No Clutch

[Hawkeye]

I have a 93 Ranger 4.0 with 5 speed transmission. I was driving along and I was shifting from second to third gear when my clutch pedal went down, but it was stiffer than normal. Not like it went all the way to the floor and the pedal would not come back up. I was concerned about getting off the road and stopping. I was able to get pulled off pretty quick. I did not try and change gears again. Basically just rolled to a stop with it in gear. When I turned the key off it took longer than normal to shut off. After crawling underneath to check the trans. I found the line going into the slave cylinder popped out part way. It was not locked in. Is their anything other than the slave cylinder itself that could be bad. I was wondering if it could possibly be a problem with the clutch. Thanks for any help with your thoughts. I replaced the slave cylinder probably just over a year ago.

 

[franklin2]

Lots of things to go wrong. Fix the obvious first and keep moving forward troubleshooting. If you ran out of fluid, bleeding the system after you repair it can be a real problem sometimes.

 

[Hawkeye]

Lots of things to go wrong. Fix the obvious first and keep moving forward troubleshooting. If you ran out of fluid, bleeding the system after you repair it can be a real problem sometimes.

My reservoir was low but not empty. Being that I had the slave cylinder replaced just 14 months ago. Installed a Perfection slave cylinder purchased from Summit. Just trying to get any thoughts on what it could be other than the slave cylinder itself.

 

[RonD]

The springs/forks on the pressure plate are what push the pedal back up, after you push it down
There is a small spring in Master, but main "return" pushback is from pressure plate

If the hose came off the slave then pedal wouldn't get pushed back up because the fluid in slave would just flow out of the connection
The hose to Master has a valve that closes when it is off the slave

I would look to see if you can find any reason for the hose to pop off of the slave
Reconnect it
Open reservoir and add some fluid
Open bleeder on slave and fluid should run out, slowly, and any air, hopefully, this is called "gravity bleeding" the fluid just runs downhill from reservoir to slave and out
Close bleeder and see if you have good pedal feel

The hose popping off was most likely the issue, when that valve on the hose starts to close, the pedal will get hard to press down, when it closes fully then pedal would need to be pulled back up by hand, or foot, lol
Until it was at the top and reservoir fluid could flow in to replace lost fluid

 

[scotts90ranger]

I'm with Ron, it's all with the hose popping off, it's not unheard of...

When you push it back in make sure the plastic collar is pushed out so the fingers on the catch can grab the line.

I would recommend doing a little gravity bleed on there after connecting it, if that doesn't make it consistent and firm with the engine off push the pedal to the floor and slip your foot off to let it slam back, repeat a few times, it sometimes helps (not always, but what do you have to lose?)

 

[Hawkeye]

The springs/forks on the pressure plate are what push the pedal back up, after you push it down
There is a small spring in Master, but main "return" pushback is from pressure plate

If the hose came off the slave then pedal wouldn't get pushed back up because the fluid in slave would just flow out of the connection
The hose to Master has a valve that closes when it is off the slave

I would look to see if you can find any reason for the hose to pop off of the slave
Reconnect it
Open reservoir and add some fluid
Open bleeder on slave and fluid should run out, slowly, and any air, hopefully, this is called "gravity bleeding" the fluid just runs downhill from reservoir to slave and out
Close bleeder and see if you have good pedal feel

The hose popping off was most likely the issue, when that valve on the hose starts to close, the pedal will get hard to press down, when it closes fully then pedal would need to be pulled back up by hand, or foot, lol
Until it was at the top and reservoir fluid could flow in to replace lost fluid

Appreciate the info Ron. You probably just saved me some money. I had the the truck towed to this shop that replaced the slave cylinder last time.
The truck is sitting outside the shop since they said they wouldn't be able to check it out til Monday. I will go over tomorrow, since it's cold and raining here
today. I have seen the bleeder port, so I will get any air out and raise my pedal back up and see how it goes. The clip is still on the slave cylinder where the line goes in. I will give an update tomorrow.

 

[Hawkeye]

I'm with Ron, it's all with the hose popping off, it's not unheard of...

When you push it back in make sure the plastic collar is pushed out so the fingers on the catch can grab the line.

I would recommend doing a little gravity bleed on there after connecting it, if that doesn't make it consistent and firm with the engine off push the pedal to the floor and slip your foot off to let it slam back, repeat a few times, it sometimes helps (not always, but what do you have to lose?)

Thank you as well Scott

 

[Hawkeye]

When investigating the line to my slave cylinder today, I found the line missing the sleeve that goes on the hose end. Had to go to four different parts stores
to find the correct slave cylinder that has a clip on the slave cylinder. All I needed the slave cylinder for was for the plastic sleeve. Installed that with a new o-ring. Bled the slave cylinder, and I have my clutch pedal back.