How to bleed that hydraulic clutch in a Ranger and Explorer

The video is great explaining the process and for new installations. But what if you need to bleed one that is already on the truck.

Bleeding the slave is straigh forward as shown in the video.

Bleeding the master cylinder is a challenge as air bubbles get trapped in it. These air bubbles cannot be bled out unless you either tilt your truck up at about a 45 deg angle (very difficult and dangerous) or pull out the clutch master and tilt it up. I did the second option. Here's how to do it.

1. Unbolt the clutch reservoir, and feed it thru like you might be replacing it and its hose. You want to get the clutch reservoir into a position that will keep the hoses straight and as high above everything else -- bubbles tend to rise.

2. Disconnect the starter disconnect switch from the clutch master. Disconnect the end of the clutch push rod from pedal (you won't have to remove it from the master). Unhook the master to slave hose from the body if necessary (mine was tied to the frame/body at one or two points) -- you don't have to disconnect it from the slave.

3. Twist out the master from the pedal frame assembly (90deg turn). Pull the master and grommet loose from the truck firewall. Everything will be loose at this point.

You're almost there.

4. With a helper holding the reservoir up (so that it doesn't flop over and drain out) gently work the master out of the firewall. The master, the grommet, and the rod will come out together. Be sure not to pull too hard on the hose, and disconnect or move anything that might be holding it to the body.

5. When you're done with #4 you'll basically have the reservoir at the high point (in your helpers hand), the master next, and the slave at the bottom, all connected with their respective hoses. It looks a bit like the video. These are the steps you might take to replace everything anyway but here we are just bleeding it.

6. As soon as you tilt the master cylinder downward (it is usually pointing up at about 45deg) you should be able to see a few bubbles in the reservoir. You can try to push on the clutch rod and tap on the lines as shown in the video to remove any other bubbles.

7. You're done. Installation is in reverse. Be sure to keep the reservoir as high and as level as possible, you don't want bubbles getting back into the lines. I worked the master and reservoir into their respective places at about the same time. Make sure the hoses get clamped to the body and that nothing gets kinked. You can check bleed the slave again as shown in the video if you want. Refill the reservoir as necessary.

Hope this helps.

not sure of bellhousing design on this specific transmission, but i had trouble bleeding the tr3650 in my mustang after clutch replacement... looked back thru pics and noticed something- on THAT transmission, the slave comes out out the top of the slave(of course) but then bends down 1/2" to the hole in the bell...the resultant trap makes bleeding a bear. vacuum bleeding worked enough to barely drive the thing, but after looking at pics, seeing the trap, drove the car onto a hill/curb, to get drivers side about 6" higher than passenger, and slightly nose down...hit it with vacuum one time, got a ton of bubbles and good as new... a mustang basically cant be completely bled unless drivers side high.

pic shows idea of slave exit to bellhousing hole issue (on a mustang 3650- but maybe similar on other models?)