Transmission clutch won't release

mahanja · 04-26-2008, 02:01 PM

I'm working on a '97 F-350 7.3L with a 5 speed transmission. Recently, it has been having trouble going into gear from a stop. No problems once the vehicle is moving. If it is put into gear while the engine is off, then started, it moves under its own power with the clutch pedal still depressed. Two transmission shops told us the clutch needed to be replaced. We opened the shroud and inspected everything. There is approx. 1/4 inch of clutch material left on each side of the clutch. We can visually see the linkage from the slave cylinder actuate the end of the fork. The clutch itself moves to disengage.
Any suggestions? We decided to throw an easy part and changed out the slave cylinder but still have the problem. Could it actually be the clutch? I believe that 1/4 in of material left on the clutch is plenty. Can anyone confirm? Thanks for the help.

jonmark1985 · 04-26-2008, 03:33 PM

I don't think its an issue with the lining of the clutch, i think its that the clutch isn't releasing all the way, and you're on the right track with the slave clyinder. Verify you have adequate fluid, and that the slave cylinder is bled.

It could also be wore fingers on the pressure plate, causing the pressure plate not to pull away enough from the disc.

mahanja · 04-27-2008, 08:46 PM

I verified in the book and it is a 1/16th inch minimum. It is definately more than that.
We bled the new slave cylinder until clean fluid came out. It actuates the same distance that the old did. I looked up in the Haynes manual and it suggests a hyd leak. We couldn't find any. As I was thinking about it though, I remembered there was a bit (couple teaspoons) of fluid in the tranny shroud under the clutch. Could that be something? We ran it and played with the clutch for over an hour and didn't see anything leaking. Any ideas?
We may just end up throwing a clutch at it. Kinda expensive to do without throughly troubleshooting it. When the tranny shops didn't even look at it and diagnosed it as being a clutch we were a bit leary. I've learned over the years not to trust mechanics. The good ones are few and far between.