Guys, I am not a mechanic by any means, but I wrestled with bleeding my clutch system after replacing the clutch and pressure plate for over three weeks, on and off.
I used plumbers strap with a couple long bolts to compress the slave cylinder as was recommended in a video. My conclusion is that this works fine. I didn't find the need for a specialized tool.
I read numerous articles in this and other forums and watched more than my share of YouTube videos. Nothing worked.
I started out with a vacuum pump on the slave cylinder and pulled fluid through the clutch system and kept the reservoir full. I continued the process until I had a clear stream of fluid exiting the slave cylinder. End result....absolutely no clutch pedal pressure.
I bought a power brake bleeder and pushed fluid through the clutch system, again, until I had a clear stream of fluid exiting the slave cylinder. End result...absolutely no clutch pedal pressure.
I thought maybe my clutch master cylinder was bad, so I replaced it. (This is not a job for the less than nimble.) I tried the power bleeder again...you know the story...no clutch pedal pressure...
Although my repair manual states that you should not press the clutch pedal while the system is pressurized by the power bleeder, I decided to give it a try. I put a small amount of pressure on the pedal and observed air bubbles exiting the fluid reservoir into the power bleeder hose. I repeated this numerous times until no more bubbles surfaced. (I elevated the hose on the power bleeder to make sure I had fluid in the hose above the reservoir to see the air bubbles.) I depressurized the power bleeder and opened the valve on the slave cylinder, using a plastic tube to direct the fluid to a container. I reconnected the power bleeder and pressurized the system until I had a clear stream of fluid exiting the slave cylinder. I closed the valve on the slave cylinder and disconnected the power bleeder. Finally...a nice tight clutch pedal!
I removed the plumbers strap from the slave and allowed the slave cylinder to extend and bolted it in place.
Long story short, at least in my case, I believe my problem was not bleeding the slave cylinder at all, but bleeding the master cylinder before bleeding the slave cylinder.

Hope this might help....

I

 

I just replaced my clutch similar to you -- it too a month.

Can you give me a quick rundown of advice to help me about complications? Thank you for your post!!

 

If I recall, you had your flywheel ground down but they didn't grind the step? That could be part of the reason for the soft pedal and notchy engagement, especially if you didn't disconnect the slave cylinder.

If you went with a Valeo clutch kit, the pressure plates tend to have a softer feel to them than the stock units.

 

I went with power torque from Orielys because I thought I was almost done when I bought it. But I looked up that hydrologic clutches have limited travel so when too much is taken off they can't fully disengage the clutch.

But DAMN a new flywheel is expensive.

R50 02-04 5 speed Midland with 200k miles.

Thanks for the reply.

 

That is part of the reason why when you have a stepped flywheel ground down, you also grind the step to keep the flywheel true. And yes, flywheels can definitely be expensive. If you haven’t already, check out RockAuto as they may have some less expensive options.

 

I will do so. I said something to him, but he said it didn't need it... Mb.

From my limited understanding how does a lower inner part of the flywheel result in the clutch grabbing and struggling to release. I figured worst case it wouldn't grab at all instea. With the same thinking I would assume that grinding the outside down won't help either and that turning them at all would be worthless.

I want to understand before I spend $200-$400 for a flywheel.

 

https://www.aa1car.com/library/2003/bf50332.htm

On this website it confirms my thoughts that if only the inner section is grinded then it would more likely reduce friction and have a harder time grabbing, but it also mentions that one should grease the input splines which I did not and I could see how that would cause my problem.


I appreciate the fast response earlier. It gave me someone to dialogue with and give me an idea where I should look. I do agree that it it's unlikely that the slave cylinder has air in it.

 

The clutch disc and pressure plate mounting surface contact the flywheel in two different areas. If you grind down the friction surface and not the step, you alter the clearances of the clutch disc and pressure plate.

If you want to do some research, I had a Getrag 5 speed in my '05 R50 that had bad diff bearings. I still have the entire clutch assembly. If the clutch disc will fit on your transmission or if the clutch discs are similar enough that you can use my flywheel, I'll sell you the whole kit for $100 plus shipping. It has been sitting on my shelf for over a year. I've given up on going to a custom clutch disc to get the flywheel weight back down.

 

Thanks brother. I'll look into it. For now I'm gonna take it all back apart, ask the machine shop to finish the job and grease the splines.

 

As an additional bit of info, on Way's website, you can see the difference between the two flywheels for the R50 as well as the step for the Midlands flywheel.

https://www.waymotorworks.com/flywhe...per-non-s.html

 

​​​​​​This site seems through so I'm inclined to think that these are the possible issues I'm facing. With that the most likely issues are either the first being bent (which wasn't obvious when I had it apart before). The fork seemed uniform and accepted the bearing uniformly. The other possibility is that the input shaft is dry and binding the clutch up. My wife cleaned my transmission and I'm sure she did an excellent job where I skipped greasing the splines because of one single comment I stumbled upon that said not to grease the input shaft because it will throw grease all over the clutch.

I'm gonna buy a new aluminum cooking pan to catch the brand new redline in my transmission.

 

When you take it apart and apply grease to the input shaft, don't slather it on there, that's what will get slung around and get on the clutch face, just a thin layer on the splines and that's it. Most clutch packs that include a grease pouch, give you enough grease to do 5-10 installs, it's crazy how much grease they include.

 

Thanks for the tip. I'm sure the shaft is bone dry as my wife likes to be thorough especially when it's comes to cleaning the cars.

I have a lot of confidence that this lack of grease is my issue. I hope you and others might chime in with some motivational "oh yeah, this is it for sure!"

 

To clarify, greasing the input shaft only allows the clutch to slide away from the flywheel and PP on the input shaft a bit easier when pushing the clutch pedal. With the pedal released, the clutch isn't sliding on the input shaft whatsoever.

Also, my experience:
https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...-can-diaf.html

 

Okay so I think that the "soft" clutch pedal is just softer than what I was used to. I dropped my transmission again and parts on the PP diaphragm springs was marked like the throw out bearing was doing it's job, but the issue was that with the pedal down going into gear was difficult and once I was in gear even with the pedal pressed the wheels were spinning (the car was raised and the tires were off so the rotors were spinning).

I mean the clutch not releasing from the flywheel would do this and since all other parts seem okay I'm thinking the clutch just isn't lifting off the flywheel.

 

I got the car on the ground and it's driving well.

The spinning of the wheels is apparently normal for any car if it is off the ground. Whoops. I didn't get new flywheel bolts and I just learned I was supposed to.

 

Depends on mileage and use of the car.
If the bolts have never been replaced and you got 100k on it -- yeah, likely a good idea to replace them.
If it's 20k miles and the bolts were replaced and the car isn't raced, you should be fine to reuse as long as you inspect for wear.

I've only ever heard of flywheel bolts shearing off, and it was on a 350z time attack car and the mechanic was kind of a dullard -- so, abuse and probably not installed properly.