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Sometimes I wonder if my Old Blue is just being creative in finding odd things to go awry in her old age. You know, trying to keep the spark alive (wholly unnecessary).

I took a ride the other day, and the clutch felt like there was air in the line. It was working well enough, but it wasn't right - and I had the feeling if I ignored it, it would become a full-blown Not Right. So when I got back to the garage, I figured it's been a couple years, why not take 15 minutes and bleed the clutch.

I get it all set up, pump the lever a couple times, hold it, loosen the bleeder ... clutch fluid comes out, with a couple bubbles. I was right! Then I close the bleeder, and slowly release the lever as I'm watching the bleeder and ... fluid goes back in. Wait. What? The bleed screw is tight (check)? So I pump the lever and ... fluid comes out. Grr ... WTF?

So drain the clutch. Upon closer investigation of the bleeder, I see a little sliver of metal at the top. That can't be anything good. So I start take the bleed screw out by hand and ... out come the top four or five threads, in a single piece, wrapped around the bleeder. Are you kidding?! Really?

Ayup. The threads in the bleeder broke right out of the bore hole. There are a couple clutch covers on Ebay ($225-250USD), or I could drill & tap the bore to use an 11mm bleeder - but I worry about the contact point at the bottom of the bore. So I'm trying a bleeder repair kit:

Basically you bore out the hole, bleeder 'cup' and all, tap & thread in a new (larger) bleed screw insert. I just worry whether there's enough material between the main clutch line inlet and the bleed channels for the insert to fit without compromising either one. We'll see, I guess. Stayed tuned.

If this isn't going to fit, has anyone seen a system that incorporates the bleeder into the banjo bolt that holds the line, or some other solution?

banjo bolts with bleeder nipple can easily be found.
https://www.google.de/search?q=banjo+bo ... 77&bih=798

Did you overtighten the bleeder bolt ?

paso750 wrote:Did you overtighten the bleeder bolt ?

I didn't think so, so that's why I'm stumped. Plus, the clutch felt fine since I bled it last (maybe 2 years ago), until this last ride. (And I put a bunch of miles on it last year, once I got it back on the road.) Even this year, it still worked ok, but it just started having had a late engagement and kind of springy feel - not its typical pull.

Glad I wasn't just daydreaming the bleeder/banjos. I think that'll be my second option, if this repair kit doesn't work. I don't know how I'd keep the air out of the bleed channel in the slave if I simply capped it with a bolt. There's always going to be a pocket there, unless I filled it with solder, JB weld or something ... ?

I tried to helicoil a bleed nipple thread on a F09, and made an unbelievable #uck-up of it and now there is a 6mm cap screw and copper washer blocking the hole . Works real good .... just messy to bleed

I worried about the pressure w/ a helicoil. I've tapped new threads before, but haven't done a helicoil; I didn't want to screw it up, then have the fluid leak out around the new coil as soon as I squeezed the lever ...

The real issue is getting the helicoil thread in line with and concentric to the nipple seat in the housing , so that the nipple seats correctly , however all aint lost if there is a wee bit of misalignment ..... file the tip of the nipple flat and sorta square and then drop a 3-4mm ball bearing down the hole before screwing in the ( flattened ) nipple ........self aligning

That's a great idea w/ the ball bearing. I'll have to keep that in mind. For now though, I'm back on the road with the bleeder repair kit. Wound up taking the clutch cover to a local metal shop to let them drill & tap the new hole with a mill. Figured that'd be a lot more precise than me doing it by hand on my bench. And sure enough - it was! Reassembled it all and bled it back yesterday - works great. It was a good excuse to stick my nose into the clutch too. I've still got some life in those plates yet ...