Working of Hydraulic Clutch

25 October 2010- Hydraulic clutches are widely used in automotive applications. A hydraulic clutch basically is used for for engaging and disengaging the engine to generated force or power and this is done using brake fluid. Instead of a cable, brake fluid is used to start the clutch mechanism, which is the point at which the rotating power of the engine's crankshaft is shifted into usable motion at the transmission. A hydraulic clutch consists of a fluid reservoir, a main cylinder and a hydraulic brake servo. It is seen that in most cars, the slave cylinder is located on the outside of the transmission. When the clutch is pushed, fluid under pressure moves from the master cylinder to the slave cylinder. This lead to a push of the rod inside the cylinder. In other words when the clutch pedal is pressed inside the vehicle, the fluid in the hydraulic clutch system is forced upon and it acts on the clutch-plate mechanism, which disengages the transmission from the engine.

Hydraulic Fluid Reservoir

For proper functioning of hydraulic clutch, a sufficient amount of hydraulic fluid or brake oil should be there. The hydraulic fluid reservoir is more or less same in design as a brake master cylinder, with a rectangular basin. Here the hydraulic fluid is stored, added and checked.

Bleeding of Hydraulic Clutch

It is to be noted, like all systems which use hydraulic fluid, even the hydraulic clutch system should bled periodically so that air bubbles are removed from the fluid. A hydraulic clutch that has air in its liquid will have a spongy and loose feel. A hydraulic clutch has the advantage of having small size bleeder screws fixed to its system that leads to easy bleeding of the system.