Clutch pedal stuck to floor after clutch job

[gonzojive]

Months ago, I unplugged the clutch hydraulic line going into the slave cylinder when pulling the transmission as part of a clutch disk replacement. I remember at least a cup or two of fluid coming out. Today I hooked the hydraulic line back up to the slave cylinder and bled the clutch with a Motive Power Bleeder. However, my clutch pedal is still stuck to the floor. So I'm trying to diagnose the issue.

I followed the procedure in the Bentley manual for the clutch bleed (hopefully). A few notes:
- During the clutch job, I replaced flywheel, clutch disk, throwout bearing

- As first step in the bleed I pressed the clutch pedal to the floor by hand. It wanted to snap to the floor, as the the manual mentioned would happen: "As there is no system pressure, servo kinematic effects will cause the clutch pedal to move forward abruptly. In order to avoid damage, the pedal must be guided manually."

- I haven't started the car yet or pumped the pedal except to test it once after the bleed. I thought after the bleed the clutch pedal would operate as usual, but it still sticks to the floor.

- The Motive bleeder I used came with a broken pressure gauge, so I'm not sure of the exact pressure I applied.

- About 12 oz of fluid came out the bleeder valve of the slave cylinder. It took ten minutes or so of bleeding for this amount of fluid to come out. After about 5 minutes, I saw no more bubbles but kept going to make sure.

So I'm trying to figure out if this pedal should still be sticking to the floor. And if it isn't, where could I have gone wrong?

[JAAY]

Did you bleed all the brake lines too? It is all one system. There is a procedure for that too.

[ppbon]

... pull the clutch pedal back with your hand.
That's normal after a clutch bleed.
Happy Boxstering,
Pedro

[gonzojive]

Originally Posted by ppbon

... pull the clutch pedal back with your hand.
That's normal after a clutch bleed.
Happy Boxstering,
Pedro

Thanks. For clarity, I did pull the pedal back up by hand, but when I press it down again it snaps back down all the way to the floor. Still normal?

I didn't bleed the brake lines yet.

[healthservices]

Originally Posted by ppbon

... pull the clutch pedal back with your hand.
That's normal after a clutch bleed.
Happy Boxstering,
Pedro

Keep Pumping it. Pedal should firm up and stay up. As you bleed and make sure of two things the piston did not fall out of the clutch slave and there is constantly fluid in the master

[Redboxs]

Not trying to hijack thread, but I have an almost similar problem. I had my clutch done at a local shop.. Ever since, if I am shifting ummmm, 'aggressively'... The clutch will stay at the floor for a second or two. I very rarely shift hard. And honestly, ever since my CV axle fell off while I was on the highway, I quit driving it hard. I have this constant fear that my tiny puny pint sized clutch can't handle anything more than a soft slow granny shift. It's very sad

PS
I understand the need for precise shifts, smooth shifts, as they are more rewarding than slamming through the gears.

[watsongrg]

If you ever get into a bind and vacuum the clutch pedal to the floor and it wont come back up,
you can actually backfill the clutch curcuit from a brake caliper. Attach a length of bleed hose from your left rear brake caliper bleeder to the clutch slave bleeder. Open slave bleeder then the caliper bleeder and start gently pumping the brake pedal. This will backfill the system and raise the clutch pedal. you can do this as long as you want, its a closed cucuit sending air and fuild right back to the reservoir. So should have the reservoir cap off. Its genius and it works.
For a front wheel drive car with clutch bleeder up front, use the front left brake caliper.

food for thought.....Here are some good tips and insight to clutch bleeding with a pressure bleeder.
-The area in the brake fluid reservoir, for the clutch, is small and partitioned. ie, the fluid for the clutch circuit is small and will empty quickly during flushing, unless a head of FLUID pressure is used via the power bleeder.
-depressing the clutch pedal to the floor will open the curcuit and fluid will flow FAST. ...(yet the reservoir will still show 3/4 full because you are looking at the level markings for the brakes partition)
.....So fast that the curcuit will empty and pull air, if you are being cute and using your power bleeder for just air pressure (not filling it with fluid, as some people do for brake bleeding).
If you follow the Porsche service manual procedure and open the bleeder for the slave cylinder and gently push the clutch pedal to the floor, 32oz. of fluid will flow in just over a minute.
This could be why people are have trouble with proceed, its using more fluid than they expect.

unless you are bleeding a new install, just bleed the clutch without depressing the pedal. It still flows fast and you need Fluid pressure from your power bleeder and plenty of fluid.

[Oldcarguy]

May not be your problem but when my clutch pedal was occasionally sticking on the floor during a shift it was due to a broken clutch assist spring which had wrapped around itself and was intermittently jamming the clutch pedal mechanism. A search here should pull up the threads.