I have a 1990 f250. Clutch and slave cylinder were replaced less than 10,000 miles ago. when i am stopped with the engine running and try and put it in reverse it just grinds and wont go in. Works fine in reverse when its off and i start it in reverse. Not sure if its the clutch or what. Any Ideas?

 

I'm not a very knowledgeable person on manuals, so I probably won't be of any good help, but at least I'll try lol.
Does it do it ONLY when trying to engage reverse?
I would say if it's ONLY in reverse it may be a bent shift fork. Or a worn syncronizer, unless of course those transmissions don't have a reverse syncro to start with. Try putting it in like 4th and then shift into reverse and see if that helps.

 

yea it only does it in reverse and sometimes when i downshift into 2nd while im moving. thanks for the advice

 

I assume you have checked the master cylinder fluid level? Did you change the master cylinder when you changed the slave & clutch?
My 5 speed sometimes is hard to into reverse & first. But I clear the shifter by finding a gear it will go into & then try again. But if your grinding going into second you have an issue. You may have air in your line. Or a bad master cylinder. I read somewhere when changing the clutch it is a good idea to replace the master/slave & hoses. Because these clutches are great when they work but can be a big PITA.
Craig

 

Try bleeding the hydraulic clutch system first since it is relatively easy to do. Then take a look at the firewall where the master cylinder mounts as you have someone else push the clutch checking for deflection of the firewall. I wouldn't suspect the hydraulic line or the master cylinder just yet.

 

Good thought on the deflection of the firewall. Bleeding these systems in near impossible. When you replace the slave cylinders you buy them pre-bled, from what the guys on here told me. I bled mine after a hose issue & finally I left it alone for a week or so & it self bled or what ever it did because I now have a good clutch & no further issues.

Craig

 

I know the original post didn't say whether it was an internal or external slave, but the internal slaves don't come pre-bled but are not all that hard to bleed. Open bleeder, move pedal to floor, close bleeder, repeat several times to get most of the air out. Then pump the pedal a few times, hold it on the floor, open and close the bleeder, pull the pedal back up and repeat a few more times and it should be good to go.

The external slave is a little trickier, but I've read that since it doesn't have a bleeder, basically you unbolt the slave from the mounting bracket, turn it so the end where the line attaches is the highest point and move the pushrod in and out a few times to push the air up to the master cylinder. I've read that external slaves can be had in a pre-bled system, but I've never looked for one.

 

Thanks for that info mine is an internal & we bled that thing I can't remember how many times & finally said the hell with it & left it sit. Like I said a week or two later when out to move it & the clutch worked great & 3000 miles later is still working just fine.
Craig

 

countryshiz, mine does that too. Does double clutching work for you? That's how I've been getting by. I believe it to be a syncro. I vaguely remember reading that the ZF5 (I assume that is what you have) has reverse problems as it wears out. There's lots of info about it on this site.

 

Try shifting into 4th before going into reverse. I've had a few vehicles (81 C20 and 93 SHO) that wouldn't go into reverse smoothly unless you shifted into a forward gear first.