Need help asap!!!!!!

[yellowcat]

Sort of pissed and in trouble, I just bought a 1991 ford explorer 4 by 4 with a five speed tranny. And 4.0 liter motor. I m driving down the road and it is starting to get hard to get into gear, I park it, go back later and now it wont go into any gear. I shut the truck down and put it into first, start it and away I go, now it wont come out of gear. Nor go back into any other gear.
The clutch resevior was empty when I bought the truck, app, 200 miles ago, so I filled it, everything was fine at that point, now crap. Come on, man...
This has to be a hydalic problem right, what was Ford thinking with this design. The slave is inside the tranny, What, qiuck connects, what. Look, my freinds, this is real uncool, is this a sick joke, does this reflect why ford is bankrupt.
So I pulled a rubber plug on the tranny, and the last person that did the clutch, broke one of the bolts on the presure plate, so I m figuring, hey, the presure plate flexed and half the plate is not disengaging, so half is touching half is not. So I would have half a clutch grabing, and half releasing. Everytime I have had a clutch go bad, it would go into gear, then not go anywhere. Help
I just bought a bunch of ammo for my assault rifle, and if this is some bullcrap ford problem, I m gong to get some beer and call my friends and we are gong to shoot this truck to hell. I'll post the picures...Thanks

 

[BrooklynBay]

Welcome to this forum! Check # 47 in my list of useful threads for information on rebuilding this transmission.

 

[esploder224wd]

haha man that sucks.... well i dont have a solution for your dilemma but i was wheeling this weekend at a quarry and my buddys 5 speed did the exact same thing it just froze up but in reverse and second. all we did to get it out was push it the opposite way the gear makes the car move and with the clutch in we pushed it and then dropped the clutch and it came right out every time

 

[Dopler174]

Is the clutch fluid still full? You may need a clutch since the bolts are broke off. As far as Ford is concerned, don't blame them for something that a previous owner did.

 

[yellowcat]

I am tearing it down today

I ll post back as to what I find, should I gamble and not replace the slave cylinder? And if I do replace, should I drop the 160$ that the dealer wants? Found a luk clutch kit at corner store, so Ill go with that. Also, should I replace the quick connect fittings, I read they trap air. I understand that the flywheel on this truck can NOT be resurfaced because of clearance issues. Is this true? Oh, if the rear main seal is not leaking, should I bother replacing it? Sorry if I insulted Fords but man I was pissed, sure everyone can relate.. Thanks

 

[gijoecam]

Well, the red flag should have been the empty reservoir to start with... It was neglected and/or abused by the previous owner, and you didn't do anything to help it by driving it like that. An empty reservoir should be a pretty clear sign something's wrong.

It's not the most difficult transmission to fix. Trust me... I'll take that trans over ANY front wheel drive in a heartbeat!

Oh, and it's a pretty standard design most companies have been using for the last 15-20 years. It's nothing unique to Fords.

-Joe

 

[yellowcat]

the slave is leaking

Was able to see in the tranny, and the slave is leaking. One important thing is the tranny WILL come out of gear. So the presure plate is cooked. Does anyone know how to get the shifter rod off. It seems that the plastic rod was glued to the metal shaft. Should I take a pipe wrench to it? What does the big nut at the base of the shifter do ? On one side is a nut, and the other side is a little plastic keyway, or cotter pin. Does that nut do anything?