Hi Everyone,

Our car is a Mazda 1995 Protege LX, stick shift.
And it has a hydraulic clutch. For some reason the container for the clutch fluid was empty(leak maybe or it just evaporated or something.)

Now our clutch isn't working, like with no pressure on it, it's just loose. The car is blocked by snow so we can't even get AAA to tow it to the mechanic. So we want to try bleeding the clutch ourselves, since we've been told it's very possible that there's air in there.

We've been searching the web but we can't really find a good "how to" for doing this. The steps seem simple but locating the parts that are involved in the bleeding process isn't clear.

Neither of us really know anything about cars so we need a "for dummies" kind of answer and preferably a video or at least pictures showing where the parts are.

Or if anyone knows how to get to the slave cylinder that would be great help too.

Thank you very much in advance!

 

Hi Parsa,

I own a 99 Pro with a 1.6 and 5-speed. Although some things are/may be different between our vehicles and I am working off off memory here, hopefully, this will be enough to help. I replaced my clutch a couple of years ago and went through the bleeding process of the clutch slave cylinder afterwards.

Sorry, but I don't have any photos to help you, so I will try to describe the procedure as straightforward as possible. Other members here may be able to post some pics for you later or provide more accurate info.

First off, the container for the clutch fluid on mine is actually the brake master cylinder. There is a hose that comes off of the right side of the container (the reservoir) and goes to the clutch master cylinder located to the right and just below the Brake fluid reservoir. From there, fluid is routed down to the clutch "slave" cylinder (via a small metal line) next to the transmission bell housing (where the clutch is behind the engine). On top of this slave cylinder is a small bleeder screw near where the fluid line connects to it. This bleeder screw looks similar to a regular screw except it has a hole in it's center and a hex head where you loosen/tighten it with an appropriate sized wrench (6 or 7 mm, I think....)

Now, before I go any further, a word of caution here. If your fluid routing setup is the same as mine, i.e. - the fluid reservoir is actually the BRAKE master cylinder and not a separate clutch fluid reservoir, and it was empty, then you most likely have air in your brake system too (as well as a possible leak in the brake lines, etc....). That means that you have more than one issue to deal with. The brake fluid, which operates the clutch on my car as well, does not just evaporate, there is something funny going on there that seriously needs to be looked at. While you may be able to get your clutch to work with these instructions, your brakes may suffer (be really spongy) or fail if there is indeed air in those lines as well. If your vehicle has a stand alone clutch fluid reservoir (separate from the brake system), then forget about the brake warning in this paragraph, except that you still have a leak issue somewhere in the clutch fluid system.....

With that being said, first make sure that the reservoir is topped off with the appropriate fluid. In my situation, that is DOT 3 brake fluid. Make sure about yours before adding fluid. Next, you need to locate the clutch slave cylinder. On mine, it is located where the transmission is bolted to the engine, near the front engine mount between the engine and radiator. It may be easier to see from under the front of the vehicle (may need to remove a plastic air dam section under the driver side bumper). The bleeder screw may or may not have a little rubber cap on it that needs to be removed. For my setup, it easy to get to if I remove the plastic air intake assembly that connects to the air filter box (and I can reach it from above. In any case, it "should" be fairly easy to locate with a little detective effort.

NOTE: one thing I like to do is use a short piece of clear vinyl hose that will fit onto the bleed screw outlet (above the hex head) so that I can route the fluid that will come out away from my hands and into a container for proper disposal later. Your call....

Once you locate the slave cylinder on the transmission and have your tools and so forth ready, here is how to bleed the system:

1. With a helper in the driver seat, loosen the slave cylinder bleed screw (1/4 turn should be enough). Once the screw is loose, have the helper slowly press down on the clutch pedal and hold it down on the floor. You should see/hear fluid and/or air bubbles coming out of the hole in the bleed screw as the pedal is being depressed.

2. When the clutch pedal is all the way down, close (tighten) the bleed screw. Have the helper then slowly release the clutch pedal until it is all the way back up.

3. Repeat steps 1 and 2 until you have a clear stream of fluid (no air bubbles) coming out of the bleed screw when the helper presses the clutch pedal. Keep the reservoir filled as necessary during this procedure to make sure no additional air gets into the system while you are bleeding the system. It should take no more than a 5 or 6 pumps of the clutch pedal to clear out the air from the line if done properly.

4. If you are satisfied that the air is gone, watch the action of the clutch slave cylinder shaft pushing against the clutch lever when the helper pushes the clutch pedal down. The piston/lever should move about an inch or so in each direction indicating that it is operating properly. Also check for any obvious leaks in the system at this time.

5. Put everything back together and give it a try.

I hope this helps and I hope that you don't have more major issues with the brakes if the reservoir for the clutch fluid is actually the brake master cylinder reservoir. If you don't feel comfortable trying this repair, by all means get it checked out by a competent mechanic. Better to be safe...Good Luck

Jim

 

This info is for the 1996 Protege which I assume is similar to your vehicle:

 

Thank you very much guys for the replies and so so sorry for the late reply on my part.

We ended up managing to take the car to the mechanic. He said it had a leak somewhere in the slave cylinder if I'm remembering correctly.

But one odd thing was that our mechanic said that he had changed the same part two years ago. When I asked why this happened again he said the only thing he could guess was that since we didn't drive our car that much the parts may get rusty. We live in New England so it may be all the salt and cold....?

Again thanks!!!!

 

I replaced both the clutch master cylinder and the slave cylinder today on a 1998 protégé 1.5. I am having trouble getting it bled. I got a little fluid out of the slave the first couple of times but now nothing. also it doesn't seem that the shaft that pushes in the plunger on the slave is moving at all. I also opened the line on the bottom of the clutch master cylinder and have no fluid coming out of it. Are there any other adjustments that need made or could it be the master cylinder is faulty? Should I buy one of the air bleeders? Any help is appreciated!

 

its a bit late to reply to this thread however the thing is people who have hydraulic clutches believe that there is no adjustment neccesary on the pedal, but there is, sounds like your pedal needs adjusting, i replaced a clutch kit on a isuzu/holden ute, removeed the gearbox did everything right, i even bled the clutch however clutch was slipping on further research i found out that if the pedals are not adjusted then the clutch will slip even on hydraulic clutches an adjustment is neccesary, if your pedal adjustment is not correct its not going to push the lever in on the slave cylinder is it