Please Help - Clutch/Shifting problem again.

[03FX4]

Okay so before I bought my 2003 ford ranger 5 speed a recent record was of the clutch master cylinder being replaced. About a week into owning it, at RANDOM times my first and reverse would not shift and if it did shift it shifted hard. sometimes it would shift smoothly. I took it to a place they told me i had a piece of junk in my hydraulic line and gave it back to me. Worked good for 2 days, then started again. Brought it in, said Master cyl was leaking and they replaced that.

The problem was gone for about 3 weeks then it started again, gradually getting worse. Sometimes now I have to turn the truck off to shift into first or reverse. Im thinking the master is leaking again? Why? Something must cause it to go bad 3 times in 2 months.

I called another place and they said my 1/R shifter fork needed to be replaced. And sometimes it randomly can happen if it gets screwed up.

Thing is, all my gears shift harder when this problem occurs, and 1/r wont shift. Is the messed up fork causing my 2-4 and 3-5 to get out of whack and make them harder to shift?

I'm really confused now at what is going on.. someone please help me out.
I don't want to bring it in to have the master replaced again because first thing is that it shouldnt need to be, and if they replace it i know its gonna happen again. There must be something causing it to be bad? Either that or that isn't even the problem.

Is the shifter fork the problem?

Please help.

 

[gw33gp]

I doubt it is the shifter fork that is the problem but it is possible. My bet is the master cylinder. Mine had to be replaced under warranty, at around 25K miles. The first new replacement did not even get out of the Ford dealer garage when they realized it was defective and had to order another one. It has been working very well since then (for about 70,000 miles).

When they had it in for diagnosis, they found a unusual sound coming from the pilot bearing and replaced that. While they had the transmission off, they noticed the slave cylinder was kind of damp with brake fluid so they replaced that too. I have not had any problems with those items since then.

 

[03FX4]

hmm thanks for the reply.. I just dont understand why the master cylinder could go bad 3 times in 2 months. They said everything else was fine last time.

 

[rboyer]

Ever think of the possibility of having a very slow leak in your slave cylinder? Each time this garage looks at it and repairs something they are apparently bleeding it. If the slave cylinder is pulling in a little bit of air then just bleeding the thing is what fixed the problem. Now that it's doing it again try bleeding it and see what it does. There's a little rubber plug on the lower front side of your transmission that you can pull off to peek inside the bellhousing and you can reach your finger in there to try and feel for any fluid dripping off of the slave cylinder. If it's a really really small leak though you may not find any fluid.

 

[03FX4]

yeahh i've had 2 garages say it's probably my shift fork. and about the slave, last time it was inspected they said all my clutch parts were fine. But the garage i had my last master replaced said if the problem happened again it was probably the shift fork. so i'm bringing it to a place tonight.

Thanks for the replies though everyone definitely helps, and i will have them make sure there is no leak in the slave cylinder in case it was missed previously...

 

[snake]

It ain't the fork- it is getting air into the hydraulic system somewhere. This is the reason I don't buy rebuilt hydraulic parts- buy 'em new and pay the difference. Sometimes you can pump the clutch pedal in and out (in nuetral) and pump it up to get the clutch to release, but maybe not. When air gets into the hydraulics, you get the exact problem you describe. Could be the slave, as mentioned above post- which means the tranny has to be removed for access. Could also be the line between the master and slave not sealing properly.

 

[03FX4]

I went to a place and we talked for about an hour, and 3 mechanics there agreed upon that my whole clutch is gonna need to be replaced due to the fact that the master and line have already been replaced.. the said it might just be the slave cylinder and if it is that's good, but if they just replace that and i still have the problem, then it's my whole clutch and it'd be best to replace that while they have the tranny out..

a guy seems to think that the master replacement was flowing more fluid to the clutch in the time of the replacement to make the problem stop for a while because of it flowing more fluid to the clutch.

since I don't know the wear on the clutch because i bought it from a previous owner, they seem to think thats it because of how low off the ground my clutch engages. and i basically got a 30 minute speech on how the clutch can make it do that. soo i'm pretty convinced as this place is one of the best around. but it should be fixed on friday and hopefully my problem will be resolved

they ruled out the shifting fork problem because of how it shifts perfectly when the truck is off.

but while i was there they called 7 different parts places and found a full clutch kit including slave cylinder for for 348 bucks and 6 hours of labor at 47.50 an hour.

they seemed to think one of my springs on my clutch plate might have gone bad which caused the problem.

the problem is definitely more than just air in the lines though, it's been bled countless times and ive had the same symptoms for a while now, and since theres no signs of the slave being bad, they are just gonna do the whole clutch i guess. And no matter how many times the clutch is pumped it just wont go in to first or reverse

 

[rboyer]

I honestly think that this was all because of a slave cylinder on it's way out. The master cylinder that came off of the truck was probably just as good as the one that was put on. Bleeding the system is what solved the problem for a short time. I had to explain this scenario to someone not too long ago and had to show it to them in person to get them to believe me. Everything is in a fixed position in there so worn clutch components would just make your situation better as far as going into 1st or reverse if the clutch was going out. If you came to me and explained those problems my exact words would be "It's definitely the slave cylinder BUT while i'm in there replacing the rest of the clutch wouldn't be a problem." There is no way that any one person could justify saying that your master cylinder is leaking, your hydraulic line has "junk" in it and your slave cylinder and the rest of your clutch components could possibly be bad so if you happen to be going to the same garage for all of these repairs I would strongly advise you to be careful.

 

[BlackBII]

If one of the springs broke on your disc or plate, you would be able to hear it most likely.

They said it might be due to how low it engages off the floor?? This is a hydraulic clutch....it slef adjusts, there is no way in telling how much life the clutch has left in it by the pedal, that is only with cable operated clutches.

"they ruled out the shifting fork problem because of how it shifts perfectly when the truck is off."

It shouldn't take 3 mechanics to figure that one out.

Im going with everyone else. I bet the slave is just weak and needs replacing. The old master is probably just as good as the new master.

So there is absolutely no fluid in the bellhousing? At all? Zero, none, zip, notta?

 

[03FX4]

i havent opened it up myself but last time it was which was when the master was replaced again there wasnt.

so.. what happened was the owner of the shop said it was definitely the slave.. then some other guy came in and started telling me it was the clutch itself, neither of them have had the change to even look in the bellhousing .. but

they did say something along the same lines as you though about how they might as well do the clutch anyway while they are in there incase the slave itself doesnt take care of the problem.

so i've basically just been trying to understand this better since Ive heard so much

but either way it probably is the slave and since the whole clutch including slave as a part is gonna be like 340 bucks ill have that done anyway

 

[03FX4]

Update

so now i noticed fluid leaking from the master where the hose connects. i pumped the clutch like 50 times before starting and i got it to shift through all the gears when i turned it on.

let off the clutch and pushed back in and can't get any gear.

i hear like a squeaky hinge noise now when i push the clutch. idk if it was always that way or if it just started happening.

 

[rurouni20xx]

well it appears you had a pinhole or leak where your line went to the master and you ingested air every time you pumped the pedal like a lot of ppl here suggested. on a hydraulic clutch if your clutch engages closer to the floor that means you have low pressure generally caused by air in the system that causes your slave to not fully depress/disengage the clutch. the squeak is where your pedal is rubbing the bushing and is normal, especially on a clutch that is used fairly often, referred to as squeaky pedal syndrome. your gas pedal prob does the same thing where the linkage connects and rotates. my first guess was air bubble in master cylinder and incomplete bleeding. as stated b4 in another forum it was always best to bench bleed the master when installing and/or turn the master to where the line is upwards and bleed it that way so the air in the line doesnt get to the master seal making it virtually impossible to bleed.

 

[MAranger]

if all else fails, lemon law it

 

[03FX4]

yep so problem fixed, slave was redirecting fluid back out of it and sending it back up to the reservoir which i noticed leaking from. the slave itself was not leaking it was just bad.