my wife reported the other day that the truck seemed to be hard to shift, esp into first and reverse.

i never had any issues, always smooth as butter.

after she mentioned this, the next time i drove it i noticed it was indeed hard to put into gear (more so first and reverse, but at any time can seem hard to shift in any gear, esp while going slow) and the clutch seems to engage RIGHT off the floor now, i mean a fraction of an inch. pedal pressure seems normal, maybe a hair soft until about 3" from the floor, but overall it's normal, initial clevis play is normal.

i checked the master cyl and it has dirty fluid...and some grime. BUT i am confident it's not the OE unit. it looks entirely too clean and new compared to, say, the brake master cyl. i cleaned/bled it and it just makes the new fluid dirty instantly, but no change in engagement/shifting by bleeding so i stopped. there doesn't seem to be any air in the system. i do notice that when the pedal gets near the floor, i feel some "unsmooth" friction, or...sort-of tension, in (what seems like) the master cylinder, through the pedal, but it doesn't seem to be actually affecting function. it might need a master cylinder rebuild or replacement down the line, but i am pretty sure it's not causing my issue.

so, i'm pricing clutches because it seems like that is the ultimate issue. i noticed that this truck crosses to starion clutches, so i will be checking into a basic "gravity series" clutch kit from a company my firm represents (Competition Clutch), or...if that doesn't pan out, i can probably rely on a Sachs kit from rockauto.com

anyway, thoughts on my issue? does it sound like i'm on the right track?

thanks.

i researched a bit and changed this thread for sake of being correct. still in for thoughts : )

Bleed it.

oh, i did - as mentioned i cleaned the reservoir of all residual grime and re-filled it twice through repeated bleeding attempts - there was absolutely no air in the system and the pedal (which felt pretty good to start) didn't feel better or worse from this. the fluid continued to become dirty despite running new fluid through it. since the pedal didn't change one bit for better or worse, and it (pedal feel) wasn't necessarily bad in the first place (vs. what it has been like since i've owned the truck) i stopped bleeding it.

is it possible that a pedal with decent feel will still yield such a ridiculously low disengagement as a direct result of a grimed up slave and/or master cyl? and, would this just show up like it did, out of nowhere?

that is the thing that perplexes me - it just showed up. suddenly, the truck was hard to shift and the disengagement point was a mm off the floor. as soon as my foot moves like what seems a mm, the truck wants to go.

i've never had this issue with any of my vehicles - all fluids are usually kept clean as a whistle.

What is the pedal height from the floor? What is the pedal freeplay before it starts depressing the piston? Pedal height should be 7.3-7.5", and freeplay should b3 8-16mm. Disengagement height should be 1.38" above the hard floor.

If all those are good when the adjustments are correct, the only other causes are a bad clutch/pressure plate or leaking seals in the master/slave cylinders.

thanks for the reply.

thanks to you guys :kiss: i've had the FSM for quite a while and did check the specs first and foremost. clevis play is to spec and after that very tiny amount of very loose play (a few mm) the piston starts to be actuated. the pedal feel during this is what i would consider "normal". BUT, at about 2" or so from the floor, en route to the floor, the pedal will seem to take on more tension and at the same time, will make some slight creaking and squeaking at the firewall that will take on a corresponding "friction" feel in the pedal. it varies, and is kinda slight, but detectable. i've always accounted this sound/feeling to dirty hydraulic fluid.

i don't see any leaking fluid anywhere, but the master cyl reservoir was about half full when this all started. problem is i can't recall how long it has been like that since i've never had any clutch issues up to this point, and was (originally) going to wait until i had to do the brakes at some point to replace the dirty clutch fluid.

i'm debating whether or not i should just replace the master and slave first, before i do the clutch, just to make sure those are primo. i mean, it will cost me under 80 bucks for respectable new renditions of those parts and probably an hour total.

i always thought that if a slave or master had issues it would show up in the pedal by either sticking to the floor or being totally spongy - to me, i can't really feel a difference in the pedal from before this occured to the other day when it just started to disengage right at the floor.

My first thought was slave cylinder.

John B.

thanks.

i ended up ordering a rhinopac master and slave from rockauto - shipped they cost me like 66.XX. i was going to get sachs since it was slightly cheaper and i have alot of good experiences with their stuff but i couldn't find anything bad about rhinopac and it was in stock.

i'll do the hydraulics first and see how it all reacts. i might still source a clutch since i know i'll need it eventually and if not - i can sell it.

I'd try the pedal feel with the return spring unhooked. I bet the pedal feel will show bad hydraulics. Sounds like no hydraulic resistance until the bottom of the travel.