My truck,,1995 F150 Eddy Bauer edition, 4x4 M5ODr2. Had the clutch kit and slave replaced shortly after getting it in 18. After I finally got the system bled and it did OK until this past Nov. While driving to a friend's house an hr away, made it within 5-6 miles and the clutch peddel would not depress,,, at all. Got the tuck towed to the nearest general shop which was the only one left in that area after Helene flooding/damage.I left it with them, got a call a few days later,,,said the slave had been leaking and I needed a new clutch kit, master and slave. They finally finished up Dec 15th so I get up there to pick it up and immedately had issues I think it wasn't completly or properly bled. At that point it was driveable so I was getting it home come hell or hi water. I've pecked at it best I could, changed the fluid and bled and it was shifting OK until more recently. Now on a cold start up it shifts real smooth until I go to the store, about 6 miles away. After driving that distance it gets a bit hard to shift for the drive home by the time I return home it gets a bit harder, then a brief stop at the bottom of the 1/4 mile uphill driveway to check the mail, It doesn't want to shift,,, not grinding,,, just won't shift. Seems the stick will move in the direction of but like it hits a "wall".
I can turn the truck off, push the clutch and it slides right into gear. At that point I can start the truck and proceed up to the house,,,no shifting just 1st gear. At other times if I need reverse I have to follow that same procedure. The fluid in the master finally setteled down afrer several bleed attempts and now seems to hold a steady level. The new trans fluid I used was Redline MT-LV,, so I'm not sure where I'm at right now.
Any input would really help. Thanks in advance

 

Can you pump the clutch pedal several times and then it will go into gear with the truck running?

 

Not when it's acting up. ,,On a cod start , after it has it's 1-2 min. warm up it shifts like new, but after it runs and sfifts good on a short trip 6 miles to the store is when it starts acting up. Then. when I get closer to the house down shifting starts getting some difficult. and after I stop very briefly , like to check the mail is when it decides it doesn't doesn't want to go back into gear and reverse wants to try and grind. When I turn the rig off.it will slide into gear then I can start it up in 1st or reverse with the clutch in and get out of a parling spot or up the drive way.. I just woke up and bet I can go fire it up right now and it will shift well for the first several miles.
The very rescently fluid change to Redline MT-LV is when it started getting worse and that is supposed to be good gear oil,,,, expensive too. I have thoughts of changing it again to the Valvoline multi vehicle fluid. That is supposed to work with my trans and is a replacement for Mercron V. however this is getting costly without having a better idea what the issue might be.

 

It sounds like your clutch isn't releasing all the way. How are your clutch pedal bushings? Is there any freeplay in the clutch pedal? Even an inch or two of apparent play can mean a lot for your master cylinder. The bushings are plastic and a cheap fix.

With respect to your shifting experience, I've noticed that on very cold days, the M5OD in my Ranger shifts much easier before it comes up to temperature. After driving a few miles, the shifter "firms up" and gets back to normal feeling. This is with fairly fresh (~10k miles ago) parts store-brand Mercon V. I assume that it has something to do with synchro engagement and oil viscocity.

 

the clutch pedel doesn't retract all the way on it's own. It seems that on the rebuild the heavy return spring may not have been properly reinstalled. The rod bushings seem fairly good, no sticking or binding. I can lightly flip up the pedal with my toe. I might have to lube the bushings and see if there's any way to tighten the spring. Also might try to change the fluid again. I'm 67 and have never had these troubles with a con-founded clutch before.

 

I just dealt with this exact problem - the "sticking" is a sign that something in the linkage is worn. In my case, that was the pedal bushings, but it could also be the clutch pushrod if you don't have the heim joint mod installed. If you want to take a closer look, push on the pedal with your hand while watching the pivot on top of the pedal bracket. You'll likely see the whole pivot rod shift downwards instead of rotating. I ended up installing a whole new pedal assembly because of the wear in mine, but most of the time a new set of bushings is all you need. I would recommend pulling the pedal assembly and installing new bushings and a heim joint mod (if you don't have one already, that is). It's a pretty easy job and costs less than $40.

Forgot to mention - there's no way to adjust the spring. It is supposed to "rock over" when you bottom out the pedal so that you aren't fighting the spring while holding the clutch in. If your bushings are worn, then it can't "knee out" correctly and return all the way. There also isn't any adjustment for the master cylinder pushrod unless you pull the little ear off the clutch pivot rod and press it back on. Unfortunately, the engineers were a little myopic when they put this assembly together.

 

Yes, I remember when the spring would kinda rotate a little on the return stroke. That did just fine prior to those folks that tore it apart for the clutch kit install 6 months ago. Think I'll spend some more time under the dash before I drain that expensive Redline oil to replace it. Looks like my Sweetie is occupied tomorrow so that frees me up for a search and destroy mission,, ha ha.
Thanks for the insight, I'll get back to ya after I see what's happening