88 F-150 Clutch problems

[nwjones18]

Having an intermittent clutch issues on my 88 F-150 with the Mazda 5 speed. Sometimes when the truck is running and in neutral you cannot get it to go into any gear with the clutch pushed in. Pumping the clutch doesn't change anything. You can shut the truck off and start it in 1st gear with clutch in and then it will drive/shift normally. What would cause this? I do notice sometimes if you start it in gear (clutch in obviously) the truck will try to move a bit while cranking, so I'm wondering it it just isn't fully disengaging?

Has an internal slave cylinder so I'm assuming its going to be transmission out job regardless?

 

[demarpaint]

I have the same set up in my 88 E-150, the internal slave cylinder sucks. It might not be fully releasing. How is the fluid level in the clutch reservoir? When was the last time the clutch was bled? The fluid does take on moisture and can negatively impact clutch operation. It might be worth a shot bleeding the clutch if it hasn't been done in the past two or three years, otherwise you might be looking at dropping the transmission and at the very least replacing the slave cylinder. If you have to pull the tranny I'd be doing a complete clutch job including replacing the flywheel.

 

[D60]

Yeah, probably the internal slave cylinder. So dumb. Bleed it first but don't expect miracles.

 

[D60]

Incidentally on an '88 Ranger we only got results with a straight gravity bleed. Touching the pedal at all in the process only made things worse.

I'm not saying the F150 is the same, but I am saying don't be afraid to try different methods. You might also just cram a vacuum pump cone in the fluid reservoir and vacuum bleed it. This'll take two minutes and might do something.