might have to pull the front bumper off, maybe the radiator out in order to gain access to the slave cylinder.

 

Access isn't bad underneath at the bottom of the 6 spd - probably why the bolts are frozen :(

 

Just as a warning to the OP, if you do take it off be CERTAIN that both bolts are completely clear of the slave cylinder. In other words, if you break off a bolt, make sure you remove all the old bolt down to the transmission, the slave cylinder can not be forced out of the mounting bracket, it has to be able to come out freely, if you try and force it out and there's still some bolt left protruding from the transmission housing, you run the risk if breaking off the tab that extends off of the transmission.

 

Yeah, if I can't get it to bleed by pushing in the rod, I may have to cut off the slave to get it off and get a new one. Drastic times call for drastic measures, sigh. Dumb, dumb, dumb design!

 

Hi guys. Since I wasn't able to get the frozen lower slave cyl mount bolt loose, a friend and I tried to bleed it in place by pushing in the piston with partial success, but there's still air in it and can't get it into gear. Ground a slot into the head of the rounded off bolt so I could try a large screwdriver and the tip of the blade snapped off making no impression on the frozen bolt except to crack the mount tab! :( Tig welder coming right up, sigh. Never ran into such a difficult stupid little problem holding up an entire project. Probably should have had a friend weld a steel bar onto the bolt head - between the heat and the solid hold on the bolt it should've finally given it up, tho ruining the plastic cyl. Looks like the only option now is to cut the cyl off. IMHO, they should've used a bolt and a nut rather than threading the mount tab. I'm sure it'll be a fun ride if I ever get it on the road, but in the meantime... Thanks for the vent Anybody else have anything like this happen? I know they're hard to bleed, but really! Cheers, Ron.