dta74
Elite Explorer
- Joined
- September 12, 2009
- Messages
- 17
- Reaction score
- 0
- City, State
- Durham, NC
- Year, Model & Trim Level
- 94 XLT, 97 XL
Apologies in advance if this ends up long and rambling...
So, I just picked up a 97 Exp. 2-door with a 4.0 OHV, 5-spd manual (M5OD-R1??), brand new Uniroyal TirePaws and 91k miles on it. Free, I might add. Was originally a southern California car. I'm the 4th owner. The clutch and slave cylinder were replaced at around 70k miles by the previous owner (was "making noise, can't get into 2nd gear"). There was no mention of pilot bearing replacement during clutch and SC replacement - at least, not mentioned on service receipt. Also, brand names were not mentioned, I'm assuming the shop (an independent transmission shop) used the cheapest generic parts they could find. Let me reiterate: this was a free car and I'm not complaining about having to do work to it!
Have owned the Exp. for 3 weeks now, have run thru 4+ tanks of gas - back and forth to work, a few trips home for deer hunting, nothing longer than 2 hours. Decided to take it on a road trip from Durham, NC to south-central Kentucky, about 8 hrs/450 miles each way - a combination of interstate, back roads and 4-lane non-interstate driving.
So, on the way to KY (somewhere in TN) it starts doing what I originally though was a slave cylinder malfunction: hard to (if not impossible) to shift into/out of gear at a stop, extremely notchy shifting while in motion, can be shifted easily at a stop with engine turned off. Happens randomly, then it will be fine... then happens again to varying degrees. At worst,At one point, I couldn't get it out of 3rd while after coasting to a stoplight (in heavy traffic, no doubt) and it almost stalled the engine.
This is the 1st time this problem has happened to me, previous owner had no issues when he drove the truck from Hamilton, ONT to NC when he delivered it to me in October. It was also his daily driver after moving from SoCal to Hamilton.
Clutch feel is still heavy. Does not feel like air bubbles in the line or a failing master/slave cylinder. Pumping the pedal does not seem to fix the problem. Sticking a finger inside the bell housing inspection port (lower left side of tranny) reveals no fluid inside. Clutch reservoir fluid level appears normal. Nothing leaking inside the driver footwell or on the other side of the firewall. Hydraulic hose and master cyl are dry.
So, after arriving in KY, I hopped online, spent a couple hours in the forum and discovered the threads concerning clutch issues, slave cyl and/or pilot bearing failure.
Here's my dilemma:
I originally thought that something in the hydraulic line was heating up and expanding air bubbles after being on the road for 3+ hrs. I was gonna start by bleeding the clutch hydraulic system, but considering the fact that the pedal feel is still stiff/heavy, I'm wondering if this is even necessary.
Coinicidentally (now this comes to mind), there is an occaisional "clunk"(noise/feel) after shifting... very minor, but noticeable. Almost reminicent of the "clunk" you'd hear/feel if your u-joints were going out, but sounds like its coming from the transmission. There is no other noticeable driveline lash or lunging/jerking during or after a shift.
Second, when I crawled under the car to inspect the tranny and the slave cylinder, I discovered that both the bleeder nipple and the hydraulic hose coupling were both loose. I could wiggle both of em fore and aft about 1/4-1/2 an inch. Is this normal, or for some god-awful reason have the slave cylinder attachment bolts become loose inside the bell housing? My assumption is that the main body of the SC is bolted to the inside of the bell housing and that the throwout bearing and plunger are the only parts that move.
I'm mentally preparing myself to drop the tranny and tighten or replace the slave cyl again (are they that bad that they go out within 20k miles?). I have a friend who has a set of tools and equipment for his race cars (2nd and 3rd gen RX-7s) in his basement garage and space to work. Is there anything else to check out before I start... or look for during the job? Should I just start throwing new parts at it and call it done?
So, I just picked up a 97 Exp. 2-door with a 4.0 OHV, 5-spd manual (M5OD-R1??), brand new Uniroyal TirePaws and 91k miles on it. Free, I might add. Was originally a southern California car. I'm the 4th owner. The clutch and slave cylinder were replaced at around 70k miles by the previous owner (was "making noise, can't get into 2nd gear"). There was no mention of pilot bearing replacement during clutch and SC replacement - at least, not mentioned on service receipt. Also, brand names were not mentioned, I'm assuming the shop (an independent transmission shop) used the cheapest generic parts they could find. Let me reiterate: this was a free car and I'm not complaining about having to do work to it!
Have owned the Exp. for 3 weeks now, have run thru 4+ tanks of gas - back and forth to work, a few trips home for deer hunting, nothing longer than 2 hours. Decided to take it on a road trip from Durham, NC to south-central Kentucky, about 8 hrs/450 miles each way - a combination of interstate, back roads and 4-lane non-interstate driving.
So, on the way to KY (somewhere in TN) it starts doing what I originally though was a slave cylinder malfunction: hard to (if not impossible) to shift into/out of gear at a stop, extremely notchy shifting while in motion, can be shifted easily at a stop with engine turned off. Happens randomly, then it will be fine... then happens again to varying degrees. At worst,At one point, I couldn't get it out of 3rd while after coasting to a stoplight (in heavy traffic, no doubt) and it almost stalled the engine.
This is the 1st time this problem has happened to me, previous owner had no issues when he drove the truck from Hamilton, ONT to NC when he delivered it to me in October. It was also his daily driver after moving from SoCal to Hamilton.
Clutch feel is still heavy. Does not feel like air bubbles in the line or a failing master/slave cylinder. Pumping the pedal does not seem to fix the problem. Sticking a finger inside the bell housing inspection port (lower left side of tranny) reveals no fluid inside. Clutch reservoir fluid level appears normal. Nothing leaking inside the driver footwell or on the other side of the firewall. Hydraulic hose and master cyl are dry.
So, after arriving in KY, I hopped online, spent a couple hours in the forum and discovered the threads concerning clutch issues, slave cyl and/or pilot bearing failure.
Here's my dilemma:
I originally thought that something in the hydraulic line was heating up and expanding air bubbles after being on the road for 3+ hrs. I was gonna start by bleeding the clutch hydraulic system, but considering the fact that the pedal feel is still stiff/heavy, I'm wondering if this is even necessary.
Coinicidentally (now this comes to mind), there is an occaisional "clunk"(noise/feel) after shifting... very minor, but noticeable. Almost reminicent of the "clunk" you'd hear/feel if your u-joints were going out, but sounds like its coming from the transmission. There is no other noticeable driveline lash or lunging/jerking during or after a shift.
Second, when I crawled under the car to inspect the tranny and the slave cylinder, I discovered that both the bleeder nipple and the hydraulic hose coupling were both loose. I could wiggle both of em fore and aft about 1/4-1/2 an inch. Is this normal, or for some god-awful reason have the slave cylinder attachment bolts become loose inside the bell housing? My assumption is that the main body of the SC is bolted to the inside of the bell housing and that the throwout bearing and plunger are the only parts that move.
I'm mentally preparing myself to drop the tranny and tighten or replace the slave cyl again (are they that bad that they go out within 20k miles?). I have a friend who has a set of tools and equipment for his race cars (2nd and 3rd gen RX-7s) in his basement garage and space to work. Is there anything else to check out before I start... or look for during the job? Should I just start throwing new parts at it and call it done?
