I was rear ended and the at fault drivers insurance claimed theyd fix everything. They refused clutch and alignment repair. I need serious help and fast. I got the insurance company to agree to take my truck to a certified FORD service tech.

-Do you believe i can now have clutch problems after being rear ended? And how would i PROVE it is accident related? The insurance company says the "expert" at the dealership they took it to can "prove" it was not related to the accident.

Common sense dosent prove newtons laws of physics- you hit my hitch, which is directly on the frame, which houses my tires that were locked onto the ground, which holds my drive shaft thats connected to the transmission, that is holding the clutch and transfer case and motor and then the whole front end ect...

Im calling FORD now, they said i can bring it in, but they cant gaurentee they can prove it, the insurance guy keeps sayig, "you had a truck with almost 200k miles, how long did you expect a clutch to last" blah blah blah, and since i changed my master cylinder and slave before because the rod fell out due tue the dog ear clips letting go, that i "already previously had clutch problems" and that if there was a preexisting condition, and being hit magnifyed it, they are not responsible for it.

My main thing is, when i left my house that day, i could push the clutch in and alip it into gear easily. Now with the clutch in as hard as you can, you CANNOT get it to slip into gear, AT ALL.

So i went from driveable, to being hit, to not driveable. How do i prove that without them trying actually driving it before and trying now? Its going to FORD either way, but can anyone give me some advice here??

 

I can't see how a rear-end collision would affect the clutch at all.

Alignment, maybe... but I would think it would be the result of a bent suspension component or even the frame. If it won't stay lined up then you might have a case.

But the clutch, I really think you're reaching.

 

I would tend to think that a transmission or transfer case cross member or something that handles the alignment of the transmission to the engine would be more likely than clutch damage. heck it could even have cracked the case or something that is changing the way the clutch engages or linkage or something along those lines.

 

For some reason after being rear ended i cant get it in gear with the engine running, it happened immedietly after that. What else would have caused it, how do you coincidence that? I just dont get it... it worked before i got hit now it dosent... i dont know what part of the clutch is bad but something is...

 

Well, at least we have a description of the problem now... maybe we can get year, model, engine, and transmission information soon.

 

I sorry, i have a 2000 Ford F250 with 4x4 and the zf-6 manual 6 speed. I was at a dead stop with the clutch in, in gear, and the brakes on, with the wheels turned all the way right. I was pulled off the road as far as i could into a friends little yard dropping someone off. She was halg way out of the truck and BOOM i got rear ended directly on my hitch, the pin was out and the receiver was stuck in there, after the hit the receiver was slammed all the way in. Now when my wheels are straight, the one looks kicked out to the side alittle, and now the wheel isnt centered at 12 oclock anymore its more like 2 oclock.

Now also to mention, besides the alignment and front end things... immedietly after the impact with my motor running and the clutch all the way to the floor it will NOT go into gear. Any of them. Not from a dead stop in neutral or moving. No clutch.

I can shut it off and put it in gear, then push the clutch in to start it, and immedietly as my motor turns over the truck starts driving.

Everything was in proper working condition upto that rear ending accident, then after that boom, such problems ive described...

So obviously SOMETHING(s) happened when i got impacted, i dont know exactly what, i was never told an exact problem, just that the "problem" was not related to the accident...

I call BS, because i KNOW... but its not what i know, its FORD; proving and overriding what their first dealership determined was not accident related..

So obviously something did happen in the clutch region when impacted, and its how to prove it, and hopefully FORD can do that?

 

I absolutely hate insurance companies. They always seem to be run by the greediest people money can find. They will pinch, squeeze, and push you around until they get you to accept less than what you deserve.

If it's obvious that the damage was caused by the accident, and if what you say is true, it sure seems like it was, then you have to stand up to the insurance company and refuse to accept no for an answer. Get a lawyer to write a threatening letter to them. Have it certified, signature required on delivery. Better yet, do a google search for "how to fight auto insurance company" and see what you find.

 

i told him to do this a week ago.....

 

I pulled the lawyer thing, and refused no for an answer, thats how i got it to Ford. Does anyone here actually want to pay for a lawyer? I bet the clutch is cheaper.

 

If you need a lawyer and are right they can be made to pay attorney fees as well. Small claims court should be a viable option for you.

 

The transmission is bolted to the motor with 6 bolts and a 10ga spacer in between. The Flywheel is bolted to the crank and the pressure plate to the flywheel with the clutch floating in the middle. I don't see how a rear impact can directly cause clutch issues. The only thing I can think of is fork breaking. There was an early model fork that had a tendency to break with normal use. Perhaps yours was weak and the impact caused you to pulse the clutch pedal which made it let go.

Anyways the only way to tell is with a borroscope or dropping the trans.

 

Diesel 724, are you still able to freely (or fairly easily) get it into gear with the truck not running and the clutch pushed in?

I'm still not sure exactly what happened or how it happened, but I had the exact problem you described, clutch all the way in, engine running, my truck would not go into gear, it would just sit there and grind gears. However I was able to shut the truck off, stick it into gear fairly easily, shove the clutch to the floor and use the starter/hill to get the truck moving fast enough in low gear to keep the truck running, and then i shifted without the clutch from there on out. Does this sound like what you are experiencing?

Have you checked out the linkages and fluid levels and everything that holds the rest of the clutch system in place? Chances are a hit like that could have messed something up that has to deal with the actuation of the clutch, and not the physical clutch plate itself.

I ask this because of what we discovered when I had my issue. (see short story below)

I had to get to work that day so I got back to where I was living, parked the truck and walked across the street to work. At the end of the week I started the truck up and drove it the 220 miles to my parents place and a heated garage, with no issues whatsoever. I looked at the clutch through the inspection plate/dirt cover the next day and could find absolutely nothing wrong, nothing looked broke, bent, wore out, or anything of the sort to me or my father. The best we could figure was something went screwy with the hydraulic part of the clutch but we never pin pointed the issue.

Take what I said with a large grain of salt, as I only experienced the issue once.

Baatzy

 

sounds like your clutch aint connected to the pedal at all anymore. trace that out and see what you find. mine is an auto so I have to ask, hydraulic or cable clutch's in these trucks? could have ruptured a line if it's hydraulic. could have broken the fork or cable guide if it's cable.

 

all ford light trucks have been hydraulic since the 80's

 

To clarify my earlier post I want to say, I agree with varminhunter. I think it is probably something else in the system.

Unless you have already had it all checked out I would start looking at the entire clutch system and see if you can find anything that would lead to this behavior. It is a lot easier to try to get the money for a broken part when you know whats broken.

If you have had everything checked out and still can not pin point the problem, then I apologize, as I have not read through your other threads.

Baatzy