Hi, I have recently perchased a 1997 ford ranger. Its an 4 cylinder 5 speed xlt extended cab. I have been having problems with keeping clutch pressure. The previos owner had changed the clutch within the last year and the slave cylinder is new. I have checked the fluid resivor many times and it remains full, with barely any pressure. We bled the system 4 days ago and it was ok until today. Today it did the same thing, having about a quarter of a pedal until you pump it 3 or 4 times and get about normal. There is no leaks because I am not loosing fluid and it just had a slave cylinder put on it. I dont know what could be causing it. Thanks for anyone that trys to help me.

 

Hi Andrew - welcome to the forum.

Two things that I'd do, or at least look at closely...

1) Replace the master cylinder (mounted to firewall, above clutch pedal). I'm on my 3rd in 257k miles (made of plastic) - not too expensive ($50-60?). In my experience, they can act like yours when they're about shot (they start sucking air past worn seals). Final bleed before bolting to the firewall, with the reservoir hose end held high - otherwise about impossible to fully bleed of entrapped air.

2) I've seen a few reports of clutch pedals' pivot bushings/brackets wearing out, and the resultant pedal slop causing a similar problem to yours. Might be worth a look.

 

I have another question. It wont gravity feed. Is that a sign of the master cylinder plunger being bad or is that meaning that the lines are plugged? We have been pumping the clutch, then holding the clutch to the floor, and cracking the bleeder. Is that the wrong way to bleed it? And how do I get the fluid lines off the master cylinder and the transmision?

 

The only good way to bleed this Clutch system is to take the Clutch Master Cylinder Assy out of the truck with the reservoir and lines together. The way the Master cylinder sits in the truck you will trap air and the line that connects to the transmission will also trap air because of the bends. Here's a link for bleeding YouTube - Ford Ranger & Mazda B-Series Pickup Clutch Hydraulic Release System Bleeding Procedures

 

Thanks very much for this post. This is exactly the kind of posts that this site needs more of.

 

Thanks! I'm going to go try it now and I will post my results.

 

I went away for the weekend sorry it took so long to reply but heres my results.. It worked great for about 5 minutes after taking the master cylinder out of the truck and bleeding it that way. It did gravityfeed much easier then ever before when we did that. We ran about 2 resivors full of fluid out of it and then we test drove it. It is still loosing clutch pressure and no fluid so I think its the master cylinder. If it was the slave wouldn't it not pump back up? And it has a new slave on it. This week ill put a new master on it and see if that helps.. But im still puzzled on how im not loosing fluid.. Thanks for the help everyone.