HELP - Clutch Slave/Master? 1996 F-250 PSD

[SuicideAxles]

Just picked up my first PSD last night. 1996 F-250 Extended Cab, LWB, 4x4, 5spd 7.3 PSD.

The clutch pedal feels fine, but the transmission won't go into any gear from neutral unless the pedal is MASHED to the floor and you really push the shifter hard. If you barely release the pedal (I'm talking even 1/16 of an inch) the clutch will start to engage and the truck will start to roll.

The reservoir is full, no signs of leakage anywhere. Does this sound like a clutch slave cylinder or master cylinder? Is there an adjustment for the release bearing?

Any help is appreciated. I'd like to get this worked out today so I can cruise over my 3-day weekend in my new-old truck!

Thanks!

[Clay Henry]

First of all, do you know the clutch is good?
Sounds like air in the lines...is the clutch stif when you push it or is it pretty soft?
Try bleeding the lines from the highest point.

[SuicideAxles]

The clutch feels good. No noise. Shifts into all other gears when going down the road fine. Doesn't slip when I load it up with the brake or stomp on it.

The pedal is pretty firm, a little too firm for my liking but I haven't tried bleeding the system yet.

[SuicideAxles]

Looks like no way to bleed the clutch.

If I buy a new slave and a new master cyl...how do I get the air out of the lines when I fill the reservoir up?

[mschn99]

the slave master will come as a pre bleed assembly. The first thing to check though is that number one the plastic bushing on the pushrod that attatches to the pedal isnt broken, and secondly inspect the firewall where the pedal mounts for cracks. If this is all good, id say the slave/master is the problem assuming the pressure plate isnt just worn out or the shift fork inside the trans isnt broke...

[SuicideAxles]

From the parts house they say the Slave Cyl is $58.79, and the Master Cyl/Reservoir is $41.15. My parts guy said the instructions say to bleed the clutch by holding the slave cyl pointing downwards and to pump the pushrod in & out slowly.

I'm going to try it with my stock slave, maybe it can get me through the weekend. Where do I buy the pre-bled system and how much is it?

[fordnut85]

Double check the bushing like marc said, i had the same problem on my 94 and it turned out to be a $0.50 part!!

P.S. Marc is also right about the clutch (see a patern here lol), by design there is no place to get an air pocket, the line going into the cyl is at the highest point there fore any air in the system will work it's way up the line and vent into the resivor. BUT, this takes time but once it's done you should never get air in the system unless you run the system dry or seals are bad in the cyl.

hope this helps

[mschn99]

the pre bleed combo should be available at your local ford dealer if that does prove to be the issue.....

[SuicideAxles]

I got it fixed yesterday. Thanks for the help guys.

The Ford Parts Counter said the pre-bled stuff is for the 99+ trucks only, and he didn't have it in stock.

I got a Clutch Slave Cylinder & Clutch Master Cylinder from O'Reilly Auto Parts, both for $99.94.

I pulled the slave cylinder, knocked out the lock pin and removed it from the line. Then I disconnected the master cylinder rod from the pedal assembly, along with the switch, and pulled the master cylinder from the firewall. Laid it out on the ground and popped the lock pin out of it as well. I cleaned up my hydraulic line and then hooked it back up to both the master cylinder and the slave cylinder with the supplied O-Rings and Lock Pins. Then I dropped the slave down along the firewall so it was hanging and bolted up the master cylinder. Hooked the pedal back up, filled the reservoir with fluid. I had my buddy up top watching for bubbles in the reservoir as I pointed the slave cylinder downward and pumped in & out on the shaft about 20 times until it got very firm. Then I put it back in place on the transmission and clutch fork, got in the cab and pumped the pedal up about 20 times and everything has been perfect since then. Took about 45 minutes in all, start to finish

Thanks again guys.

[mschn99]

Glad you got it fixed!!! I also appologize, even though its not cataloged this way, the 99 pre bleed assembly for the 6 speed will work with no problems on the OBS 5 speed...i forgot to tell you that part.....and most parts guys and techs for that matter dont know this, i only know because we had a traveling customer one time that needed the slave/master and we didnt have the seperate ones in stock, so we tried the newer one.....he came back through a year later and stopped in to tell us it worked just fine since we warned him we didnt know if it would, even though it seemed fine after i put it in.......