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I am looking at a 97 f250 that is having trouble shifting into first or reverse in order to get either of these gears, you must turn the engine off shift it into gear and then start the engine. Do I need to replace the entire clutch?
Also the vehicle was recently driven a couple hundred miles without an air filter, is there a good way to test for damage?
I am looking at a 97 f250 that is having trouble shifting into first or reverse in order to get either of these gears, you must turn the engine off shift it into gear and then start the engine. Do I need to replace the entire clutch?
Sounds like the clutch fork is bent. Might as well put a clutch in it since the tranny has to come down anyways.
Also the vehicle was recently driven a couple hundred miles without an air filter, is there a good way to test for damage?
You would be better off to assume the damage is done and move on to the next one, unless the owner will do a compression test for you.
The 300psi gauge in most automotive compression test set's won't even come close. You'll need a gauge that will hold 1000psi, you will also need to build or buy a fitting to thread the gauge into the glow plug hole.
sounds like an internal transmission problem to me, not a clutch problem. If the clutch was bad, you would have trouble shifting into all gears. Not just 1st and reverse. I would bet that the syncros are shot (if reverse is syncro'd)
Does it grind when you try to go to 1st and reverse, or just not shift no matter how har you try?
It won't shift at all unless the vehicle is shut off. all other gears work fine, but if I ne3ed first or reverse I have to stop the engine shift and restart.
Not to argue, but as kasejust93 described the symptoms, they sound like the typical bad clutch, or bent clutch fork. symptoms to me. Reverse and sometimes 1st are the only two non synchronized gears in light duty transmissions. That is why they show the signs of a bad clutch first. The syncros are working over time to match the speeds of the other gears being changed. If I remember correctly these PSD trucks have a hydraulic throwout bearing so there is no clutch fork. But since I reread the initial post and saw the comment about driving it a couple hundred miles without a air filter..........forget it, walk away, these engines have all kinds of issues getting clean air with the stock lousy air box setup let alone without the air filter.
The ZF 5 speed has syncros in all gears even reverse, The 460 and Diesel have an external slave cylinder so it has a clutch fork that you can take out without pulling the transmission. It does sound like a clutch problem. probably a worn input bearing or bent fingers on the clutch springs. When idling in nuetral, push in the clutch and you should hear the transmission disengage and stop spinning if it isnt you wont be able to get it into gear very easy.
Thanks c_rossman, I will take your word for it on the syncros, since I do not work on "cars" at all, lol. I do find it strange they used syncros on reverse, I wonder why. Like I said I was unsure on the throwout bearing. Thanks again for straightening me out on the details.
I think it is to keep from grinding when going from nuetral to reverse. I just had my ZF rebuild with 6 new syncros. I would pull out the clutch fork and check it for wear. Probably take 20 minutes. Also if the throwout bearing is siezing up it may allow the transmission to keep turning when the clutch is depressed.
If reverse is syncro, then it is constant mesh reverse. Therefore, wont wine going fast in reverse. If a cluth wasnt disengaging all the way, then all gears would grind/be hard to engage. I think the last year that 1st wasnt syncro was before 85, everything after that, 1st is syncro. If i had that problem with my truck, i wouldnt be looking at clutch, id be concerned about insides.
Try a few other things first.
Let the truck roll a little bit while tring to engage 1st and reverse. If that makes it easier, then maybe your pilot bearing is going bad and turning the input shaft while the clutch is disengaged, therefore making it hard to shift into starting gears.
I dont mean to sound like a know it all, but i just finished a very indepth class on manual transmissions at my college. If the throwout bearing/release bearing was bad, it would make noise, not necessarly make the trans hard to shift, unless it was siezed on the input bearing retainer.
Last edited by f350xlt460; Feb 29, 2004 at 07:44 PM.
My 97 also had difficulties going into 1st and R. The other gears were ok, not silky smooth but just ok. A 12$ clutch linkage bushing was all that was wrong. It is located just above the throttle under the dash. Could it be that simple?
No air filter. Whew thats scarey. If it was running w/o the filter on a rainy day it may not be so bad. Hmmmm make that a rainy day with no road grime.
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