Grinding Gears!

[sledgehammer1990]

Hey everyone. I have been experiencing some issues with my truck lately and I don't know what the issue is. When I try to put it into reverse, it grinds gears and I have to throw it into reverse in order to get it in gear. At that same time, it is very hard to put it in 1st gear. I have to push very hard and sometimes it grinds. I am not moving my vehicle at all either. This is happening more and more frequently. I have 119,000 miles on it and I changes the transmission fluid last week. I put Royal Purple Syncromax Manual Transmission Fluid in it. It was running fine after that. Better then ever. I just picked it up from the shop after a front end alignment and I could barely put it in gear.

Could someone help me here? What could be causing this issue?

 

[HahnsB2]

Your clutch hydraulics are leaking, most likely the slave is blown, common problem.

 

[sledgehammer1990]

Ok, any information on that? Where/What is the slave. If my clutch hydraulics were leaking, wouldn't the fluid have gone down? I haven't filled it in awhile and its still full.

 

[wood1]

X2. When your clutch either has leaked or some air is in the lines the clutch plate doesn't totally disengage when you shove the pedal to the floor. If you were to stuff it in 4th or 5th and then quickly into reverse or 1st it shouldn't grind too bad. Most likely you will have to replace either the slave or master cylinder.

 

[sledgehammer1990]

I took a quick look on NAPA and this is what I found.

http://www.napaonline.com/MasterPag...er&KeywordCat=Clutch+Slave+Cylinder&VehCode=Y

Edit: I looked on RockAuto and wow, didn't think it would be that expensive. Any threads on changing these? How long do you think it could take?

http://www.rockauto.com/catalog/x,carcode,1119631,parttype,10290

 

[FU MONSTER]

I had that same problem with my 97 sport.First check to see if you have enough fluid in the small reservior for the clutch.if it's low add some brake fluid and that might fix it. that was a temporary fix but i ended up having to change the clutch slave cylinder. the part cost about 130 or so.you have to remove the clutch so i just paid a tranny shop to change it. total cost was $400. good luck .

 

[sledgehammer1990]

I had that same problem with my 97 sport.First check to see if you have enough fluid in the small reservior for the clutch.if it's low add some brake fluid and that might fix it. that was a temporary fix but i ended up having to change the clutch slave cylinder. the part cost about 130 or so.you have to remove the clutch so i just paid a tranny shop to change it. total cost was $400. good luck .

$400? Damn, I just paid $400 to fix my front end, and its not even fixed.

 

[sledgehammer1990]

After reading some more, I found that I think I don't have to touch the Master Cylinder. The Slave cylinder is around $61

http://www.rockauto.com/catalog/x,carcode,1119631,parttype,2044

 

[KPT]

You have to remove the tranny to change the slave cylinder.

 

[FU MONSTER]

I took my explorer to a mr transmission b/c it actually locked up in second gear.I am not sure what all had to be removed but i know the clutch did for sure. i havent had a problem with the truck since the slave cylinder was replaced.

 

[sledgehammer1990]

Sometime this week, I am going to discuss this with my dad and see if I am going to change it myself or take it to the shop. I told him and he had to replace 2 of them before on other vehicles. Luckily, it was on the outside of the transmission.

 

[sledgehammer1990]

OK, I got my truck back and I put over 100 miles on the new clutch. It is extremely hard to shift. I can't put it in reverse unless I start it in reverse, then when I shift out, I have to turn off the car, put it in first, then start it again.

I am taking it back on Monday, but they said it is hard to bleed the clutch line from the master cylinder. Any ideas on bleeding it myself?

 

[FU MONSTER]

I was told it was my clutch also. so after changing it the problem continued.bleeding the line helped for a few days. I found out there was a leak in my slave cylinder and air was getting in through there.I had same deal as you: i couldnt get it to shift into first unless i turned the car off.Once in first i could only go into 2nd. thats when i had the slave cylinder changed. problem solved.If i would have checked that first I would have save a few hundred by not changing the clutch.but oh well its all new now.

 

[sledgehammer1990]

But thats just it. That was the whole reason why I had my truck in the shop. I had the Slave Cylinder, Master Cylinder, and Clutch changed. They showed me and my clutch only had about 10,000 miles left on it.

Do you think I could've gotten a bad slave cylinder? I did get a bad master cylinder and had to exchange for another one that was fine.

 

[FU MONSTER]

Yea you might have gotten a bad one.

 

[sledgehammer1990]

Okay, I called up the shop and they told me the issue and they fixed it. Bleeding the master cylinder is very hard since its in a weird position. The only way they were able to completely remove the air was to jack the front end up way high. I am going to pick it up now.