I have a 2001 Ranger with 85000 mile in it,my clutch problem started when i noticed a slight sticking problem with gear shifting and I need to push my pedal all the way down to shift. Checked my fluid and it was down the mark, I added some fluid and it has become better only to come back after maybe 2 weeks of driving. This time the shifting problem has worsened, my reverse gear seems to be the first to go, then my first gear, that I have to drive in second gear one time just to reach home. The first thing I did was to bleed the system, the fluid will not bleed by gravity as suggested, I have to pump the pedal and dirty clumped of clutch fluid came out, lot of dirt, so I remove all the fluif from the reservoir and clean the system with compressed air, afterwhich the fluid flows nicely. I tired to check if what I did worked and behold,I could not completely shift my gears and my pedal goes all the way down , no resistance at all as if I am not hitting the pressure plate or something. What have i done, so I rebleed the whole system again, thinking that I could have introduced more air with my air cleaning, the same results. Am i correct to say that my master cylinder gone south, if so, will it be logicalfor me to replace it without replacing the slave cylinder( which I can not do since it is internal) before I decide to bring it to the professional. Am trying to save some money as much as possible. Any advice would be appreciated very much.

 

Welcome to FTE danubo49,

Your symptoms are exactally like mine in my 90 Ranger w/ M5OD...Damn Hydraulic Slave Cylinders! Got to change mine when the weather allows me to but until then I keeps adding the ol' DOT 4 Brake Fluid and keep hoping she holds on.

BUT: With all the crapola that you said came out and it's present non-operable condition then I would definately consider changing the Master Cylinder!
Sounds like it has internally decomposed!

Did you get this truck new or 2nd hand?
Possibly another Fluid, besides DOT Brake < (use only what's recomended for your vehicle), was entered into this system by mistake??

Hope this helps!

 

I got thid second hand, am the second owner with 35000 miles on it. I was thinking of changing the master cylinder and see how it works, but if it is the slave cylinder, dfinitely need to be brought to the "stealers" cuz i dont think I can manage to bring down the tranny. U think it will be logical to try the master cylinder or just go ahead try the professional, just trying to find a way to avoid big expenses.
Thanx crazypaw for ur reply, it helps a lot....

 

Going back to the master cylinder, I did not find any sign of leak along the external line, I may be wrong..

 

Hi danubo49,

It's the plunger part of the packing inside of the Master Cylinder that's in question!

And after more serious contemplation, and I'm hoping not (crossing my fingers), that all that crapola that you extracted from the Hydraulic System may have made it to the Slave Cylinder!

And whenever you do work with the Master Cylinder w/o disconnecting the
clutch pedal :
*NEVER OPEN HYDRAULIC LINES TO RELEASE PRESSURE OR YOU WILL CRASH
THE PACKING INSIDE OF MASTER AND IT WILL POSSIBLY<(If luck happens to
be following you at that instantanious moment) BECOME NON-OPERABLE* such
as in your present situation!

 

[QUOTE=crazypaw]Hi danubo49,

It's the plunger part of the packing inside of the Master Cylinder that's in question!

And after more serious contemplation, and I'm hoping not (crossing my fingers), that all that crapola that you extracted from the Hydraulic System may have made it to the Slave Cylinder!

And whenever you do work with the Master Cylinder w/o disconnecting the
clutch pedal :
*NEVER OPEN HYDRAULIC LINES TO RELEASE PRESSURE BEFORE DISCONNECTING CLUTH PEDAL MECHANISM (It's heavyness along w/ good ol' Gravity) WILL CRASH THE PACKING INSIDE OF MASTER AND IT WILL POSSIBLY<(If luck happens to be following you at that instantanious moment) BECOME NON-OPERABLE* such as in your present situation!

 

Thanks, cearzypaw, that probably explains it, I clean the hydraulic lines with the compressed air with the clutch pedal connected after removing remaining fluid by suction, and the crap I took actually came out of the bleeding point which I presumedhave passed thru the slave cylinder, I pray to everyone that my slave cylinder is not damaged otherwise goodbye 500 bucks. I decided to change the master cylinder and probably get the ford oem from the dealer, will update u about the results,, hope this helps people with the same problem, which I believe is a very common problem. based on what I read from the forums...

 

You are exactly right, after I replaced the master cylinder and did the correct bleeding, my truck finally runs, thanks Mr crazypaw, I did it wiht ur expert advice. And for those who might get the same problem, I will outline it here for ur consumption:

Problem: Pedal Clutch has to be pushed to the floor to shift gear, checked reservoir it is almost empty, improved with adding fluid but happen the second time, but this time is much worst, until finally I am not able to shift the gear at all. with pedal no resistance at all.

How to go with the problem:
Checked reservoir fluid, if empty fill fluid and do the bleeding, the correct way, do not bleed the line just by gravity as some would advice. This is how I did it.
Disconnect the hydraulic line from the slave cylinder, ask someone to push on the pedal while opening the end of the line( push end with a screw driver) after u have released and closed the end of the line u can release the pedal, do this proc for 3 times, then reconnect the coupling back. Then do a one time bleeding opening the screw of the regular bleeding point. Do the same technique with the pedals as described.

If this fails, then replace the clutch master cylinder, ur access will be under the front fender. Remove the tires, then remove the whole underside fender and u will see the master cylinder well exposed giving u enough room to work.
Disconnect the coupling from the slave cylinder (quick disconnect) using a special tool(push the tool in while pulling the hydraulic line) once done detach the push rod fron the pedal, remove the interlock switch (working from the inside) then going back from under rotate the master cylinder 45 degress clockwise( some will be the opposite direction) and pullm out the unit. Detach the hydraulic line from the master cylinder(unless u r using a new hydraulic line) Before installing the new one MAKE SURE U DO A BENCH BLEEDING , same technique except that it is not connected to the car yet. (Proc: put the reservoir in a vise, make sure the M cylinder is below the reservoir) fill with fluid and open the end of the hydraulic line with a screw driver (pushed in) while someone pump the push rod then hold. Close the hyd Line then release the push rod. Do this proc, 9 times. Now u can install the M cylinder, proc is the reverse of removal as described. Once installed, pump the pedal 5-10 times in quick succession, repeat after 2-3 minutes, with the coupling disconnected. Then connect the coupling and do another bleeding using the bleeder screw. Thats it, NEVER BRING TO THE SHOP RIGHT AWAY specially if u r not experiencing slippage, they will qoute u right away for 500 dollars, this will save u a lot of money.

If again it falis, then time bring the transmission down, because the slave cylinder is inside the trans,this time u can make a choice whether to bring it to the stealers...( Shop) Be ready to spend more or less 500 dollars.
Hope this will help....thanks again crazypaw, u made my day....

 

Well, Hello danubo49

Well...I can see by your recent post that you are a very happy camper!!

I'm very happy for you that you have solved your mystery w/ your vehicle and that you have also explainationed what you did to rectify you situation!

And everyone please don't forget we are all here to help each other the best way that we can and there is no such thing as a stupid question when it comes to learning because that goes along with the territory, hence, remember being in school?

And a message to our gracious moderators: Please delete all crazypaw double postings...they are taking up way too much valuable space here on this Great Site...FTE is#1!