Clutch does not disengage???

[b2redneck]

First time poster...'85 B2, 2.8L, 4x4, 5spd manual, 178K.

Bought this B2 a month ago for a toy. Love it, great truck; been fixing one noise at time...Ran in to a problem coming home from work yesterday.

Went to shift and was not able to put it in to gear. Coasted to a stop in a parking lot to investigate.

Turned off the motor --> and the shifter went in to gear with little resistance. When I started the engine while in gear (clutch down and foot on brake) it wanted to take off all by itself.

It felt like holding the clutch pedal down was doing absolutely nothing to disengage the clutch. Same issue as b4 while driving home... holding the clutch pedal down would still not allow me to change gears.

Been reading up on some old posts, came across similar topics... does this type of problem sound familiar?

To me, it sounds like a hydraulic issue...master cylinder or slave. The clutch is old, but is not slipping.

Looked for leaks, didn't notice anything unusual, the resevoir is full.

Was going to try to bleed the system, but stupid me...I can't locate the bleeder screw (unless i'm staring right at it).... my thought was if I got air, then there's the problem. If I got no fluid moving, the master is out.

Any thoughts/suggestions here? Am I going in the right direction? What are some other things to check for?

Thanks.

 

[ricka]

Same thing happened to me although I did feel the pedal pop about 1/2 way before it wouldn't release. I'm tearing into it tomorrow morning and I'll let you know what I find. I did pull the plug on the upper left side of the trans and I can see the slave working as the pedal is depressed so who knows. Plans are to replace clutch and slave if necessary. 2001 Ranger SB 2.3 ltr manual 70,000 miles.

 

[b2redneck]

Yep, forgot about the pedal feel. Cant describe it exactly except for it being odd. Takes more effort to push/hold it down. Good luck tomorrow.

 

[RobbieD]

It sounds like you're right, it's an issue with the clutch hydraulics. If so, it pretty much boils down to a failed master or slave, and if your luck is like mine, it's the harder-to-replace slave. Good luck with it, and welcome aboard. Good first post, too.

 

[b2redneck]

Thanks. I'm kinda prepare for the worst. Clutch assembly and slave, AND a master to make things interesting. I realize this thing is old, but I'd rather only do this once.

While i'm in there what else is worth changing that is easy to access? Rear main? Any thoughts?

 

[kunar]

some say if the rear main isnt leaking then leave it but when i did a clutch i did mine. i havent had any problems and it was only a few bucks. it was a pain in the ass to get out though.

 

[RobbieD]

Good question, "what else?". I've had the tranny out of all three of mine, and I only replaced rear main seal on the '94, because it showed signs it was leaking. Once you've got the transmission out, just use your best judgement. You've got a good handle on this thing.

 

[ricka]

Got it all apart this morning and nothing obvious was wrong. Changed out the clutch disc, pressure plate, pilot & release bearings and the slave cylinder. Back together and after bleeding the system it's functioning perfectly now - except no back-up lights - need to find that connector. I'm assuming the slave was the problem but the disc was about 60% gone so changing that wasn't a total waste. FYI - I bled the system using a handheld vacuum pump to draw the fluid through the system rather than waiting on gravity while my best friend/girlfriend/fiance kept the reservoir filled. The final bleed using the pedal and all was golden. Keep us updated on your progress.

 

[b2redneck]

Will do. Glad things worked out for you. Was probably going to do the same things you ended up doin.

How much did the parts run you and where did you get them from?

 

[ricka]

Got all the stuff from NAPA for a total of about $250. You may want to try Auto Zone - at least for the slave since you get the lifetime warranty. The NAPA slave had a 90 day but was the only one in town on a saturday.......