I bleed the air out of the clutch lines and when I got back in there was no clutch. The only pressure on the clutch is from the shaft that actually connects to it

the bearing on the manual transmission spline shaft is called throw out bearing (TO bearing)
yes the can fail. as can the clutch PP and disc.pp=pressure plate.
what you failed to do is bleed the MC and Slave.
until full stroke on the slave is achieved. about 1 full inch stroke on slave output rod
the trick (done vast clutches me)even pesky airplane brakes and same dead motor cycle front brakes. all are vertical pain.

the Physics here is tricky , forcin air bubbles DOWN hill
as nature wants the float them up hill. ( a small war here)
I use pressure bleeders to end that horror.
an home DIY and no real service tools is not easy
types
gravity bleeds
vacuum hand pump bleed at slave.
pressure bleed. down type or up type.(reverse bleed)

the MC rear side end must have gap off off clutch or beeding and ALL will fail.
fix the bleed first. never pull any transmission first.
see actual slave stork here a very short video
100% safe


http://fixkick.com/videos/FLV-all/showtime.html#CLUTCH

Try bleed

1. Check the fluid level in the master cylinder. ...
2. Locate the bleed screw on the slave cylinder. ...
3. Attach the hose to the bleed screw. ...
4. Open the bleed screw on the slave cylinder. ...
5. Have a friend press the clutch pedal in and hold it. ...
6. Close the bleed screw. ...
7. Have your friend release the clutch pedal.

Bleeding Clutch by Blocking the Slave Cylinder

you need to pressure bleed the system, or you can fill the brake system to over fill as it needs to be over the pipe for the clutch line. and keep it there and pump and bleed the line, but before pumping undo the bleed screw and put bowl uner to catch fluwid and fill the line up till it runs out clear with no bubbles. then tighten the bleed screw. then fill up and pump pedal, the re bleed. should be done then, pressure kit doe this all in one just hold clutch down and undo the bleed screw let air out etc then tighten up. and its done. used for doing the breaks as well.

You might have a bad salve , master cylinder or air in the clutch line. Check them and try to bleed the line for any build up air inside. Good luck

Bleeding the system is as follows. It also helps if you have a length of clear plastic tubing that fits snugly over the tip of the bleed nipple, which makes it easier to see if there are any air bubbles still coming out.

1. Start with the Master Cylinder full of fluid. (Don't forget to check after a few bleeds that it stays above ¼ full so that you don't introduce more air into the line).

2. Have an assistant pump the clutch pedal 2 or 3 times, then hold down, keeping weight on the pedal as fluid is released.

3. Loosen bleed nipple to release any air & fluid.

4. Tighten nipple. Assistant then lets clutch pedal return. It may be necessary to manually pull back pedal if it does not return by itself.

5. Wait a few seconds then repeat the sequence from #2.
Bleeding is complete when no more air bubbles are visible in the fluid released from the bleed nipple. If clutch is still spongy you may have to repeat the bleeding after a few days driving.

It's a matter of bleeding the clutch system completely. You do need to make sure you don't ,have any leaks at the Clutch Master Cyl. or at the Clutch Slave Cyl or the line running between both, and that you don't have clutch fluid in the drivers compartment just below where the clutch rod comes through the firewall. That would of course mean you have to replace the Clutch Master Cylinder due to internal leakage.

This isn't so unusual, you'll have to pull up on the pedal by hand & pump it a few times to get pressure enough to properly bleed the system, or, you will have to start with bleeding the Clutch Master Cyl. first by loosening the line there & have someone push down the pedal, then before letting up on the pedal, tighten the line to prevent air from being drawn in. Repeat two times to get any air out here.

If your parts and lines are all in good shape then re-fill the resivoir & have someone to pull up on the clutch by hand if needed & then if necessary, use their hand to depress & pull the pedal a few times to try & build some pressure so that you can bleed the Clutch slave cylinder a few times to get all of the air out. After you've finished bleeding the system, the pedal should stay in the up position except when being depressed and you should have consistently even pressure when using the clutch.

good luck.

.

Bleed it then check for leaks...Works just like brakes...where air gets in there's a leak...back of master, line or slave. Replace leaking part, then re-bleed.

Manual transmissions do not slip ie. when the gears mesh, there is no slip unless they strip out and make an awful noise and will not pull henceforth.

You probably still have a slipping clutch plate against the flywheel. You need to adjust the clutch petal linkage shaft to allow the pressure plate to be release from the thrust bearing, ie shorten the shaft length.. If you and most likely you do just have the clutch release slave cylinder that releases the clutch when you apply the petal. You need to bleed the slave cylinder of any excess fluid or air that may have entered the line if you opened it at any point. You need to bleed it as you would a break cylinder and this should fix ya.
good luck.
good luck

i think youre doing the right thing. they are very stubborn to bleed because the hyd. line goes up high across back of engine before droppiing back down to slave cyl., trapping air. could try to gravity bleed by opening bleeder at slave, cap off of master cyl, full with fluid then it may start to come out after a bit. then try your process again. or can try to bleed at connections further up the line, working your way back to bleeder. hope this helps. be patient.

Check your Master Cylinder