Pleasant clutch bleeding surprise folks. After half an hour of turning the bleeding valve a full turn with my vacuum machine attached to it (no freaking s p a c e -why the hell the system censors that word????) and no fluid, I knew I was dealing with a check valve. Got out from under the car, opened door, push clutch pedal with hand and it went in like butter. Did that 10 times more and I was done. Clutch worked perfectly after closing it. Next time it's going to take me 2 minutes after removing shield.
Here's the drill:
- Remove belly pan (3 screws in front, 2 in back, and 2 on each side).
- Remove cap from valve and loosen it one full turn with a 1/4" ratchet and 11mm standard socket.
- Valve will just spew fluid when you push the clutch pedal, so use any method you want to catch it that won't splash. This is a one-person job folks
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- Push clutch pedal slowly (and return slowly as well) about 10 times, and you're done.
- Screw valve clockwise with ratchet until you feel a 'click' and it stops turning. DO NOT apply too much force since it's PLASTIC.
- Reinstall belly pan and you're done. This is the easiest clutch I've ever bled, and the most effective way is by pushing the pedal, but I never do it that way since helper can screw up. No chance for that here; great feature
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By the way, rear brakes require a 9mm closed wrench and front 11mm, and are regular valves (the way I like them on the brakes). Job done in about an hour with a vacuum bleeder (the best way IMO). Fluid was clean (no debris inside the reservoir, like most of my new cars), which was good news, so no need to destroy the filter to clean the reservoir. Just amber in color. From now on will do it yearly, like all my other vehicles. Just $10 and an hour of my time. Well, probably 2 hours since I like to clean the undercarriage
. Hope this helps folks.