My 84 250 has the 6.9 backed up by the t 19 but the tranny is real bad to get into gear especially reverse. I checked the shifter cane pin and pulled the tranny off. Is it most likely in the tranny like a bad bearing or is the clutch burned up? I just want to see if anyone had a similar problem so I can nail this problem

 

Can you explain a little more what exactly the problem is?

Are you having trouble with the transmission grinding (making noise/vibrating the shifter) when trying to select gears?
Do you try and shift, but then the truck is still in neutral?
How does the clutch pedal feel? Any noise when you step on the clutch? (bad throw-out bearing..?)
Did this just recently appear? or slowly getting worse?

I'm not real knowledgeable about the early trucks and the t-19 clutch, so I don't remember if its a hydraulic setup for the clutch, or a mechanical linkage. But if you can answer the above questions I (and anyone else) can help you troubleshoot the issue.

Oh, did you actually pull out the tranny, or just the tranny cover to check the shifter?

Generally, when a clutch "burns up" it slips. Meaning it shifts fine, but when you let out the clutch, the truck/car doesn't move. Or it moves, but if you floor it, the engine speed gets faster without the truck moving faster at the same rate.

 

Clutch actuation is hydraulic. Does it shift easier with the engine not running? If so, when you put it in gear with the clutch disengaged, then start the engine and rev it up, does the truck "creep" at all? About where in the pedal travel (high or low) does the clutch engage?

 

Thanks madpogue, thats what I thought but wasn't sure.

Also good point about the creep, its what I meant but my brain wasn't functioning well enough last night to explain what I was trying to think...

Another thing that could be a problem is the pilot bearing dragging, although that is a little harder to pinpoint.

 

might just have to adjust the pushrod for the clutch master cylinder ..my 86 was like that when I got it.. was fun driving it home with the clutch only releasing half-a**ed....

 

Most likely issue IMO is a bad clutch master cylinder. When they are leaking the only real way to determine it is to have someone push the clutch down while you watch the clutch fork to see if it "settles" which will allow the clutch to drag.

This issue is common to ALL hydraulic clutches and they do wear out. Specifically the cup seal on the master cylinder piston wears out, or water contamination causes grief. The brake fluid used for the clutch system is hygroscopic- it will suck the moisture right out of the air if you give it a chance.

All of these other things could cause your symptoms too though. Firewall flex on some trucks prevents the clutch from fully disengaging also.

 

There is no "most likely" issue, if indeed the clutch isn't fully disengaging. Could be an internal failure of the master or the slave, or a leak in either (or the line). Could be a bent or cracked (or cracking) fork. Could be weak pressure plate fingers. Could be bad pedal box bushings, or wear in the pedal arm / pushrod connection.

All of these can be ruled in/out based on observation and measurement, rather than just guessing based on likelihood. But the OP has to confirm incomplete disengagement first.

 

Can you float the gears?
I never use the clutch once i'm moving. Also does it pop out really bad?
If so check the bolts from trans to bellhousing and bell housing to motor. Ask me how i know XD

 

Do not "float" gears in a synchronized transmission. It causes severe wear on the blocker rings. Many big rig transmissions use sliding gears, which are designed to be float shifted. Pickup transmissions are NOT.

"But I do it all the time!" Yeah, I've had this conversation many many times before. I have also overhauled more than a few transmissions due to this abuse. It works fine until the blockers wear out, then the transmission will no longer shift without *damaging* the engagement teeth on the gears and the teeth on the synchronizer collar.

Checking a master cylinder for leak down isn't a guess. It can be observed externally at the bell. And it also happens to be the *only* normal wear item that will cause these symptoms. And I acknowledged the other possibilities to begin with.

Most likely? Maybe not, thus I prefaced it with IMO. In My Opinion, the clutch master u-cup seal is a more likely failure than all the other potential problems. Doesn't mean that it *is* the problem. It means that I think it most likely is, and that is what I would check first by looking for settling at the fork where the slave actuates it.

 

Only going by my own experience, with three of these trucks. On one, the line failed. On the other two, the slave failed. On all three, I've had the usual shenanigans with the pedal box bushings and the arm-to-pushrod bushing. And I've had one fork that had been poorly welded. I haven't had one master fail. From what I read on the forums, the bushings are a MUCH higher rated failure item than the hydraulics, and among the hydraulics issues, I haven't seen any preponderance of the slave being more likely to fail than the master, or vice-versa.