Clutch needs fixed but im lost.

[flaxmax]

Alright incase u all dont know i bought my stroker for $300 last fall and i finally have enough money to fix it. something in the clutch area needs fixed. it was a ranch truck so its a little beat up so im wondering if the problem could be the fire wall being cracked and if there is a kit to fix it. is that common or should i go straight to the actual clutch? there is pressure when i push on the clutch and it feels okay and i can see a little movement on the fire wall when i do so. anyhelp would be very nice, thanks!

[madpogue]

So is the clutch not fully disengaging when you press the pedal? Is it sometimes hard to get the starter to engage unless you're really mashing hard on the pedal?

You don't say what year, but by '94.5, the firewall issues should have been resolved. Places to check:
* There's an arm with a "knob" that engages the eye in the pushrod for the master cylinder, with a craptastic plastic bushing that often wears/fails. Two solutions; one is a fancy Heim joint on eBay that requires some fabbing, and the other is a piece of brass tube to replace the bushing and drill stop collar to hold the knob in place
* If you have an assistant, have them push the clutch in all the way and release it, while you crawl under the truck with a ruler or tape measure. You'll see where the fork sticks out of the tranny, and the slave cylinder pushes on the fork. Measure how far the fork moves right at the end of the fork as it sticks out. It should be about 1/2"-9/16"

[flaxmax]

its a 97 sorry. okay thanks for the help. im currently looking for the starter interlock switch to start it.

[madpogue]

The switch is on the clutch pushrod. Four-wire connector. The two wires closer to you are for the cruise control. Contacts normally closed, but when you first start to push the pedal, the contacts open to interrupt the cruise.

The two wires closer to the firewall are the starter interlock. Contacts normally open, and when you push the pedal ALL the way down, they close, allowing you to start the truck.

So if you're having trouble starting it, along with the clutch issue, that points the finger at that crappo bushing. Pedal doesn't fully push the pushrod, doesn't close the switch, no starty.

Here's a shot of the cheapo drill stop collar fix. 'Course you can't see the brass bushing inside the eye. The switch is the black cylindrical thing in the bottom of the pic. I noticed in our other truck, I didn't even bother with the brass bushing; I just kept the stoopid plastic one, but cut off the four "ears" on it.

One thing to keep in mind is that when that plastic bushing gets weak enough, the "knob" on the arm will pop right out of the eye, and you get no clutch action at all. Clutch remains fully engaged, pedal spring makes it snap to the floor, switch doesn't close.

[flaxmax]

Yeah it poped off a few times yesterday so that needs fixed. we pulled the interlock deal toward us and fired it right up! runs awesome for a $300 truck! spent $427 bucks on fluids and filters cuz it sat for who knows how long. wile it was running we worked the clutch and it doesnt disingage all the way and makes a bad noise when pushed in. we are thinking throwout baring. gonna dig into it monday night. ran really smooth!