A quick and dirty clutch pressure bleeder

Just found a new tool for the toolbox. Thanks for the great tip

Why not just drive it home, or at least to a more civilized place? That's what I do when the clutch line pops loose! Start it in first gear and be careful shifting, be sure to follow through.

Dave Hinz introduced me to the IV method of clutch bleeding which I have used twice now on mid 80's 900 Turbos:

Connect the bottom half of a turkey baster to a piece of plastic hose then to the bleed nipple. Keep the baster level about 2-3 feet (1 m) above the slave cylinder. Fill the baster and hose with brake fluid and keep it full. Open the bleed nipple. Gravity will push the fluid back into the reservoir and get rid of the air.

Put the bulb back on the turkey baster to suck the excess fluid out of the reservoir.

Works great!

Charles

Nice idea, but the place where it broke down was on a winding mountain road and there would have been 20km and dozens and dozens of gear changes to get to a better location. In addition, once off the mountain the summer holdiday traffic was stop start. Better to wait for the truck than risk hurting the 'box in those conditions.

....there's nothing like desperation to make you come up with solutions - well done! It's great to hear of situations where human ingenuity triumphs without resorting to a technician with a black box...! And in case you're wondering, I've got nothing against techies, but generally you don't find them half-way up a mountain when your clutch is lunched...

Next turkey must taste funny?

OK, I understand it is not a lot of fun to drive without a clutch in less than ideal conditions, which sounds like your case. Also the situation you describe sounds like it would increase the damage beyond just the clutch!

Charles