I'm trying to diagnose a clutch that won't disengage on my 2WD 2001 Escape with the 2.0L engine. 114k miles. I have no idea if the clutch has ever been replaced or anything since I just got it.

When I first got it I noticed the clutch was pretty hard to press and hold. I don't have another manual Escape to compare to but it seems excessive because I can't even hold the clutch for more than a minute or two before I get tired (and I only drive manuals so my leg is pretty strong). This is actually a separate issue so I'm not sure if this indicates anything.

So after about a week of driving it all of a sudden it got hard to engage any gear then eventually impossible. If I press in the clutch pedal it won't go in any gear and reverse grinds as if I'm not pressing the clutch. There is a light rattling sound when I push in the clutch pedal. Weird thing is, when I first got it the rattling sound was only when I wasn't pushing the clutch. Could this be a throwout bearing?

Pumping the clutch does not help. Brake fluid is good. I bled the slave without any luck. If I take off the plastic stopper on the back of the clutch pedal to get a little more travel then I can sometimes get it in gear (not very reliably though).

The master cylinder looks new. There is a tiny bit of fluid in the "cup" on the inside of the where the clutch pedal pin goes in, no other visible leakage. The slave looks original or really old and no leakage at all.

Any ideas of where I should start? Anyone know how much travel the slave should have? If I knew it wasn't moving enough then I can start replacing master/slave components but right now there is nothing obvious indicating that.

 

Anyone know how much travel the slave cylinder should have? Is there a manual that might list this information? This seems like the best place to start but I haven't had any luck finding information.

 

It is hard to say from here and without looking at the vehicle but I would say the clutch is bad and/or the slave cylinder to.
But it may be a problem with the pedal, actuator rod or the clutch master cylinder because you describe the pedal pressure as "hard".

Rod

 

Even though its a totally different 4 cyl. engine, I looked up in the 2010 shop manual to see if they listed a slave cylinder stroke length. They don't. Other than bleeding and a pedal free-play test, just about everything is pull the clutch and pressure plate and inspect it all. Probably not what you would want to hear. Since you have been driving manuals, respect your observation that it is too hard to push... remembering that it is only a little 2.0L four, not a 460 in an old F-250! If you think it feels wrong, it is!

 

Given the hours to R & R the pressure plate, TO bearing and clutch disk, I think I would replace the slave cylinder, and maybe even the master cylinder before tearing into it.
The sound description made me think of a slave that was not stroking the levers any more, and didn't push the TO bearing into the fingers. If the slave had leaked, and gotten fluid behind the piston, it could have developed the resistance you describe, making it difficult to depress the clutch pedal.
A slave cylinder is a lot quicker to do, and doesn't cost too much. Plus, if it doesn't fix it, you have a new one to go along with your new PP/TO/disk.
On the other hand, if the slave is internal to the bell housing, forget what I said, as you would be doing just as much work. I just haven't looked underneath a manual transmission Escape.
One other test would be to get a replacement slave, and connect it to the hydraulic line to check the effectiveness of the master.
tom

 

Thanks for the tips. Shame that they don't list the stroke length. Ah well, thanks for looking.

I got a new master and slave as that seems like the cheapest place to start. I may try changing just the slave first and go from there.

I forgot to mention that I was getting some vibration/shuddering from the clutch when cold and starting off in 1st/2nd so maybe that to points more towards an internal problem. Seems like a rust issue (thermostat housing leak?) because slipping the clutch the first few times would make the shuddering mostly go away. Inspecting the internals isn't so easy since you have to remove crossmembers, axles, and all sorts of BS. I will have to go down that path if the cylinders aren't bad.

I'm a little worried about the rattling because if the transaxle input shaft is messed up it could be the clutch disk rattling on the shaft (mega bucks to replace that I imagine). From what I have read, input shaft scoring seems to be a problem with certain Focus Zetec setups (SVT?) but I'm not sure if they use the same engine/transaxle as the Escape.

 

Back when it was new, and even in the past couple of years, my Ranger would get picky, and you could push the clutch pedal all day long, but not get it into gear. I *think* that there is a rust situation, from rain or high humidity, that causes the clutch disk to stick to the flywheel or pressure plate from time to time. The only solution I had, which works, was to start the truck in 4th gear, when it would jump, and then let go and work as normal.
I'd say this has happened about 2 or 3 times, and appears to have no long-lasting consequences.
tom

 

Years ago I had a truck that would do the same thing. What I would do is put it in gear and then start it (with the clutch pedal pressed like normal). It would jump a bit and then the clutch would break free.

In fact I had forgotten about that and just tried it on the Escape because it will go into gear when not running. It lurched a bit when I started it but then I was able to work all the gears. I'm not sure if that indicates anything because when it stopped working before I was stop and go driving so I don't think rust or whatever would happen then.

I noticed that the new master cylinder is longer on the back side inside the engine bay than the old one. Maybe half an inch to an inch. I don't think that by itself makes a difference because the pedal will still have the same amount of travel but I thought that it is interesting. Could just be because it's an aftermarket cylinder. I would be interested in knowing how long the original Ford part is.

I ran out of time today and haven't put in the new cylinders yet, will try tomorrow.

 

Welp, the new cylinders seemed to have helped. The clutch now feels a lot more linear in its engagement. With the old cylinders the clutch would be fully engaged when the clutch pedal was barely off the floor (maybe they just needed to be bled).

I can't tell if the pedal effort is any better. Still feels pretty heavy. Maybe it's just the way they are. The Escape seems to have a much shorter pedal travel than any other car I have driven so it's just not going to be able to get very much mechanical advantage.

I think I'm having a little trouble getting all the air out of the cylinders. I have bled it like crazy but I still have to pump the clutch a few times when I first start it to get the nice linear engagement (otherwise it acts similar to the old cylinders). I use the recommended bleeding technique of having someone hold the clutch in while I open the bleeder.

 

Oh well, so much for that. It stopped working on me again even with the new cylinders. I hadn't driven it that much until today when I drove about 50 miles. Couple times at stoplights I had a hard time getting it in gear (pumped the clutch and finally got it). Then when I got home after it had been off for a while I couldn't even get it in gear to move it.

It worked for a while but now the rattling sound is back when I push in the clutch pedal. It seems even louder now but maybe it was always that loud. Sounds like something loose inside the transaxle or whatever. Goes away when I let off the clutch pedal.

Sometimes I can start the engine while it's in gear (versus neutral) and it will start working. It will work for a while then suddenly hang up and I can't get it into any gear again.

And just to be clear, the transaxle/shift linkage itself seems fine because it does try to go in to gear but it grinds like I'm not pushing the clutch.

Now it's back to the same condition before I replaced the cylinders. No go.

 

From your first description, I figured you would probably end up spending some "quality time" pulling it all apart and replacing everything in the clutch assembly. But at least you proved it wasn't any of the easy things wrong, first.

 

Yeah I'm debating on whether or not to have someone else do it. I know I could do a better job but I don't really want to do it. Problem is, if I take it somewhere I'm not sure if I would go to a generic mechanic or the dealer.

The dealer is a small town operation and I know they do good work the way it's suppose to be done but of course it's expensive. $750 to replace the clutch and pressure plate only, other stuff more or less depending on what's actually wrong once they get inside.

The generic shop I have used in the past is pretty good and fair but this is way more work than I have ever had someone else do. With this route I will probably pay half as much for the parts but labor is unknown. My main worry here is whether or not they can do it correctly for cheaper than the dealer.

 

I'm going to put money on (without ever seeing how these clutches are set up): clutch spring came out of the disk and is lodged. Had this happen to me once. Bad thing when mine did this it had about 1/2 the material left...

 

To follow up: It was the clutch pilot bearing (or clutch hub bearing, whatever it's called). It's one of those needle type bearings and apparently clutch dust got in there and ate the bearing up.

They said it looked like the original clutch and I had everything replaced including the flywheel. Hopefully this holds up because it cost a fortune (and here I was trying to save money by not getting an automatic with the associated expensive rebuilds ).