Replaced the clutch in my Ranger today, and now the pedal goes straight to the floor so I'm thinking I have air in the hydraulic system. How do I go about bleeding it?

 

just like bleeding the brakes but you will have to pull the pedal off the floor till you get most of the air out

 

Burnin'...there's a couple threads on how-to do it. Search it out brother. It's bleeds via gravity. Open bleeder without touching the pedal until solid fluid comes out. then pump the system up slowly with 5 or 7 pumps, hold to the floor, open bleeder. Watch eyes..it'll squirt. Repete a couple times. The system is designed to bleed itself by vigorous yet soft pumping.

When you said 'pedal goes straight to the floor' you mean you've got no pedal pressure at all? Or does the pedal literally spring to the floor and spring back? Reason I ask because there's no reason for the pedal to just spring to the floor or drop to the floor by itself, unless you forgot to hook up a hydraulic line or the master cyl pedal rod.



Downey, please don't answer if you don't know the correct answer.

 

The pedal just goes straight to the floor and springs back up.

 

shane thats how i bleed my clutch and several overs and it works every time

 

If what Downey said works then it works. There is more the one way to skin a cat.

 

i just open the bleeder and let it go through about a full master cylinder(obviously keeping the fluid full) then hurry under the truck close the bleeder top off the master and go. has worked for me every time.

 

A ford mechanic told me with my 2002 ranger it is self bleeding. with engine off on flat ground pump pedal 50 times then start engine and good to go. he said something about closed system it will cycle the air back to the master cylinder. it did seem to help my pedal and move the release on the pedla up a bit....

 

It doesn't work *that* well.. But the system is self bleeding.

Do the gravity bleed like what has been posted to get the truck moving and you can drive it. You'll notice in about a week of normal driving the clutch engagement point will slowly move up the pedal travel from engaging at the floor to engaging around mid stroke.

If you have a Harbor Freight tool store near you, you can pick up their self bleeding kit.. basically just a clear hose with a one way check valve on it. So just open the bleeder and start pumping untill the pedal firms up. Its like $2.99 too.

 

when my slave was going out i could pump it up to shift then air would go back in, but yes they have a self bleeding system but a self bleeding system only works so well





EDIT: Strangerranger beat me to say it

 

I have tried all the bleed techniques listed. Removing the master cylinder and trying to invert it to remove the bubble from the top came closest, but is rough on the lines, connectors. A better solution i came up with:
Open the bleed **** 1/2 turn, attach a tight fitting silicone or such tube to the bleeder about 2 feet long. a 90 degree plastic elbow right by the nipple end is much easier to manage. Bring the tube up through top and fasten it into the neck of an empty pop bottle or such.
Now , with someone standing over the clutch resevoir, constantly topping it to the fill level, another person cycles the clutch up and down roughly 2 seconds travel down, 1 second pause, 2 second travel up, 1 second pause; without stopping for about 200 ml of fluid, or about ~10 refills of resevoir. Then with the clutch pedal depressed by one person, the other goes down and closes the bleeder.
This method has rescued 2 trucks now that would not co-operate. one glitch that occurred both times was that the bleeder had to be reloosened halfway through, not sure why it creeped back closed. what a miserable place for a bleeder! love the truck other than that so far.
cheers