I have a 2004 Saturn Ion 2.2 L manual transmission.... I bought a new clutch set and had it replaced, I tried to bleed the clutch but it's not building any pressure in the pedal it stays going to the floor. Does anybody know what might be the cause of not being able to bleed the clutch? I have been without my car for like a month and a half and can't seem to figure out what the problem is. And the mileage on the car is pretty up there so I don't feel that it's worth taking it to a shop and having it looked at for the price they're asking.
HELP ME PLEASE... ID GREATLY APPRECIATE IT. THANK YOU!!!!

 

Moved to ion section

 

Did the folks who replaced the clutch not bleed it before returning it to you? How would you have driven it home?

Confused.

2004 ion clutch bleed YouTube videos
This search brings up three different ion clutch bleeding videos. One shows vacuum bleeding, another shows pedal bleeding. I think the vacuum method would be easier.

The guy doing the vacuum bleeding said it would take a while for the clutch pedal to come all the way up. Then the video abruptly ended.

Remember that the reservoir is shared between the brake system and the clutch.

Again I'm not sure why you would need to bleed a freshly installed hydraulic system unless only the clutch was installed and the hydraulic system was left open and took in a bunch of air.

 

I only had the clutch replaced. My fiance and i tried bleeding the clutch and it would get pressure and then it was gone. I had my car towed to aamco transmission and they said they don't know for sure but the clutch may have been put in backwards is why the pedal goes to the floor and wont build pressure. Is that possible? So i then had my car towed back home.

 

Speaking from personal (extremely frustrating) experience, bleeding the clutch on these is a PITA. I replaced the transmission in my 2004 Ion last April, and didn't get the car going properly until June. I installed a new clutch kit, including the clutch, pressure plate, and slave cylinder when I swapped out the transmission. And got a new line that runs from the master cylinder to the slave cylinder because I had to cut the old one off to get it out of the slave cylinder. They're not easy to find!
I tried every type of bleeding shown on YouTube, and in the manual. The vacuum system (applied at the brake/clutch reservoir) is the only one that eventually worked. Initially, I could not get a pedal at all. After literally dozens of vacuum, wait, pump the pedal cycles, I finally got a fairly firm pedal for two strokes, then it went to the floor again. I then noted fresh brake fluid dripping from the vent hole at the bottom of the bell housing. It turns out, the slave cylinder was defective. Internally, it was allowing air into the system because of a defective casting where an o-ring was supposed to seal it. I guess the o-ring did eventually get into the defective area and sealed it temporarily but then ruptured and let all the pressure out. (I determined this after removing and dismantling the slave cylinder.)
Obviously, I had to remove the transmission again, and replace the defective slave cylinder. The manufacturer stood behind their warranty and sent a new clutch kit at no cost. But even with experience, changing the transmission (with two people) is a four or five hour job. And bleeding the clutch system was still a tedious process, involving at least 15 or 20 vacuum, wait, pump cycles.

Hope you have better success than I did. I really enjoy my Ion now. It has a great little engine (doesn't burn any oil), gets over 40 mpg on trips, and has only 157k miles on it!

P.S. I don't think it's possible to install the clutch plate 'backwards'.

 

Derf,
On the Ion, the slave cylinder is bolted to the inside of the bell housing/transmission, and the hydraulic line must be disconnected to remove the transmission. There is no option except to open up the system. It would be nice if the slave cylinder were external (like on my pickup) and could be unbolted and set aside without opening up the fluid lines.

 

This type of hydraulic clutch is difficult to bleed. The bleeder is not in the correct place to bleed like a conventional hydraulic clutch.
Do you have any fluid leaking from the bell housing between the engine and transmission? The way I get the system to work properly is to bleed the clutch to remove the air between the bleeder and the master. Then the rest of the air will self purge by cycling the system slowly. Wait between each stroke. Of course Aamco could be correct but I highly doubt it.

 

NEVER, NEVER,EVER take a car to AAMCO. That stands for ALL AUTOMATICS MUST COME OUT!! I realize that you don't have an automatic. They tried to screw over a buddy of mine years ago telling him he needed a rebuild on his automatic. All it was was a vacuum hose had come off the shift modulator valve. I cut it off about a 1/2" and stuck it back on and the car shifted fine. I've never dealt with a hydraulic clutch on an Ion, so would suggest you follow Andy's advice. And you CAN'T install the clutch backwards and then have the car function for a while then quit. Those guys are idiots wrapped in morons.

 

Oldmarine,

Thank you for your service. I don't believe I ever thanked you.

I now remember Bones and drop dead explaining to me that the slave cylinder went inside the tranny unlike the S cars where the entire hydraulic system is external. Thank you for the refresher. No longer confused.
I'm so used to thinking about S car configurations I often confuse myself by simply not paying attention.

 

derf,

I know what you mean by confusing yourself. As the years go by, I find myself more often confused by things that I used to have a pretty good handle on (I think). But forums and YouTube help me a lot. I always prep for a session of working on my vehicles by reviewing the information available. Even if I've done it before, and especially if the last time I did it was more than a couple of months ago.

Thanks for your inputs and insights in all the threads you post on! All the moderators on this forum are super.