Tick Remote Clutch Bleeder Install

[h018871]

I had installed a separate reservoir for the clutch some time back and had purchased the remote bleeder before realizing that the transmission needed to be pulled for the installation. The bleeder sat on my toolbox ever since. I’ve been sucking the reservoir out and refilling, but the fluid never really gets clean. Well I had a free day today and decided I’d try to install it with the trans in the car.
A good background video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x5edLIp2CoM
This is how it worked out.

First step is to drain the line so that the bell housing does not get a bunch of DOT4 in it and possibly contaminate the clutch disk.
1). Locate the hydraulic line (notice the 1/4in breaker bar above the line, it is on the factory bleeder)
2). Pull the stainless clip down to release the connection (I used a small screwdriver that was bent 90deg). It was not tight, came apart quite easily.
3). Then let it drain into a pan………

[h018871]

Next remove the stock bleeder (8mm socket). Surprisingly it was just over hand tight. Be very careful as it should be unthreaded by hand and DO NOT DROP it into the bell housing or you will be pulling the trans!

[h018871]

I thought that the 1st picture would enable me to tighten the remote bleeder
But the 2nd setup worked out better (7/16in crow’s foot)

[h018871]

Be sure to tighten the adapter to the hose prior to installation

It was extremely fiddly getting the remote bleeder started in the slave cylinder. The drawing helped to understand where the hole would be. The hydraulic line is the lower port and the bleeder is the upper port. It took about 15min to get it started. This will be a luck thing, either it will go in easy or difficult, mine was about in the middle I suspect.
Then about the same amount of time to get it tightened with the crow’s foot. I was real careful not to pull it off while moving it around. The trick seemed to be to put the crow’s foot in the upper hole and steer it with the index and middle fingers of my second hand in the lower hole. I could feel it engage on both the hose nut and the adapter, this gave me more room to make sure the connection was tight. There is a gusset on the front of the transmission case, between the line and bleeder. This increased the challenge of getting the crow's foot on the new bleeder.

[h018871]

All that was left was to route the hose around the bell housing, toward the front of the engine and bleed the system.
The hose is pulled down for bleeding and tucked up out of the way for all other times

[GVA 45TH 2SS]

Pretty cool. How many times do you flush/drain it now?
Where did you get the remote bleeder from?

[h018871]

I'll flush when it gets dirty, the same as now ~ 6 weeks or so. Hopefully now it will be easier/quicker.
Tick performance is the supplier.

[GVA 45TH 2SS]

I hope its as good as I think it will be. I hate flushing mine, PITA trying to flush and fill without spilling on the paint.

[mp51998]

Awesome. I need to do this on both of my cars. One needs a clutch so I was gonna do it then but the other does not. Glad to know I can do it without dropping the transmission. Is the line not long enough to route up into the engine bay so I can keep an eye of the reservoir fluid level while using a vacuum pump? Thanks for posting this.

[h018871]

It is plenty long enough to get near the reservoir. I don't have a vacuum pump, that would be the best way to do it though. Post a how to for the pump, I'd like to see that!

[mp51998]

I got it at the auto parts store. It's called a Mighty Vac or something like that. It's just a hand held squeeze pump that creates a vacuum and pulls the fluid thru into a catch cup. Great for bleeding brakes and clutches. I've had it for 10 yrs or so. Relatively cheap. Less than 30 bucks and comes with a bunch of adapters.

[h018871]

that is something i need to add to my tool box! it will make the bleed/fluid change much easier. no need to drive up on ramps. thx for the tip mp51998

[patternpilot]

OP,
You are a brave man. You know that had you been unsuccessful you would have had to pull the trans. But it is nice to know that this can be accomplished. Congratulations. I may try to be this brave as well.

[h018871]

Originally Posted by patternpilot

OP,
You are a brave man. You know that had you been unsuccessful you would have had to pull the trans. But it is nice to know that this can be accomplished. Congratulations. I may try to be this brave as well.

to be honest..............i did not know the bleeder was that long! lol
my heart dropped, i thought the day was going to be a lot longer pulling the trans
i did get lucky for sure. it was not as bad as i thought it would be, just a bunch of patience and persistance.