How to Bleed Hydraulic Lines in a Manual Transmission in a 1993 Ford Ranger

Early clutch systems used a cable-driven lever to engage and disengage the clutch. These systems worked just fine, but the cable stretched over time, and owners had to adjust them periodically. A hydraulic clutch system replaced most cable-driven clutches, due to its predictability and reliability. The hydraulic system is not without its flaws, as the smallest amount of air trapped in the system can cause the clutch to malfunction: spongy pedal, unpredictable engaging and disengaging, etc. When bleeding the air from the 1993 Rangers hydraulic clutch system, Ford recommends bleeding the slave cylinder and the hydraulic line separately.

Instructions

1

Unscrew the cap from the clutch master cylinder and fill it to the Max line with fresh DOT 3 brake fluid.

2

Raise the front of the Ranger with a floor jack and slide jack stands under the trucks frame rails. Lower the Ranger onto the jack stands.

3

Crawl beneath the pickup until you reach the spot where the transmission meets the engine. Find the metal hydraulic line plugged into the transmission.

4

Position a drain pan under the hydraulic line. Find the white plastic fitting on the end of the hydraulic line. Slide the forked end of a clutch coupling tool (Ford tool No. T88T-70522-A) onto the fitting. Press the clutch coupling tool toward the slave cylinder and pull the hydraulic line from the slave cylinder.

5

Press the valve on the end of the hydraulic line inward with a small flat-head screwdriver, then instruct your assistant to press the clutch pedal to the floor immediately. Watch the end of the hose for fluid sputtering out of the hose -- this sputtering means there is air in the line. Remove the screwdriver and instruct you assistant to release the clutch pedal.

6

Refill the clutch master cylinder with fresh DOT 3 brake fluid.

7

Repeat steps 5 and 6 until the fluid comes from the line in a smooth stream.

8

Press the hydraulic line back into the receptacle in the slave cylinder until the white fitting secures the hydraulic line.

9

Find the bleeder valve -- the -inch metal valve -- next to the hydraulic hose on the slave cylinder. Press a -inch-diameter rubber hose onto the slave cylinder and set the other end of the hose in a clean, clear container. Fill the clean, clear container with fresh DOT 3 brake fluid until the fluid submerges the end of the hose.

10

Instruct your assistant to pump the clutch pedal 5 to 10 times, as quickly as possible and wait for about one to three minutes. Repeat this step three times.

11

Turn the bleeder valve a quarter-turn counter clockwise with a combination wrench to open it, then instruct your assistant to press the clutch pedal to the floor and hold it. Look at the end of hose in the brake fluid and watch for air bubbles to come from it.

12

Tighten the bleeder valve with the combination wrench.

13

Refill the clutch master cylinder with fresh DOT 3 brake fluid.

14

Repeat steps 10 through 13 until no bubbles appear from the submerged end of the rubber hose.

15

Remove the rubber hose from the bleeder valve.

16

Raise the truck off the jack stands with a floor jack and remove the jack stands. Lower the Ranger to the ground.