13-06 Clutch Line and Bleeding

I have struggled EXTENSIVELY determining how best to connect the clutch hydraulic line - I am proud and excited to say I have finally solved this issue!

Background:

I am using an '07 Tremec 3650 5spd which utilizes a combined throwout bearing/slave cylinder. In the stock configuration Ford uses quick disconnect fittings on both sides of the fluid line between master cylinder and a fitting on the outside of the transmission. They then use a semi-hard line that some upgrade to a hard line for better clutch feel. Since I am using a wilwood master I did not know how to connect the new line from the master into the transmissions external fittings.

Options:

- Replace slave cylinder with an aftermarket one that uses different fittings AND provides a bleeder. Cons: Expensive and not in budget.

- Use existing slave cylinder but route new line through transmission case and attach directly to the slave cylinder bypassing the quick disconnect Cons: requires dropping the transmission - an easy job with the body off but I was hoping to avoid doing this, also would need to figure way to safely route the line into the tranny

- Find a way to make the fittings works - this is where I spent my time and had quite a bit of frustration UNTIL I FOUND -- The McLeod Hydraulic line at American Muscle. This includes a -4 AN brake line and removable quick disconnect fittings for the transmission. I was able to use the quick disconnect on the transmission side and standard AN -4 to NPT fitting on the master cylinder. PROBLEM SOLVED!

Next for the bleeding. I needed to fully bleed both the transmission line and brake lines. Brake I have done before, but since the system was completely dry it took quite a bit of effort to get everything bled. And to be honest I still don't think all the air is out. I will need to test some.

There are multiple articles on how to bleed Tremec I have but I learned a new method for bleeding through reading them. I had never uses a vacuum at the reservoir before. This is magic! In short you hook a vacuum pump to the reservoir but vacuum on it and let it sit until the air gets pulled out. This is the coolest thing and worked great!