Hey! So I know there's a lot of material out there on how to properly bleed your clutch, but I decided to make a guide since me and the shop that worked on my car made some stupid mistakes on it. So!
While I'm doing this on a 2.4, I assume the process is the same for the 3.8.
If your clutch has uneven pressure, or the pedal "sags", or the friction point isn't where it's supposed to be, you might need to bleed your clutch. It's very simple to do, and it takes maybe thirty minutes.
Remove the air box if you have the stock intake.
You will need:
10mm socket
Brake bleeder kit
A friend/other person
Go out to an auto parts store and get a brake bleeder kit. Do not get a vacuum bleeder! (That's how the shop broke my clutch cylinder.) It's literally a little plastic bottle with some tubing and some attachments, and I think it was $10. Also, get some brake fluid. If you've had the ABS recall done, use DOT4. If not, get it done and use DOT4. You'll probably want the bigger bottle. Mine was completely dry after that shop and I attempted multiple bleeds in vain.
There are different lengths of tube in the bleeder kit, I used the shorter one, about 6 inches. The one I got (and the one you will get) has a magnet so you can attach it to a nearby piece of metal. I stuck mine on the fan, but I also rested it on the slave cylinder at different points of the bleeding.
This is how you should have it set up at this point. One end of the tubing is on the bleeder nipple, and the other on the bleeder bottle. Put a little brake fluid
![Image]()
Our clutch cylinder pulls brake fluid from the brake fluid reservoir, but I what I did not know is that it had a section completely sequestered off from the rest of the brake fluid, nor did I know that there was a little plastic filter thing that sifted out contaminants. Take that out before you start, but be aware of stuff getting into the reservoir.
![Image]()
So, basically, don't let that little section run dry, or your life is going to get really annoying.
You will most likely need a friend! The general process is this: Open the bleeder screw on the slave cylinder, push in the clutch, close the bleeder screw, let out the clutch.
![Image]()
Do this multiple times until you don't see air. How much air should you expect? Don't know. A good rule of thumb is to fill the reservoir all the way up to the brim and keep bleeding until it gets to the "MAX" line, and then empty the bottle. Mine took forever because I let it go dry. It took about 45 minutes.
Once your tube looks like this:
![Image]()
Close the bleeder screw and make sure it's tight. Fill the brake reservoir to the brim once more.
Now time for the slave cylinder. What? It's already bled? WRONG. I circled the little air bubble that was left over from the first time I bled the slave. This process is exactly the same as the master cylinder, except you don't need a friend.
Open the bleeder screw, push the clutch fork TOWARDS the slave cylinder. Close the bleeder screw. Let the fork go, you'll see it slowly return to where it should be. Repeat until you don't have air coming out, and you have a constant stream of brake fluid. Refill the reservoir as needed, and test it out.
I noticed right away that my clutch was more responsive than ever before, so it must have had issues prior.
Don't take it to a shop to do this! This is something super simple that anybody can do.
While I'm doing this on a 2.4, I assume the process is the same for the 3.8.
If your clutch has uneven pressure, or the pedal "sags", or the friction point isn't where it's supposed to be, you might need to bleed your clutch. It's very simple to do, and it takes maybe thirty minutes.
Remove the air box if you have the stock intake.
You will need:
10mm socket
Brake bleeder kit
A friend/other person
Go out to an auto parts store and get a brake bleeder kit. Do not get a vacuum bleeder! (That's how the shop broke my clutch cylinder.) It's literally a little plastic bottle with some tubing and some attachments, and I think it was $10. Also, get some brake fluid. If you've had the ABS recall done, use DOT4. If not, get it done and use DOT4. You'll probably want the bigger bottle. Mine was completely dry after that shop and I attempted multiple bleeds in vain.
There are different lengths of tube in the bleeder kit, I used the shorter one, about 6 inches. The one I got (and the one you will get) has a magnet so you can attach it to a nearby piece of metal. I stuck mine on the fan, but I also rested it on the slave cylinder at different points of the bleeding.
This is how you should have it set up at this point. One end of the tubing is on the bleeder nipple, and the other on the bleeder bottle. Put a little brake fluid
Our clutch cylinder pulls brake fluid from the brake fluid reservoir, but I what I did not know is that it had a section completely sequestered off from the rest of the brake fluid, nor did I know that there was a little plastic filter thing that sifted out contaminants. Take that out before you start, but be aware of stuff getting into the reservoir.
So, basically, don't let that little section run dry, or your life is going to get really annoying.
You will most likely need a friend! The general process is this: Open the bleeder screw on the slave cylinder, push in the clutch, close the bleeder screw, let out the clutch.
Do this multiple times until you don't see air. How much air should you expect? Don't know. A good rule of thumb is to fill the reservoir all the way up to the brim and keep bleeding until it gets to the "MAX" line, and then empty the bottle. Mine took forever because I let it go dry. It took about 45 minutes.
Once your tube looks like this:
Close the bleeder screw and make sure it's tight. Fill the brake reservoir to the brim once more.
Now time for the slave cylinder. What? It's already bled? WRONG. I circled the little air bubble that was left over from the first time I bled the slave. This process is exactly the same as the master cylinder, except you don't need a friend.
Open the bleeder screw, push the clutch fork TOWARDS the slave cylinder. Close the bleeder screw. Let the fork go, you'll see it slowly return to where it should be. Repeat until you don't have air coming out, and you have a constant stream of brake fluid. Refill the reservoir as needed, and test it out.
I noticed right away that my clutch was more responsive than ever before, so it must have had issues prior.
Don't take it to a shop to do this! This is something super simple that anybody can do.
