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Cluch bleeding woes on 1.9dci Scenic

26K views 10 replies 7 participants last post by  ours2012 
#1 ·
Sorry to bother you but I'm really struggling to get a decent clutch pedal on my Scenic. :(

I connected a syringe to the bleed nipple. In order to draw fluid through I needed to release the clutch pipe slightly from where it clips into the bell housing. I've then drawn a fair bit of fluid through, and tried this with the clutch pedal in the down and up position.

Even though no air bubbles were coming through I still have a very soggy pedal which isn't disengaging the clutch.

I've also noticed the brake has gone soft and I can hear an air in a pipe kind of noise coming from the the glovebox area when I pump the brake.

When I was bleeding the clutch I was careful not to let the fluid level in the resevoir drop below the min mark so I'm puzzled to work out what's going wrong. :confused:

Anyone any ideas ? Am I using the right technique to bleed the clutch by disconnecting the pipe whilst bleeding ?

Does the clutch slave cylinder contain brake fluid and if so, do you need to do anything to bleed that part ?

Help please !

Cheers
Richard
 
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#3 ·
Re: Clutch bleeding woes on 1.9dci Scenic

Hi,

I'm not sure where the air is, sounds like it is in the glovebox area.

I've attached a photo of the clutch pipe connector. This pushes onto a pipe coming out of the the bell housing.

The bleed nipple is just a hole in the side of the connector. To get the fluid to flow I had to pull it off the bell housing pipe slightly.

Cheers
Richard
 

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#4 ·
Hi

It's easier to bleed the system using a pressure bleed kit like that sold by gunson. (available at screwfix for sub £20 i think)

First you have to bleed the top section of the system, from reservoir, through master cylinder, thro filter, pipes down to the bleed point. Once you've got rid of the air in that section you can move on to the slave cylinder...

By getting an assistant to press clutch down and hold, while you open bleed screw, let fluid/air out, shut bleed screw, gentley lift clutch back up and depress a couple of times, repeat process until fluid that comes out is clean and free from bubbles.

The fluid in my van clutch was black - ie completely fubarred. Now it's replaced with clean fluid the clutch doesnt sink on its own overnight.

I can't see why it would be necessary to disconnect anything to effect bleeding. Perhaps the fittings are not supposed to be compatible if it came off another vehicle?

And yes, if the system isn't sealed when you shut the bleed screw, you will probably end up with air in there.
 
#5 ·
Re: Clutch bleeding woes on 1.9dci Scenic

Hi,

After trying different techniques to bleed the bu99er I'm nearly there.

The Renault dealer confirmed that you need to slightly disconnect the pipe to open the nipple and get the fluid to flow. He also said they suck it through with a syringe and then push it back through the bleed nipple, he said this helps to flush out the air from the slave cylinder.

This helped a bit... but didn't fix the problem. :(

Then tried pumping the pedal to push fluid through and then pushing it back with the syringe this was more effective and resulted in some pedal feel and meant I could just about get it into gear. :eek:

Then went out and bought a pressure bleeder (£16 from Halfords), still needed to disconnect the pipe to get the fluid to flow and this time it's mostly sorted the problem. There is still some sponginess so needs doing again (once I’ve bough even more brake fluid) but I'm nearly there. It was effective enough to take it for a test drive so this was a result ! :d
What a nightmare though for what should be a simple process. The dealers I spoke to about it all said it was an awful job to get right!

Cheers
Richard
 
#7 ·
Re: Clutch bleeding woes on 1.9dci Scenic

Hello and welcome to the forum.:)

The bleed nipple is opened by partially unclipping the pipe where it fits into the slave cylinder.It's an easy enough idea once you get used to it.Theres no need for a pressure bleeder,just make sure the reservoir is topped up,open the bleed nipple and allow fluid to drip out using gravity.Once there is fluid there,close the nipple,get an assistant to push the pedal down and hold it,then open the nipple again.Be careful that you don't get sprayed with fluid!.(if you have a small piece of pipe you can push over the nipple and then drain this pipe into a small plastic bottle then this will help keep spillage and mess to a minimum).Close the nipple,get the assistant to raise the pedal,then repeat the excercise until you have a constat stream of fluid coming out everytime you open the nipple with the pedal down.
 
#8 ·
Sorry to dig up an old thread and highjack it, but I am having the same problems with my 1.9 dci.

I replaced the concentric slave cylinder along with my clutch. I filled the reservoir and put a pipe on the bleed nipple as described. unclipped the pipe and let the fluid and bubbles drain out via gravity. pumped the pedal a few times and with the pedal fully depressed, clipped the pipe back on.

After this my pedal was on the floor. Long story short, I did this about 5 times, filling the reservoir after every bleed. I bled 1 liter through the nipple in this manner.

My pedal now sits at the right height, but my clutch engages very low to the floor. I don't know if there is anything I'm missing, but I'm losing my mind trying to get this working properly.

What am I doing wrong or not doing?
 
#9 ·
Some are a nightmare to bleed, you are doing nothing wrong..
When you have finished driving for the day, and you can leave the car for around 8 hours..
Hold the clutch pedal down overnight, ( not you physically:grin2:)
Get a bar, force the clutch pedal down, pull drivers seat forward, to hold bar in place.
See if this will send any trapped air to the top...
Make sure reservoir cap is off...
 
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