Hey all,

I just got my 03 F-150 with 112k on the clock. It has the manual 5 speed tranny behind the 4.6L.

However, since I've gotten the truck, it's kind of difficult to put in first gear. If you are sitting at a light and in neutral and the light changes and you push the clutch to the floor and put it in 1st (fairly quickly - a normal reaction time), it will actually do a little grind and/or thump. :-( However, if push the clutch to the floor and wait a couple of seconds and then shift into first, it's a bit of a "push" but it will go in without grinding.

Once in a while shifting to 3rd it feels the same way, but won't really grind.

I'm just wondering if that means the clutch is toast or is it the trans that is toast? Reason I ask is my 96 Cobra with the T-45 5 speed would grind going into 5th gear if I just normally put it in. I used to have to put it in neutral and then push the clutch in again and slowly shift to 5th for it not to grind. And it wouldn't go into 3rd if I tried to shift fast or under power. I replaced the clutch and found out the trans was actually going bad, but it had 173k on the clock.

So, I'm really paranoid that it's my darn trans in the truck instead of just the clutch. Whenever my old Camaro clutches used to be dying, they would slip more than they would ever grind going into a gear. :-(

Any help or thoughts would be appreciated as I don't have much experience with Ford equipment. My Cobra was the only other Ford I ever owned or worked on.

Thanks!
Mat

 

You might check to see if your clutch is releasing all the way. It sounds to me like the clutch is dragging on you, making it hard to put into 1st and probably Reverse too. Does it get worse as you drive, or is it a constatnly occuring issue, right from a cold startup?

 

I would have to say that when it sits overnight and is cold, it's not too bad at first, but it does get worse the warmer it gets.

It's been suggested that I try and bleed the system just in case there is any air in the system (not letting the clutch fully release) and/or any leaks. Another person mentioned the same issues and they replaced the slave cylinder and it fixed it. I don't want to go that route unless I absolutely have to. Always a pain in the butt taking out the trans and all that.

 

The F-Superduty I drove last summer did the same thing you're describing. It didn't like to go into 1 2 or R from a standstill once it got hot as well. When it gets hot, you might try pumping the clutch a couple times before putting it in gear. Doing this really seemed to help me get that F-Superduty into gear from a standstill.

 

Thanks. I'll give it a go today and see what it does or if it improves it at all.

 

How much free play have you got at the pedal? From fully up, press the pedal down with your hand and measure the distance that the edge of the pedal facing the seat travels before you feel resistance.
If it is more than about 11/2in then check the pedal linkage bushings for wear and maybe consider bleeding the clutch system.
If there is less than 11/2in of free play then you may have weak synchronizers in the transmission, a fluid change may help here.

 

You might want to change the oil in the transmission. Sounds to me like the synchronizer rings are struggling. Yes, it could well be a clutch release issue but changing the oil is a simple, quick and cheap thing to do if you bleed the clutch and get no improvement.

 

Cool. I'll definitely try that.

Any certain type of trans oil that you would suggest? I used Royal Purple SyncroMesh in my Cobra trans and it didn't seem to help at all. Maybe even made it worse, but not positive on that.

 

Ok...I finally got a chance to work on the truck.

I did notice that the level in the reservoir was down a bit, but not where it was sucking air. I'd have to say it was half way down. I also noticed that the rubber "grommet" that normally is on the bottom side of the cap (and goes into the reservoir cup) is missing. I don't know if that makes any effect on the clutch operation or just to keep out moisture. So, I totally drained out all of the old brake fluid from the hydraulic clutch reservoir and refilled it with fresh, new, clean fluid.

I then gravity bled it a bit and then had my wife help me fully bleed the system. Not much of a change. I may be "slightly" better putting the truck into first at a light, but not much. It seems like I have to push the shifter so that it "clicks" into gear in first. Almost like pushing it past something to get it in gear. That's what it feels like.

Only thing else I can think of is pulling the trans and replacing the pilot bearing and the slave cylinder/throwout bearing. It appeared to be working fine when looking at it, but it was squeaking whenever my wife pushed the clutch in. Doesn't look like there is any way to lubricate it and/or the shaft with the trans in.

So, any other suggestions before I feel I have to pull the trans and replace those two things? Obviously if it's not those two after I do this, then the trans is screwed, which realllllly sucks!

Anyone here rebuild one of these transes? Any suggestion on a book to do it with? I guess I could use the regular service manual, but sometimes an external book helps better with pictures and such.

Thanks again for everyone's help. :-)
Mat G.

 

I had a Jeep (Heap) Cherokee once that gave me trouble after working on the clutch. I sold it before I got all the bugs worked out but found out afterward that gravity-bleeding the clutch isn't always effective. Bench-bleeding the master and slave as a unit on the bench is a better way. I assume the Heap clutch had some high loops in the clutch fluid line that could hold air. Like I said, I unloaded it without resolving the issue but it acted exactly as you describe.

BTW, when I suggested replacing the fluid, I was actually talking about the transmission oil in the case of the tranny. But changing the clutch fluid isn't a bad thing because that stuff tends to absorbe moisture. (OK, the brakes are MORE important, but you get the idea...)

 

Changing the trans fluid is next in line. I didn't only gravity bleed it. I just did that to push some of the air down the lines, then I did a normal bleeding process on it. :-)

However, I will be changing the trans fluid soon as well. I'm going to probably replace the slave cylinder and pilot bearing anyway, so when I pull the trans, I'll drain it first and then refill it after the install. This way everything has been changed and we'll see if it helps the situation or not.

 

Ok folks...

I'm not sure what to do at this point. I don't see any leaking of any fluid, yet the clutch still doesn't work properly after bleeding the system. If I put the clutch to the floor and put the truck right into 1st at a normal idle (say at a light), it will grind as it goes into the gear. However, if I put the clutch to the floor, wait about 20 seconds with it on the floor, then I can push it into gear and it won't grind, but it will need to be really "pushed" to have it click into gear.

Can the slave cylinder actually get weak? I see there looks like a spring around it, but when the clutch gets pushed to the floor, it appears that it's pushing the clutch fingers in properly and all the way, from what I can see down there. Plus, with it being hydraulic, is it possible it doesn't get weak, just like a brake system doesn't really get weak, so to speak.

If I turn off the truck and go through the gears with the clutch pushed in, it feels MUCH better. Almost feels like normal, I would think. I don't expect it to be buttery smooth where I can't feel it go into gear, but way better than what it is.

So, I'm really paranoid right now of spending $500 on a replacement clutch and doing all the work to put the new clutch/pressure plate/slave cylinder/pilot bearing in and then finding out it has done nothing to fix my problem and then have to spend another $1500 on a trans replacement/rebuild.

But, on the other hand, I don't want to fork out the money for a new trans (or one from a junk yard if I can get one) and then find out it was just the clutch when I take it all apart. Uggghhh...

Any other suggestions? Anyone know where I can get a clutch kit fairly cheap for an 03 F-150 w/a 4.6L?

Thanks for all of the help...much appreciated. :-)

Mat

 

What trans fluid would you suggest I use? Just whatever the owner's/service manual suggests or ?

 

The owners manual should specify the correct oil. Some gearboxes use 90W oil, others (like a Dakota I used to own) use 10W30 motor oil. Changing the oil would be my next item. If the oil is the wrong weight, or if the viscosity is breaking down, it could cause the synchronizer rings to struggle. That is a step that is cheap and easy and will eliminate one more variable from the equation.

But I still suspect your clutch isn't fully releasing. Are you CERTAIN that you got ALL the air outta the clutch line??

 

The owners manual recommended fluid will be an automatic transmission fluid, probably to Mercron V spec.
My suggestion would be to use Mobil1 ATF.