Grinding Gears

[Cody100]

So I tried to go for a ride this afternoon and when I went to leave I couldn't get my truck in gear. I tried 1st, 2nd and 3rd and each time it was grinding pretty bad, I could force it in but that made my heart hurt just a bit. I also noticed that even when I had the clutch right to the floor when I was putting pressure on the stick the truck started to roll... So my question is what could be the issue and where do I start to look?

[allsupj]

'66 so it has hydraulic clutch. Bleed the clutch.

[wally426ci]

Definitely a hydraulic issue. Make ure the master and shave are not leaking also.

[Cody100]

I've been browsing the forums looking for help on bleeding/servicing the clutch but all the posts I've come across are a little bit over my head, technically and mechancally speaking. Does anyone have a good link to clutch service for dummies?

[712edf]

Its similar to bleeding brakes, have a friend help you.

Bucky

[wally426ci]

Doug told me a method once that worked well. It involves filling the reservoir and then you put the bottle under the truck with a hose from the open bleeder into the bottle of fluid. This draws fluid while you pump. I'll try to find the post. It worked well for me at the time.

[wally426ci]

Here is the thread:

viewtopic.php?f=19&t=19295&p=179628&hil ... ch#p179628

And make sure you bench bleed the master before installing. It really is crucial. Bench bleeding involves working it on top of the bench and getting all bubbles out.

[Cody100]

Thank you very much.

[mopardwh]

Good luck Cody. Any more questions ask away, this forum is really excellent for getting help.

[Cody100]

I think I figured out the problem, I crawled under my truck the other day to get a soccer ball and i saw that the slave was wet. I had my son pump the clutch a few times and oil started leaking out rather quickly, the clutch is also very easy to press now. Is the slave serviceable with a seal or rebuild kit or do I need to look for a new one?

[wally426ci]

I believe you can service them. I will say that having it sleeved with stainless is a great option. I send my stuff to John Geidl in the midwest. For now if you are on a budget, you can get them fairly cheap at NAPA and the like.

[Cody100]

Great! Thanks Wally

[Cody100]

Probably worth while to check the whole system? If the master is working fine should I just leave it or take the oportunity to do some maintence? Normally I go with the old "if it ain't broke don't fix it" but my mom always said "an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure".

[Hobcobble]

Probably worth while to check the whole system? If the master is working fine should I just leave it or take the oportunity to do some maintence? Normally I go with the old "if it ain't broke don't fix it" but my mom always said "an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure".

Check the clutch master for signs of leakage in the engine compartment
and also inside the cab on the firewall where its mounted. I would say if
you can't see any signs of trouble, replace the slave cylinder, bleed the
system out and go from there.
John

[RussRoth]

IMHO you would be far better to replace both master and slave. I have been around mine from day 1 and if you forget to change fluid even remotely regular (like me) you get maybe 5 or 6 years out of both of them. Trust me when I say nearly 100% of the time if one is bad the other is not far behind. Hence I am currently in the process of changing mine out today. I got the master in before it hit 100* and way past time to quit. Maybe finish tomorrow if I get to it early AM. The good part is in '95 I bought lifetime replacement from Schucks which O'reilley now owns. I have all the paperwork since then too and they stood behind the warranty so I got my 112 bucks back. Thumbs up to them although the counter guy said that was part of the deal. BTW, he was quite impressed I had all receipts and they were in such good shape. I just told him I had acquired a 4 drawer file cabinet at some point and I have a file from when I rehabbed the rig with a stack of receipts over 2" thick.

[Cody100]

Alrighty gentlemen we just had a long weekend and what better time to be working on your swepty? I purchased a new master and slave from Piston Ring for about $120.00 including brake fluid and some shop rags. Then I spent a glorious day tinkering in the garage The first problem I came across was my hydraulic lines were seized to the nuts, they came loose from the slave and master but the whole line wanted to twist with it. I ended up having to cut it off at either end so that I could get the nut out without ruining the entire line. Lukily I had a flare tool collecting dust on the shelf that finally earned its keep. The second problem was the master cylinder did not come with a hose for bench bleeding, after some searching I was able to make use of the junk in my garage and bleed the master with it bolted to the fire wall. After that it was a simple matter to bleed the slave and oh boy did it feel good to have a stiff pedal again!

[wally426ci]

Nice!