help me figure out whats wrong

[mconn116]

Hey yall so in my 97 ranger 4x4 with 4.0 5 speed it's really hard to get it into gear sometimes, especially 1st and 2nd, also the clutch is starting to slip, when im in gear with the clutch pushed all the way in if let off the brakes it will start to move forward, I'm thinkin i just need to replace the clutch, and throwout bearing, i would jsut order the full kit , what do yall think?
edit: was also talkin to a friend and after lookin around on here maybe it could just be my slave cylinder or maybe the system needs bled... any thoughts?

 

[martin]

It sounds like your clutch needs bleeding. If you are loosing fluid you might need to change the slave.

 

[mconn116]

thanks ill go ahead and bleed the system and check for any leaks, if need be i can always change the slave, thanks for the reply

 

[mconn116]

bled it today and it seems to be better, took about 5 different times of bleeding it to get it right but shifts easily into gear again, hopefully this fixes it for good, if not ill change the slave cylinder

 

[mconn116]

ok guys its much much better shifting, it was perfect for the first day, today i went to drive it and it was a little hard to get into first, other gears were good, it sometimes seems easy to get it into first and other times it just wont go, sometimes i put it in reverse then go to put it in first and that makes it easy to go back into first gear again. Also another issue is sometimes when i first go to put it in reverse it will grind a little bit but it only does it intermintently (sp) not sure if its a related issue or not. Anyways do yall think there could just be some air in the lines still, i bled the slave cylinder but am thinkin (worrying) i may need to replace the slave, any thoughts?

 

[mconn116]

can anyone verify if its the slave???

 

[piotrsko]

with the internal one you have, it is a bit hard to verify leakage which I think is the only failure mode (although someone will probably correct me)

I am guessing you still have air in the system which took me about a week of sporadic bleeding to get rid of.

 

[mconn116]

10-4 thanks, ill keep trying to bleed it out and see if i can get all the air out

 

[adsm08]

When it gets hard to shift, pull over and check the clutch fluid level. If its low, you need a new slave.

I went through this same thing for a couple weeks before I finally broke down and just replaced the slave. When I got in there the bell was full of brake fluid. Luckily none got on the clutch.

 

[Eaglefixer]

check this link out. The pic's are from my 96 Ranger

http://www.therangerstation.com/forums/showthread.php?t=67723

 

[dennis461]

In my opinion, your problem is...

As clutchs wear down over time, the slave cylinder has to move out on the trans spindle to keep up. The internal spring is a self adjuster, so you never know it's happening
until
the slave cylinder seal is running on a slightly rusted part of the spindle
so
you loose fluid, start having trouble
and
then the internet says, bleed the system, refill the fluid.
and that works of course because you lost fluid.
but it will leak out again.
But that''s OK because now you have a little time to get some parts ordered and replace the
throw out bearing, clutch and pilot bearing.

 

[mconn116]

Thanks guys appreciate the input, i figured I would go ahead and replace the slave cylinder since that seems to be the problem, and figured since its inside the hellhousing and all and while i have the tranny droppd it would be a good time to go ahead and do a clutch kit, and do pillot bearing and throw out bearing retainer also while im in there, maybe even change the rear main seal while im there who knows, ill just keep bleeding the system untill im ready to change it all

 

[BRUTUS_T_HOG]

if its a hydraulic problem it will get better by pumping the pedal. otherwise it is a bad pressure plate.

you can crawl under the truck and remove the inspection plug and check the slave for leakage, also check the bottom of the transmission for brake fluid. if there is no leak and it DOES get better with pedal pumping, you either still have air in the system or a bad master cylinder. i always test this by pumping the pedal several times, holding the pedal to the floor then trying to get it into reverse several times to see if the clutch stays released the whole time the pedal is down

 

[mconn116]

10-4 ill check that, i have noticed that when i pump the pedal it helps

 

[mconn116]

does anyone know of any write ups on how to change the slave cylinder, i know i need to pull the tranny and all just want to have a guide to go by once im in there