2006 jetta tdi clutch slave won't bleed

RevvitupTDI

Member
Joined
Feb 9, 2009
Location
College Park MD
TDI
'06 Jetta
Was driving my 06 tdi when the clutch pedal went to the floorand wouldn't come back up. I replaced the slave and attempted to bleed it the old fashioned way, someone depressing the clutch while I opened the bleeder but nothing happened.

I did some reading online and and found I needed a pressure bleeder so I ordered the motive bleeder online. Once I got the bleeder I tried again, still nothing... no pressure at the pedal and nothing coming out of the slave cylinder.

Before I buy new clutch master cylinder is there av nothing I might be missing or doing wrong with the motive bleeder?

Any help or advice will be greatly appreciated! thanks in advance

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narongc73

Veteran Member
Joined
Nov 14, 2005
Location
VA/OH
TDI
2006 Jetta TDI
When the master fails, usually there is no leak externally. It's internal. So yes it's def the master. It's fun to remove and install :D
 

tactdi

Veteran Member
Joined
Jun 21, 2010
Location
North Carolina
TDI
2005.5 Jetta
Look up removing and replacing the Master. The master is plastic, and has tabs that hold it to the firewall. You turn the Master anti-clockwise to remove, which is
easy, use a pair of pliers to turn the Master. Installing is a pain, since it is very tight, and you need to use pliers and a rag to prevent damaging the Master, and you also have to be very careful, not to break any part of the plastic Master, and make sure the Master is fully seated.

Also be careful removing/installing the Master pushrod from the pedal, it is also plastic, and is held to the pedal with a two part plastic
wedge that is placed into the pedal.
 
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narongc73

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Joined
Nov 14, 2005
Location
VA/OH
TDI
2006 Jetta TDI
It was easier for me just to take the whole shifter pedal off. Might as well buy the plastic clip just in case.
 

RevvitupTDI

Member
Joined
Feb 9, 2009
Location
College Park MD
TDI
'06 Jetta
Look up removing and replacing the Master. The master is plastic, and has tabs that hold it to the firewall. You turn the Master anti-clockwise to remove, which is
easy, use a pair of pliers to turn the Master. Installing is a pain, since it is very tight, and you need to use pliers and a rag to prevent damaging the Master, and you also have to be very careful, not to break any part of the plastic Master, and make sure the Master is fully seated.

Also be careful removing/installing the Master pushrod from the pedal, it is also plastic, and is held to the pedal with a two part plastic
wedge that is placed into the pedal.
So the master can be removed from the engine compartment without removing the whole pedal assembly? Also the replacement master seems to have a plug in the side that i don't think the original has, will that make a difference?
 

JETaah

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Jan 18, 2001
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mi 48836
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96 B4V, 1999.5 jettaIV,2005 BEW Beetle
Some of the clutch slave bleeder screws require unscrewing them 2-3 full turns before it opens the system. Make sure it is not that first.
 

tactdi

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Jun 21, 2010
Location
North Carolina
TDI
2005.5 Jetta
Right, the master can be removed and is removed without removing the pedal assembly. Just remove the wedge for the push rod from the pedal, and unplug the clutch interlock plug on the master.

If you are talking about the wire connector plug on the side of the master, that is the connection for the clutch interlock wiring. There is a nipple on the top of the master that is the hose from the fluid reservoir, and a female connector on the bottom for the metal line going to the slave cylinder.
 

RevvitupTDI

Member
Joined
Feb 9, 2009
Location
College Park MD
TDI
'06 Jetta
Right, the master can be removed and is removed without removing the pedal assembly. Just remove the wedge for the push rod from the pedal, and unplug the clutch interlock plug on the master.
If you are talking about the wire connector plug on the side of the master, that is the connection for the clutch interlock wiring. There is a nipple on the top of the master that is the hose from the fluid reservoir, and a female connector on the bottom for the metal line going to the slave cylinder.
I've been struggling with this for a few days now and I can't get the clutch master to budge. I was able to get everything out of the way except for a few cables from the wiring harness and I still can't seem to get a good enough grip to get the master to twist at all.

I tried taking the bottom part of the dash apart to try to pull the pedal assembly out but still can't seem to get to the top bolt. I've never had an auto repair get me to to the point where I was ready to give up and admit defeat but this has me pretty close.

I'm reluctant to disassemble the car much further because I'm working on it on the street in front of my house but there has to be something I'm missing here
 

tactdi

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Jun 21, 2010
Location
North Carolina
TDI
2005.5 Jetta
Communication failure, so sorry.

You do not have to remove the bolts holding the bracket for the pedal assembly
from inside the car. Just pop the plastic wedge out of the clutch pedal using some
flat screwdrivers or pry to clutch master rod (has a ball at the end of the rod, that goes into the clutch pedal), to release it from the pedal assembly.

Then in the engine compartment, remove the air filter assembly, and the MAF hose that connects to the short hose to the turbo. Remove the battery, and
behind the battery your will find the master, using pliers twist the master counterclockwise. Then remove the hose from the fluid reservoir, plug it with something to prevent loss of fluid, and the metal hose going to the slave. Then disconnect the clutch interlock wire connection.
 

narongc73

Veteran Member
Joined
Nov 14, 2005
Location
VA/OH
TDI
2006 Jetta TDI
You can do it the way tactdi says but like I said before, easier to just take the whole assembly out.
 

RevvitupTDI

Member
Joined
Feb 9, 2009
Location
College Park MD
TDI
'06 Jetta
The weather here has been awful lately and I haven't been able to work on the car as much as I would have liked BUT I'm making progress.
I cobbled together a tool the other day and it worked like a charm! The old master cylinder is out and once the new retaining clip for the clutch pedal gets here the new one will be going in. Thanks for all the info and advice, it was much appreciated!
The tool I made fits in between the tabs molded into the base of the master cylinder and makes it easy to twist the master in and out of the pedal assy where I could barely get my hand in there to get a good grip before.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/bpt0BoAzWTtmLdNj1
https://photos.app.goo.gl/yC0ctvNO9rjfb1sv2
https://photos.app.goo.gl/jHGpD6E5xi45S4yK2
 
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RevvitupTDI

Member
Joined
Feb 9, 2009
Location
College Park MD
TDI
'06 Jetta
So the tool I fabbed up worked great for removing and reinstalling the master cylinder so i started the bleed process.

Between YouTube. Videos and various forum searches I'm getting conflicting methods for bleeding The clutch. Most show pumping the pedal then leaving it down to the floor others say pump the pedal than leave the pedal up while opening the bleed screw and they usually get pedal pressure after doing a handful of times.
I've been trying mostly the first method in conjunction with a motive pressure bleeder and i can't seem to get more than a little sputter when i open the screw and no pedal pressure.

Does anyone have a detailed bleeding procedure they can post up or have any idea what I'm doing wrong? I really need to get this car back on the road
 

narongc73

Veteran Member
Joined
Nov 14, 2005
Location
VA/OH
TDI
2006 Jetta TDI
If you're using a pressure bleeder, there's nothing you need to do besides loosening the screw after it's been pressurized. At least that how I did it. If it's not working, you may have some other issues. Bleeding a clutch is just as easy as brakes. Basically I pressurize, open bleed screw, say half of the way and tighten back up. That is it.
 

narongc73

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Joined
Nov 14, 2005
Location
VA/OH
TDI
2006 Jetta TDI
Also are you sure the brake reservoir line isn't clogged? Did you see fluid come out if you disconnect the line?
 

RevvitupTDI

Member
Joined
Feb 9, 2009
Location
College Park MD
TDI
'06 Jetta
I pulled both lines off to double check that they were not clogged prior to the last post and reconnected everything. Pumped up the bleeder and got flow out of the bleeder screw closed closed it up when the air stopped. Had good pedal feel so I disconnected everything and lost the pedal right to the floor. Did this 3 times same result
 

narongc73

Veteran Member
Joined
Nov 14, 2005
Location
VA/OH
TDI
2006 Jetta TDI
it's not the slave. Did you replace the clutch line too? That's the only other thing left.
 

tactdi

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Joined
Jun 21, 2010
Location
North Carolina
TDI
2005.5 Jetta
From what I found bleeding my slave cylinder, is that one only needs to crack the bleed screw very little, and a little fluid will flow out. If you open the bleed screw too much, air gets in through the threads, putting an air bubble back in the system.

Do you have a helper to press on the clutch pedal as you open the bleed screw? Try having the helper only press half way down on the clutch pedal, then open the bleed screw a little, until fluid flows out, then have the helper press all the way down, then close the bleed screw. Try this several times.

I found a trick on a forum (can't find that forum or the thread), to reverse bleed the clutch slave.
Since the brakes and the clutch share the same reservoir, I connected a tube between the front brake caliper (drivers side) bleed screw, and the clutch slave bleed screw. I opened both bleed screws, and pumped the brake pedal slowly to force fluid from the brake caliper into the clutch slave and up to the master cylinder, pushing the air bubbles up. After a number of pumps and ensured the tube between the caliper and slave was full of fluid, and that I felt the fluid had flowed up from the slave into the master, I closed both bleed screws, and then carefully removed the tube that was full of fluid.

This helped give me a solid clutch pedal.
 

RevvitupTDI

Member
Joined
Feb 9, 2009
Location
College Park MD
TDI
'06 Jetta
whats happening is that when I have the motive pressure bleeder connected to the system I am currently getting a good flow of fluid with no sputtering or air escaping. the clutch pedal feels good when the motive bleeder is attached.

once I disconnect the pressure bleeder and depress the pedal it goes right to the floor. I'm getting good clean fluid out of the slave when the pressure bleeder is connected but I'm still getting a dead pedal
 

narongc73

Veteran Member
Joined
Nov 14, 2005
Location
VA/OH
TDI
2006 Jetta TDI
whats happening is that when I have the motive pressure bleeder connected to the system I am currently getting a good flow of fluid with no sputtering or air escaping. the clutch pedal feels good when the motive bleeder is attached.

once I disconnect the pressure bleeder and depress the pedal it goes right to the floor. I'm getting good clean fluid out of the slave when the pressure bleeder is connected but I'm still getting a dead pedal
It's really pretty basic. Either there is a leak somewhere or there air in the system. Don't know what to tell you.
 

RevvitupTDI

Member
Joined
Feb 9, 2009
Location
College Park MD
TDI
'06 Jetta
It's really pretty basic. Either there is a leak somewhere or there air in the system. Don't know what to tell you.
Yeah I know, I was just trying to rule out anything I may have been doing wrong through process of elimination and everyone's input helped me greatly throughout the process. Turns out my clutch and throw out bearing are toast too. Looks like I'm in for an expensive repair.

Thanks again for all the help, it was greatly appreciated
 
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