Clutch out of commission...can't shift into any gear

[Titan09]

Hey everyone,

Well, I drove my Ex home from school today, and I got home just fine. Sometime between then and now my clutch decided to quit working. I drove it around a little bit after I discovered this problem, trying to diagnose what was wrong.

At first, it took a lot of effort to shift it into first gear. I had to have the clutch all the way to the floor, pretty much jam it in, and it would try to engage when I barely released the clutch. The engine speed would increase slightly while the vehicle rolled forward at about 5 MPH, and I didn't touch the gas at all. It only took a couple minutes of that to make me park it again and check to see what was going wrong. Now, I couldn't diagnose any problems very well, since it is getting dark, and it has been raining, but I didn't notice any apparent leaks in the hydraulic system.

I went out to check it again a few minutes later, and again, it takes keeping the clutch totally depressed before I can even try to start it (and by this, I mean I don't feel any pressure on the clutch until it nearly reaches the floor,) and I can no longer shift out of Neutral. I can't get it to shift into any forward gears as it's running, and Reverse grinds very badly.

I've had problems with the clutch ever since I got my Ex last December, but it seemed to be fine for the last few months...up until now. I had a bout of road rage getting home from school today, and shifted pretty roughly coming home. But it didn't show any symptoms then of going out, and I didn't have to drive very far to get home. So I'm worried that that's all it took for my clutch to no longer engage properly, and am at least thankful that it happened while it was sitting in the driveway, and not while I was driving down the highway or sitting in bumper-to-bumper traffic trying to get to school tomorrow morning.

I have a few ideas about what could have went wrong. In the past, the clutch wouldn't engage until it was nearly at the top, and it used to grind a bit going into any forward gear at speed. My idea was that the clutch plate could have been worn out, but it seemed to work itself out, so I never bothered having it looked at or going through the cumbersome procedure of looking at it myself. So I was thinking that's what it could be.

I was also thinking it could have something to do with the master cylinder, but like I said, I didn't notice any apparent leaks when I looked at it earlier. Could there be a chance that I just managed to cause binding in the linkage or release bearing?

I'm looking for anyone who's had this problem, so that I can try to ascertain the how sinister the problem really is.

Any insight would be greatly appreciated.

 

[corkey]

look into the slave cylinder , it is inside the bell housing, or the clutch master cylinder, on the firewall, either could be bad, causing what you are explaining,

 

[Robrt32]

Ive cussed hydraulic clutches a many time over the years.. i didn't see anything wrong with the linkage that was used on the old models, not a thing.. That is just like I don't think CD"S are a upgrade from cassettes. I think its a conspiracy to cost you money, I can not count the times Ive rented DVD's only for them not to work. I can count the times that happened on VHS on 1 hand with fingers to spare.. off topic but I felt like ranting

 

[Anime]

It's the clutch slave cylinder.

They go bad, eventually making it so the clutch never fully disengages, making shifting a chore, especially when trying to get into 1st, 1st to 2nd, and sometimes reverse.

They go slowly though, so you can shift ok sometimes, then it'll act up, then it'll be fine, then it will not shift at all, then it'll be fine... I think it also knows when you're at stoplights with a lot of traffic behind you, because that's when it usually goes and won't let you shift into ANY gear, even with the clutch hammered into the floor.

Only thing you can do is drop the transmission and put a new one in. I strongly suggest a new Motorcraft one. Aftermarket ones I've tried don't last long enough to be worth it, even with a lifetime warranty. You might also consider putting in a new clutch master while you've got the system apart and easy access, rather than waiting until it goes or the pushrod breaks. Good time to put in a new clutch, and check the rear main seal, too.

 

[Titan09]

Well, we don't have the necessary tools or work place to drop the transfer case and transmission...how much do you estimate it would be to have a shop do it?

 

[Foxracin]

All you need is some jackstands, a jack, and basic handtools/socket set. Nothing special required to do the job.

 

[Titan09]

Well, I don't think it's anything mechanical yet. There seems to be something wrong with the hydraulic system. I noticed that my master cylinder reservoir is leaking. Every time I depress the clutch, it shoots fluid up through the pin-size hole in the top of the cap. I tried covering the hole, and it still shoots out fluid. I don't know if it's just that, or if there's another leak somewhere...I'll have to see if I can find anything.

 

[Anime]

A shop usually charges quite a bit for such a job on a 4x4 since they have to drop the driveshafts, transfer case, exhaust, etc. to get the transmission down. I wouldn't have it done at a shop that doesn't do it this way, though. Getting it yanked down with the exhaust in place or just moving things around creates a lot of other problems.

You can just have a clutch job done and get the slave cylinder changed at the same time. You're looking at about a few hundred dollars of work, if not more, plus the markup on materials. It'd be nice if you could bring your own parts (~$70-90 for the slave from Ford, ~$100-200 for a good aftermarket clutch).


The master cyl should have a black cone-shaped stopper in it, pointing down, that takes up the space so you don't have to fill it all the way, just to the step notch in the reservior, then pop in the stopper and tighten the cap and it's sealed.

If fluid sprays out the hole with the stopper in there, there's another problem in the master/slave line that isn't allowing a free flow of fluid.

You could always try just replacing the master and maybe the hydraulic line. It's doable with basic wrenches, sockets, etc., just need the disconnect tool for the connection at the transmission.

 

[marragtop]

If you are going to put a new master cylinder on, make sure you bench bleed it first. Not doing so will give you grief when trying to bleed the overall system.