was working fine today dunno about before truck was sitting 4 years... today the whole day it worked gr8!! then after afew hours of driving.. the clutch pedal got down barely no clutch left.. i have to grind gears to get home..

its got clutch fluid ( didnt know clutch used brake fluid )

whats wrong? do i need to bleed the clutch or what?

 

Try bleeding it. Look for leaks.

Check the master mount on the firewall for flex while you are at it.

These can take a long time to bleed per other posts.

 

You did remove that rubber cup under the cap of the clutch master cylinder BEFORE checking and/or adding brake fluid? It seems as about everybody doesn't realize that rubber cup is there.

 

nope its my firs time with these trannies.. soo what do i need to remove??

 

When you unscrew the cap off of the clutch master cylinder, reach right in there under the cap and there should be a rubber cup about two inches deep(the depth of the cup, not two inches below the top). The top of the cup rests on the ledge top there, just grab it or reach in there and spread two fingers apart. You can't really miss it once you know it's there.

 

Uh-oh....

If you're not suffering a fluid leak elsewhere, then more than likely, either the clutch master cylinder, or the slave cylinder, has failed.

There is an inspection port on the left (driver's) side of the M5OD, in the "bell housing" shaped front portion of the tranny, which houses your clutch and pressure plate. Pull out the rubber plug, shine a good light in there, and see if you see a lot of fresh fluid. Some "weeping" or "beading" of fluid may be okay, but more is not.

However, EITHER the master or slave could have an INTERNAL leak, which would not be visible, externally, but which could cause the symptoms you describe.

What year is your truck?

 

its a 89...

 

i cheked the fluid lever ( without rubber cup ) and its normal.. and it doesnt show sign of leaking.. what else could be wrong? bleed?

maybe the master cylinder is bad??

 

Please see my post (#6, above) again. In the absensc of low fluid, it sounds like you have either a failed master or slave cylinder--which bleeding will not correct. A master cylinder is not bad (about $60.00 at NAPA--I replaced mine in Feb. 2008). Slave cylinder is more, ($90.00? More? I can't remember, as I did not buy one).

Check inside the inspection port--if you see no fluid, closely examine the master cyl. (both under the hood and under the dash).

Okay, upon re-reading your post, I see you're saying you are NOT low on fluid. If true, then it's most likely that you have either a failed master or slave cylinder, and it is "bypassing" (leaking internally) so that you are not losing fluid, but yet have no clutch action.

If you are lucky, your problem will be confined to the master cylinder. However, there's a 50% chance it's the slave cylinder, instead.

And unfortunately, here the news may get even worse: If your truck is not a 460 cu. in., or a diesel, I believe you will have a CONCENTRIC SLAVE CYLINDER. This is NOT one of Ford's better ideas.... If the slave cylinder is bad, AND if it is the concentric style of slave cylinder (which is literally around the input shaft of the trans) then you need to pull the trans, to change it, as the input shaft goes THROUGH the slave cylinder, which is a circular (or "concentric") affair. (You can see the concentric slave cylinder through the inspection port, after you remove the rubber plug--you will need a flashlight, and the slave cylinder will be seen as a aluminum/zinc-looking casting surrounding the input shaft, with a compression spring around the shaft as well.)

IF you're lucky, you will not have the concentric slave cylinder, but instead, you would see the slave cylinder outside the trans (as it is on some ZF 5 speeds, when they came with a 460 or a diesel, in an F-250/350). In that case, then you don't have to drop the trans to change the slave cylinder. But if you see the hydraulic line just disappearing into a grommet in the side of the M50D, then you know it's a concentric slave cylinder, and you better hope the problem is just your master cylinder, which is easy to change, because if the concentric slave cylinder is bad, the trans has to come down. I got lucky, this past Feb., and did not have to change the slave cylinder.

IF the trans has to come down, depending upon your mileage, you will probably want to do the clutch and pressure plate. I got a quote on this job, with a new clutch and pressure plate (I live in an expensive area/$85.00/hour labor) and the price was approx. $750.00, P & L. Happily, all I needed to do was change the master cylinder, not the concentric slave cylinder, which I did myself, outside, in the snow. Cold but cheap (like me--LOL).

But IF you have a concentric slave cyl, as I suspect, you can try refilling and bleeding, and see if that revives it, but I highly doubt that will help. Further, I'm told these are difficult to bleed and respond best to a pressure bleeder. I was able to bench bleed my master cylinder, and pre-fill the line with an eyedropper, prior to connecting it, so that I didn't need to bleed the slave cylinder at all--and my pedal feel/height actually improved!

Finally, I'm told you can buy the master and slave together, prefilled, but that may not be true and I believe it was from the dealer (more expensive). The advantage (IF it's true that you can buy them this way) is that you don't have to bleed them. Again, that's just something I heard, but the preceeding information I know from experience.

You know--just for fun, make sure all of your clutch linkage is intact and working, before you tear into the hydraulics. Whatever pins or clips there are can wear out, and the linkage can fall apart, which would be by far an easier fix.

Let us know....

BigSix1

 

thanks!!! bigsix..

im gonna begin with the master cylinder.. and slave cylinder..

the truck is an inline six cyl..

and ohh yeah the line disapears in the bellhousing so i have to take out the gearbox to replace slave cyll.. ill start with the master and see what happens

 

If it is the slave cylinder and you have to pull the trans you should replace and do the the following things IMO. Have the fly wheel cut - most shops will do this for less than $50. Replace the clutch. Replace the brass bushing that the trans shaft centers on the motor. I do not know about the six but you should seriously think about replacing the rear main engine seal while it is available to get out. One person can do this with a jack and trans holder (rent or buy - it is worth it). Good luck

 

I'd do any/all rear freeze plugs while I was in there as well, wouldn't want to do all that to end up with a water leak and have to take it all apart again.

Freeze plugs are cheap and easy to remove/install.

 

Very good advice, do this first.

 

if it gets that far.. i will only replace the clutchand stuff.. the engine is a temporary engine for the truck.. im building an 5.0Ho to drop in..

the linkage is good i cheked it..

 

If the master cylinder is still full it is very unlikely that the slave cylinder has failed. I would look elsewhere than the slave cylinder for the problem.