This is the second time (in a separate aw11) that I have had hydraulic clutch issues (pedal went straight to the floor with no resistance). I've decided to put it all in here, for anyone else who has to go through this, and in case I ever have to do this again:
#1) If you're going to replace the slave cylinder, also replace the master cylinder (or vice versa). You're going to get air in the lines, so you might as well do it all at once. Also, if you're unlucky one new end which holds pressure really well now causes the other end to leak - where it never did before (found this out the hard way).
#2) When ordering parts, make sure to order the crush washers as well, and make sure they are the right ones (close doesn't count, and it's best to get them from the dealership if the local parts store doesn't have the right size) This took me an evening to figure out, and forced me to disconnect everything again, and have to re-bleed the system again.
If you know your clutch keeps loosing fluid, order ALL the parts now, before you start the job. (This was not my daily driver, so I didn't care that it took 4 days for the slave to come in). Also, the slave cylinder from a 4age corolla, is not good enough unless you like bleeding the clutch in the engine bay. The bleeder tube will not mate up with it. (even though the parts catalog shows all the essential parts are the same)
#3) For god's sake, remove the front strut tower bar. (If you have one).
This really reduces the amount of brake fluid you will spill. (I wiped off a fair bit of paint before I smartened up)
#4) Inspect everything that you get compared to the parts that you take off.
On the rebuilt Master Cylinder, the push rod was 1/2" shorter then the stock one. This took me an evening to figure out, and forced me to disconnect everything again, and have to re-bleed the system again. Also it's possible that they send you the wrong part, and wouldn't it suck if the bore diameter was different? (what I thought my problem was at first)
#5) You don't need to bench bleed the master/slave. I never did before.
Sadly, this is a luck of the draw thing. The first time I was fine. This time I was not. After 3 nights of various issues, I took it all apart, and bled it out of the car, then put the little dust plugs back in. (dripped less fluid everywhere) Also, you don't really need a vice to bench bleed the parts.
Just make sure that you aim ALL holes away from you when playing with it.
Having to stand under the shower for five minutes while flushing out your eye really slows down the work session.
#6) bolt down the master/slave just enough that they won't fall off, but nothing more. This gives you more wiggle room to attach the brake lines.
Also, you will probably have to bend them a little to get them to re-attach even though you think it shouldn't. Don't let this scare you. This took me an evening to figure out.
#6) Don't assume that the brake line mounting holes will follow the shape of the casting. Mine were off center, and really confused attaching the lines.
#7) Don't forget to remove the clip on the bleeder line at the bleeder bolt.
It's nearly impossible to hook up the line again without the extra wiggle this provides.
#8) Line wrenches are really helpful, and worth their weight in gold. It's not to prevent you from stripping the nuts/threads (like I first thought) it's that they let you push on and bend lines while attaching them. You just can't do the same with a normal wrench.
#9) You're bleeding bolt can leak, and because there's a tube over it, you'll never likely see it. Wrap the threads (and just the threads) in Teflon tape to get an air tight seal. This took me an evening to figure out, and forced me to re-bleed the system again.
#10) You don't need 2 people to bleed a clutch. It can be a one person job.
Take a 4 foot long piece of rope, and tie a medium sized loop in the end of it. Next thread it through a 3 foot piece of metal tubing/pipe, so that the loop is hanging out of one end, and the other can be pulled from the opposite end.
Now you can put the loop around the clutch pedal, snug it up, and the pipe will rest on the clutch pedal. This means you can pump the clutch while laying on the ground reaching under the car to the bleeder. Just make sure that you don't run out of fluid in the reservoir (this is really REALLY REALLY easy to do, and then you have to start bleeding it all over again). If you've got long legs, you can skip the pole entirely and just use your foot on the clutch.
More people do make it easier though, and the moral support is nice. If you're going to get one helper, get two. One to pump the clutch, and one to fill the fluid reservoir. Make sure the reservoir person is not a Muppet. They need to be a person you trust, and have steady hands.... and use a funnel... and remove the float before adding the fluid.
#11) Vacuum bleeders should be the ideal solution. The parts stores will even let you borrow them. It didn't work out well though. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't get the fluid collection bottle to seal. The better solution was the $6 giant syringe for mixing coolant. The store called it the "Mix Mizer" and when I put tubing on it, it could single handedly drain the clutch fluid reservoir.
It only took me 2 hours the first time I did this job on my other MR2.
Learning all these things the hard way took me two weeks spread over 6 working nights. (2-3 hour stints each).
If I had of done all this stuff from the start, it would have taken me 3 hours total.
My advice:
Spend the 3 hours and do all the stuff the first time that you never thought you needed to do. It's much faster.
#1) If you're going to replace the slave cylinder, also replace the master cylinder (or vice versa). You're going to get air in the lines, so you might as well do it all at once. Also, if you're unlucky one new end which holds pressure really well now causes the other end to leak - where it never did before (found this out the hard way).
#2) When ordering parts, make sure to order the crush washers as well, and make sure they are the right ones (close doesn't count, and it's best to get them from the dealership if the local parts store doesn't have the right size) This took me an evening to figure out, and forced me to disconnect everything again, and have to re-bleed the system again.
If you know your clutch keeps loosing fluid, order ALL the parts now, before you start the job. (This was not my daily driver, so I didn't care that it took 4 days for the slave to come in). Also, the slave cylinder from a 4age corolla, is not good enough unless you like bleeding the clutch in the engine bay. The bleeder tube will not mate up with it. (even though the parts catalog shows all the essential parts are the same)
#3) For god's sake, remove the front strut tower bar. (If you have one).
This really reduces the amount of brake fluid you will spill. (I wiped off a fair bit of paint before I smartened up)
#4) Inspect everything that you get compared to the parts that you take off.
On the rebuilt Master Cylinder, the push rod was 1/2" shorter then the stock one. This took me an evening to figure out, and forced me to disconnect everything again, and have to re-bleed the system again. Also it's possible that they send you the wrong part, and wouldn't it suck if the bore diameter was different? (what I thought my problem was at first)
#5) You don't need to bench bleed the master/slave. I never did before.
Sadly, this is a luck of the draw thing. The first time I was fine. This time I was not. After 3 nights of various issues, I took it all apart, and bled it out of the car, then put the little dust plugs back in. (dripped less fluid everywhere) Also, you don't really need a vice to bench bleed the parts.
Just make sure that you aim ALL holes away from you when playing with it.
Having to stand under the shower for five minutes while flushing out your eye really slows down the work session.
#6) bolt down the master/slave just enough that they won't fall off, but nothing more. This gives you more wiggle room to attach the brake lines.
Also, you will probably have to bend them a little to get them to re-attach even though you think it shouldn't. Don't let this scare you. This took me an evening to figure out.
#6) Don't assume that the brake line mounting holes will follow the shape of the casting. Mine were off center, and really confused attaching the lines.
#7) Don't forget to remove the clip on the bleeder line at the bleeder bolt.
It's nearly impossible to hook up the line again without the extra wiggle this provides.
#8) Line wrenches are really helpful, and worth their weight in gold. It's not to prevent you from stripping the nuts/threads (like I first thought) it's that they let you push on and bend lines while attaching them. You just can't do the same with a normal wrench.
#9) You're bleeding bolt can leak, and because there's a tube over it, you'll never likely see it. Wrap the threads (and just the threads) in Teflon tape to get an air tight seal. This took me an evening to figure out, and forced me to re-bleed the system again.
#10) You don't need 2 people to bleed a clutch. It can be a one person job.
Take a 4 foot long piece of rope, and tie a medium sized loop in the end of it. Next thread it through a 3 foot piece of metal tubing/pipe, so that the loop is hanging out of one end, and the other can be pulled from the opposite end.
Now you can put the loop around the clutch pedal, snug it up, and the pipe will rest on the clutch pedal. This means you can pump the clutch while laying on the ground reaching under the car to the bleeder. Just make sure that you don't run out of fluid in the reservoir (this is really REALLY REALLY easy to do, and then you have to start bleeding it all over again). If you've got long legs, you can skip the pole entirely and just use your foot on the clutch.
More people do make it easier though, and the moral support is nice. If you're going to get one helper, get two. One to pump the clutch, and one to fill the fluid reservoir. Make sure the reservoir person is not a Muppet. They need to be a person you trust, and have steady hands.... and use a funnel... and remove the float before adding the fluid.
#11) Vacuum bleeders should be the ideal solution. The parts stores will even let you borrow them. It didn't work out well though. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't get the fluid collection bottle to seal. The better solution was the $6 giant syringe for mixing coolant. The store called it the "Mix Mizer" and when I put tubing on it, it could single handedly drain the clutch fluid reservoir.
It only took me 2 hours the first time I did this job on my other MR2.
Learning all these things the hard way took me two weeks spread over 6 working nights. (2-3 hour stints each).
If I had of done all this stuff from the start, it would have taken me 3 hours total.
My advice:
Spend the 3 hours and do all the stuff the first time that you never thought you needed to do. It's much faster.
