2005 megane 225 clutch bleeding woes

Just fitted a new dual mass flywheel, clutch kit and slave cylinder. I cannot, no matter what i've tried to get a good clutch pedal feel, i've bled this bloody thing every which way.
Only way i got a pedal, which was unbelievably stiff was to stop the bleeding, close nipple and just manually pull the pedal up, down by hand? Started car up, can't get a gear at all!!
Everything is the Luk brand, i remembered to reset the auto clutch adjustment before fitting(by Haynes and Renault service manual method) , and clutch disc is right way round!:-)
What the hell is wrong?? Im pretty sure new slave cylinder is goosed, or air in system. I tried to prime and fill the slave cylinder before fitting, but it wouldn't draw in fluid or expel air which i thought was odd, but still fitted it.I've tried to bleed this thing for hours, i'm sick of it, reverse bleeding, Haynes and service manual methods too. Help!

 

Yes i'm currently trying your method right now! :-) Just that someone replied to try this forum too. Thanks.

 

There's somebody keeps getting onto me about my problem being the way i reset the self adjustment on the clutch pressure plate.
I done it exactly as show in my Renault service manual, and my Haynes one. He says if you don't use the proper big Luk tool while clutch is on the car it won't work?
How can Haynes and the service manual be wrong??
Here is apic of my old clutch on the car, and the second pic is my new one.
You'll see the green adjustment springs are extended and relaxed on the old clutch, like they should be, and reset and compressed on my new clutch.

 

In the service manual it says pressure should be applied to the centre pressure plate fingers, then the three green springs are compressed when the plate inside is turned anti-clockwise, then you release pressure on the clutch fingers in the centre. Here's the page in the service manual, Haynes the same.

 

Left the second stage with clutch pedal right down over night. Same thing happened as the last time i got a pedal feel, clutch pedal is a couple of iches iff the deck, pump it a few times and pedal goes stiff as hell, but you can't get gears, gear lever is just going up against a brick wall!
I'm going to have to get to the bottom of the actual clutch pressure plate self adjust settings. Guy on another forum is basically tell me the method i used going by the Renault service manual, and Haynes manual is wrong!!
I'm going to be really pissed off if it is as i'm not looking forward to taking all this crap apart again! :-)
He says he had this problem years ago with a Bmw, you 'have' to use the Luk install tool or clutch won't work, and the clutch 'has' to be on the car?
I even heard of guys drilling a hole in their bellhousing when they've forgotten to do what i've done before fitting the clutch.
They reset it through the hole!

 

Was at it today for a while after calling my local Renault dealer. Mechanic said you've got to prefill/prime the slave cylinder.
Now i did try this before the cylinder was on the car, i dipped the end in brake fluid and slowly pumped the cylinder, it wouldn't draw in fluid, or fart out bubbles?
Which confuses but thought what the hell, it will bleed on the car!
So, after phone call i said to him i'll just pull clutch pipe off the slave altogether, then add a small pipe on the slave pipe and inject in fluid with a syringe!
Tried this, haven't a clue if any got in, there was just loads of back pressure, just had to keep trying.
Misses is in the car pumping the pedal, oh it's getting better, is it? I'm saying soaking in clutch fluid, yep she said, brilliant i thought, went in and tried pedal myself, it's exactly the bloody same as it was!
Bloody wind up merchant was probably pressing the brake! Wouldn't put it past her! :-)

 

Got a better sized syringe today and filled slave. I'm getting a pedal feel i haven't had before, pedal half way up and stiff!I'll bleed tomorrow again. It was a stiff clutch on this car anyway, incidentally are anybody else's clutch pedals stiff? Heard a few people say they are.

 

Can't tell you how pissed off i am about this, i done everything by the renault service manual yet i get no gears??
Spoke to a company called Schaeffer, or something like that that provides Luk clutches in the Uk.
He says i did everything right, he did say however it's crucial to use the Luk fitting tool, despite Haynes, service manual and videos showing no mention of a tool! Just take care in equally, and slowly tightening the pressure plate bolts.
He reckons i've been unlucky in maybe compressing auto adjust too much (i set it exactly as manuals showed, green springs compressed fully) or there's a slight uneven pressure on the pressure plate bolts. He says he has a feeling i will see maybe one of the auto adjust springs will have moved, it will all need reset.

 

Renault manual doesn't even mention that tool. General concensus is, and there are numerous videos to back it up online is that just mount up the pressure plate after adjusters are set(or their set out the box) then just tighten up pressure plate nuts diagonally a quarter turn at a time to correct torque, which is what i did.
I don't know how in the hell i could have gone wrong following the service manual, clutch disc is obviously dead centre as gearbox just fell on!
Regarding that clutch tool, internets a funny thing, spent one evening pricing one up, couldn't get one cheaper than 2 or 3 hundred quid, next night i found them on Amazon for 70 bucks!
Incidentally i've heard people sucessfully drilling an access point in the bellhousig and resetting the adjusters 'and' retightening the pressure plate bolts in-situ! Honestly, i've never been so tempted by a bodge lol, just get it welded back up later.

 

I've actually just bought a dci clutch just incase, it has a different updated slave cylinder, metal pipe instead of plastic.Got the whole kit for £80!:-)
I'm going to drill a small hole in the bellhousing to inspect whats going on with my probe camera first.
Incidentally i dropped into yet another garage for an opinion, yet again they jump in just after i mention Megane, "You can't get it bled"?

 

Thanks for that, will do. Luk clutches sometimes become 'unset' during postage(mine) so i had to set mine. Just had a new one delivered, it's set ready yo go!
Just had a look at my newly made little peep hole in the bellhousing and the slave cylinder seems to be doing it's thing!
I'll give Mark a call, cheers!

 

Had an interesting call today with Schaeffler Uk, who deal with Luk clutches. They have a technical department and i first emailed them a couple of times and they gave me a couple of suggestions.
A day went by and i got an email back wondering how i got on with the suggestions. ! Told him still no luck, he then picked up on something i said to him.
He is convinced there is a blockage/restriction in the clutch line. Today i disconected the clutch line just after the short pipe between the master cylinder and the bulkhead, misses pushed clutch pedal down, the fluid just dribbled out?? It should shoot out, shouldn't it?
Either that small plastic connection block on the bulkhead is partially blocked or my master cylinder is knackered!

 

I can't understand why the master cylinder doesn't force out fluid when i disconnect the quick release pipe at the bulkhead. Im sure there is some restriction in that plastic block mounted on the bulkhead.
Never had time to investigate it. Everytime i try to reverse/back bleed it i get back pressure? So something is partially blocked i think.
I was starting to think master cylinder but brakes are solid.

 

I've just bought a vacuum bleeder so i'll try it. Only reason you're not sure of the quick release thing is because you've probably never seen it lol. It's behind air filter, press clip in then connection comes apart, sort of opposite of bleed clip which pushes in!
There's a short pipe comes off the master reservoir which goes to a small plastic block, i pushed clutch and fluid just trickled out this block when i disconnected at it's outlet? , it should fly out!
Bought a cheap vectra 2.2 diesel to run around while this cars playing funny buggers. Had little problem with that so need to get back to Renault.
Slave cylinder in Renault 'is' operating towards the clutch plate, but not enough to disengage it. Pedal is just going really hard after a few pumps, instead of soft if air is in it,which is confusing!

 

Bloody annoying isn't it! £350 spent on new luk dyal mass flywheel and clutch and cars sitting in my garage useless.

 

I've heard not to use pressure bleeders on cocetric clutch slave cylinders, yet Eeault service manual says to use a pump directly to the slave cylinder with the bleed open, using a tube in between obviously, but whenever i've tried that i get back pressure.
Was even given a good tip if you dob't have a pressure bleeder, put a tube between a front caliper nipple and the slave cylinder, open bleed nipple on caliper and on slave then apply pressure to brake pedal, this gives you a natural source of pressure!
But, again in my case i just got back pressure and the hose just shot off the brake caliper, and it was tight!

 

Tried that! :-) Service manual says open bleed then pump pedal till no more bubbles come out, then close bleed, this goes ok with me.
Then after this it says to do your method, one pedal pump at a time, that too goes well, but no pedal feel!
The amount of brake fluid i've gone through is incredible! I'm taking a little break from it,i had to, i didn't want my neighbours to see a grown man down on his knees crying!

 

Strange you mentioning that, just the other day i was wondering right, how in the hell does the pedal transmit to the master cylinder, and was surprised at yet another hose going right to the pedal that air could have got in!
I had the first part of the clutch line disconbected right where it turns into a flexi after the Master cylinder, good call there, air could be in there!

 

Can't do a sketch just now of the clutch lines, but basically you've got the Master fluid reservoir, then a normal piece of black hose comes off the master and disappears behind the airfilter and just clamps onto a little black plastic housing mounted on the bulkhead, the plastic housing turns into a connection similar to the bleed nipple clip affair at the slave, then a flexi hose joins onto this down to the gearbox, which then turns into a rigid pipe, which then screws into the bleed nipple part, then the slave!
I'd love to see behind the servo, what the clutch hose from the pedal goes to, it can't share the plunger that is pushed by the brake pedal, must be two seperate thins pushing to the servo rear.

 

Ah,looking from the engine bay that black plastic piece the bulkhead just looks like the pipe from the master reservior goes ito the top of it and the outlet es down to the clutch, so there's a pipe going into the rear of that too, didn't know that!
I don't suppose the clutch master inside the car has a bleed on it?