I have a 1990 Ford F250 4x4 5.8L V8 XLT Lariat. I had a problem shifting into first and second gears. I loned the truck to a friend. On returning the truck he was unable to shift into any gears at all. I tried moving the truck myself and the same problem occurs.

I have changed the master cylinder and reinstalled and bled the hydraulic assembly. The pressure plate is being applied when the clutch pedal is depressed, but still no shifting. Can only be shifted when the engine is off. Starting the engine with the truck in gear and the clutch pedal depressed causes the truck to jump as if the clutch is not depressed.

I did notice that the crossmember that is attached to the gearbox is loose and missing a nut from one bolt, and a nut and bolt from the attachment to the chassis. The engine mounts are also worn badly.

I need some advice on what next to do. I have spent a lot on the clutch and do not want to waste any money on parts that will not solve the problem.

 

The clutch is not fully disengaging. It could be a couple things wrong. There might be air in the hydraulic line. How are you bleeding it? It could be that the bushing on the clutch rod is worn or broken. Check and see what's going on under the dash. It could be the slave cylinder leaking badly. Are you getting any fluid dripping from the bellhousing? If there's an inspection port, shine a flashlight up there and see if anything is wet. It could also be the firewall flexing. Watch the firewall from the engine side and see if it's moving while someone else steps on the clutch.

FYI... diagnosing a problem over the internet is a lot harder than doing it in person. You can't expect perfect results. You have to take into account suggestions you get here and add them to your own observations about what's wrong and hopefully come to the right conclusion.

 

The slave cylinder has shown no leaks. The pressure in the clutch is fine and no other leaks are present. I read some solutions to the problem and it said it could be caused by misalignment between the engine and transmission. Since I have some of these symptom, I'll will try to replace the engine mounts, get the missing bolt and nuts, and then tighten all loose bolts and nuts attached to the gearbox and clutch assembly.

 

Could be a bad pressure plate. I had a smiliar problem on my 88. The clutch pedal pressure seemed to be normal, no hydraulic leaks but coiuldn't shift while the engine was running without the gears grinding.

Also look under the hood at the clutch master while someone presses on the clutch pedal. The plate that the clutch master is mounted to is only glued to the firewall. On some trucks that plate pulls away from the firewall. Ford sold a reinforcement bracket to solve that problem.

 

I have the firewall reinforcement bracket on my truck.

 

Engine mounts being loose, or bolts missing on a crossmember won't affect the alignment of your engine to the tranny as long as the bell housing is tight---I vote for bad clutch--especially if you were having problems before you loaned it out !!!
I once had a slave cylinder seize on the shaft--good time to do a clutch since you have to take the tranny out anyway.
Gary V.

 

I checked the clutch and it was OK. In fact, I just put in a new clutch and pressure plate and no load was carried in the truck until I loaned it out.

The pressure plate is moving when the clutch pedal is depressed and it stays disengaged when the pedal is kept down. There is no external leak with the slave cylinder and I think the release bearing would slowly release if there was an internal fluid leak. I also just replace the master cylinder.

I'll change the engine mounts and tighten the bolts and nuts. I'll also check the fasteners that hold the bellhousing to the engine. I did not do the repairs to the clutch, so checking may show some loose nuts like those on the crossmember. I also found that three bolts are missing from the crossmember to gearbox attachment. I'll replace these bolts and tighten the rest. If this doesn't resolve the problem, I'll change the slave cylinder.

I'm hoping for the best. I love this truck. Even my niece, girlfriend, pals and people that I hardly talk to love the truck. I'll be working on the truck and guys will volunteer to help me work on it. Truly amazing!

 

In your first post you said the truck would jump when trying to start it?

That indicates the clutch is not releasing.

Appears Bubba or his brother worked on your truck.

 

That's what happens when you buy second hand products (the truck). However, I'll solve the problem sooner or later. Most of the parts have been altered or converted. I'll re-convert to original Ford parts.

 

Hey guys, I solved the problem. When I removed the engine mounts, they were finished. The right mount came out in about four pieces with the pin that kept it together severely bent. The fastener for the pin was missing. The left mount came out in two pieces. The bolts that fastened the crossmember that holds the gearbox in place were all loose. There were three bolts missing as well.

I bought new mounts and bolts and nuts to fasten the crossmember to the gearbox. After putting on the mounts, I saw where the old mounts were out of place. This was evident where the mounts were fastened to the chassis. There was also a marked difference with the two bolts that attach the gearbox directly to the crossmember.

I concluded that the engine and the gearbox had moved backwards towards the rear of the truck. This, I believe, restricted the movement of the drive shaft, therefore preventing the clutch from disengaging.

After replacing the mounts and missing bolts, and tightening the loose ones, the truck was able to go into any gear without gritting or any other resistance.

I should let you know that I recently bought the truck at a low price. The clutch was finished when I bought it. The previous owner had clutch problems. He could not understand why he was having so much clutch problems. I found the root of the problem. Now I will restore the truck by replacing any converted parts and also any worn out parts with the appropriate ones.

Now, I can drive with comfort and ease.

PS. I live in Jamaica. Parts for the truck are not easy to come by. Some stores order them from the US. This makes the parts expensive and extends the downtime for the truck. [img]file:///C:/DOCUME%7E1/Ropa/LOCALS%7E1/Temp/moz-screenshot.jpg[/img]