problem is that it is very difficult to shift gears. it will go into gear, but not easily....depends on the rpms. more like shifting w/o using the clutch. getting into 1st or reverse from a dead stop is the most difficult. sometimes have to stop the motor, put it in gear, then start the motor to get going.
this has happened only since putting in 3.4L motor.

the clutch lines have been bled using both a MightyVac and the pumping clutch pedal method. bleeding was done at both the slave cylinder and the other inline bleed valve(cant think of what its called). i removed the slave cylinder and thoroughly cleaned it. its seal does not leak and the bore is smooth. it appears to be in working order. the master cylinder does not leak either.

so, if the system is bled and both master and slave cylinders are working....what else could be going wrong? does the clutch pedal ever really need adjusting? my manual says the pedal should be approx 7.75 inches from the floorboard. but the pedal is ~6.5 inches, and always has been as best i recall. never had a problem before. any ideas what i can do now?

I'd have someone pump the clutch pedal while looking underneath at the clutch arm to see how much travel the arm has. If it's hardly moving at all, you know something is going on with either the clutch master cyl, slave, or perhaps the clutch damper (I assume Rodeo's have one of those, too).

Do a search on "clutch damper" or just "damper" as there are plenty of posts on the subject.

Unfortunately if it's not an issue with the hydraulics, it's either a problem with the clutch itself, or trouble with the transmission input shaft pilot bushing.

When you put your 3.4 in did you press in a new bushing? BTW the Oilite bushing is self-lubricating and isn't supposed to be greased.

HTH.........ed

Jacktoad:
I have recently been throu this my self. on several ocasions the mity-vac worked great. the last two times I ended up replacing the slave, master and dampener. the dampener is that square thing in the middle. I ended up buying a pressure bleeder and making an adaper for the top of the resevor. after all that it still took 1 hour of bleeding and 2 pints of fluid to get all the air out.

Hope this helps

John in LV

Maybe a bad throw out bearing?

yes, this rodeo does have a clutch damper.

checked the clutch arm movement as my wife pumped the clutch pedal and it is less than 1 inch total. so, thank you all. i will focus on the hydraulics and consider myself fortunate to not have to seperate the motor and tranny again.

Focus closely on the dampner. Consider removing it. You can live without it.

There are a few posts on this. I believe that Smiley went through hell trying to figure out what his problem was. There are a few others who had similar problems.

Good Luck,
Michael

I had the same problem after swapping the clutch out of a 95 trooper, you just have to keep bleeding it. I had my buddy pump it up hold pedal to the floor and then I would open bleeder valve then close it and then repeat. We went trough a big bottle of brake fluid doing this and once no more air came out I had him keep pumping as I watched that rod push the throw out bearing arm and it got better and better. Try this start it up and pump the clutch pedal like a air pump 20 or so times then see if it will go in gear and if it does it just needs to build pressure.

Send Rodeo Guy a PM on here or the Planet he is an expert in this.

Updated 2/5/2008:
over the past few weeks i have replaced the clutch slave cylinder, master cylinder and the damper. bled hydraulics after each part was installed(because i did each about a week apart).

short version: no change. still unable to get in gear with motor running. so, still unable to drive <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" />

question: when i watch the clutch arm while a helper steps down on the clutch pedal, the clutch arm moves about .75 inch from its resting position. when i open the slave bleeder, it returns to original position, but the clutch pedal stays down on the floorboard. how much movement should i be seeing in the clutch arm if things were working properly? should i be able to push or pull the clutch arm and get it to move( i can't)? any thoughts... lemme know.

You'd have to have the arms of hercules to push on the short stub that sticks out of the transmission housing and expect the clutch to release... correction Superman's arms. You might have changed the geometry of your clutch set-up when you bolted it up to a different engine. There really isn't much movement in a clutch. You're just looking for enough movement to press the release bearing onto the fingers of the pressure plate so that the friction plate slips. Your seven inch travel at the clutch pedal translates down to about a half inch of movement at the throwout bearing contact with the fingers (if that much). If you've done all the bleeding, the next step is to drop the transmission, check the components and measure. Did the new engine come with the clutch assembly or did you switch off the clutch from the previous motor?

1.The pilot bearing could be seized on the end of the trans shaft keeping it turning.
2.The throwout bearing could be damaged/seized
3.The pressure plate fingers could be damaged.
4.The friction plate was installed backwards (ask me how I know it can be done
5.There's not enough travel in the fingers to release the friction plate (See #2, & #3)

yeah, it's some work... You might want to triple check the master. The only way I found mine leaking was fluid was dripping inside the firewall under the dash. I assume when you replaced it, you bench bled it before installation. It doesn't take much air to cripple a clutch.