5spd Bleeding Clutch Need Help

I've been trying for about 8 hours total now to bleed my clutch in my 2.7 5spd prerunner.

Before i started this whole nightmare, my clutch pedal worked fine, it was just engaging the clutch at almost the very top of the pedal stroke, so i tried adjusting the push rod and then tried bleeding the clutch at the slave. That is where everything turned horribly wrong. Clutch wont return to the top and only comes up about 20-30%.

I started out with the pump, pump, pump, hold, bleed method, and that was an absolute failure, so i ordered a vacuum pump and got that in today. Just spent another 5 hours cooking in the texas sun trying to get all the air out of the system, and i still only have about 25% of my clutch pedal stroke with pressure.

Can someone please tell me what im doing wrong, im about to lose my mind at this point, need some advice before i go crazy. Would like to actually be able to drive my truck and not have a 5000 pound paper weight in my driveway.

With the vacuum pump, i've tried leaving the clutch out, and bleeding it that way, and that seemed to help to some extent, but then i also tried having someone pump it a few times and then hold it while i used the vacuum to bleed it out, and that didnt help any more than using the pump with the clutch out

I've probably pumped 4-5 quarts of fluid through it with the vacuum pump at this point.

Has my slave or clutch master cylinder shit the bed, or what am i missing?

Any advice?

 

@05Taco4x4 @gearcruncher

 

You have plenty of fluid in the reservoir?

 

Yessir, filled to the brim, made sure of that the whole time while bleeding as well

 

Watch this
https://youtu.be/uj1dMdYgRK4

 

That makes sense. Would it be this piece that i would push in on? If so, how would i go about disconnecting the clutch linkage? I dont see any way to do that and the boot wont move..

 

It's not connected, just push in on it with someone holding the clutch pedal down and the bleed screw open

 

Thanks buddy, gonna go give this a shot

 

... and with it in all the way, close the bleeder

 

still no dice.. not sure wtf is going on..

 

You put a flat head or something between the fork and arm, pushed the arm back into the body and then closed the bleeder. Nothing came out the bleeder?

 

IS the slave actuating at all? I would go back to the original setting on the pushrod and diagnose what exactly is happening

How much did you adjust it?

 

I just pushed in the rusty portion on the pic above and then closed the bleeder. It pushed some fluid and maybe a little air out. Should i just keep bleeding the hell outta the system?

 

Get between the rusty fork and rod, the rod should go in more. There's a spring fighting back on the rod, don't let it back out until you've closed the bleeder.

 

When i have someone in the cab pushing in and out on the clutch, i can see that area on the slave moving some, so i do believe it is working.

I moved the pushrod on the pedal to where it had maybe a quarter inch of free play before i first bled the system at all. I just moved it way farther back in earlier to try and get it going again

 

We're referring to the push rod on the slave cylinder

 

If I'm understand you correctly about the clutch pedal, you moved it down- I would allow it to have full travel during this evolution

 

You can try bleeding it backwards from the slave up to the master. If there is an air bubble trapped in the the line sometimes they wanna go up.

1- route a rubber vacuum line from one of the front brake caliper bleeders to the slave bleeder. The hose needs to fit kinda snug on each nipple.

2- open the bleeders at the caliper and slave. Don't touch the clutch pedal.

3- gently (so the rubber line doesn't pop off) push the brake pedal down and look for air bubbles to come out of the clutch fluid reservoir.

4- close both bleeders, see if pedal feel/travel has improved

 

Got between the push rod and the fork, and pushed the rod all the way in while the clutch was in. closed the bleeder before having someone release the clutch.

Whenever i bleed it with the vacuum pump after doing this, it still keeps sucking out lots of air. Not sure how there is so much air in there. ive been bleeding it for hours.. clutch pedal still has maybe 20% of pressure at the bottom of the pedal stroke

 

so i shouldnt have the pedal pushed in while i push in the push rod on the slave? sorry kind of confused.. sun has been baking me for hours.