1988 F350 7.3 Clutch Hard to Depress

[jhughes76]

I went today and looked at an '88 F350 4X4 7.3, and the clutch on this thing is very difficult to depress. Other than this, everything seems to be in order. The truck is super clean and fires right up. My first instinct is that it needs a new clutch, but I thought others more knowledgeable on this model may help me correctly diagnose the problem. I know the clutch on this thing is heavy duty, but I'm a pretty strong guy, and I have to really stomp on it to get it depressed. I am trying to decide whether I want to purchase this truck, and need to know if this is a sign I am going to be putting a new clutch in it right out the gate.

 

[freebird01]

could just be a bad clutch master cylinder or frozen slave cylinder

 

[94f450sd]

if you havent driven an older ford then most likely nothing wrong with the clutch.they are harder to step on than other trucks.check the firewall around the master cylinders for the clutch and brakes for cracks.have somebody step on the clutch while you look at that spot and see if the firewall moves.

when does the clutch start grabbing?right off the floor or when your knee is almost in your throat?

 

[jhughes76]

It really doesn't start grabbing until my foot is almost completely off the clutch.

 

[94f450sd]

that could be a bad clutch,cracked firewall,cracked bell housing on the tranny,(my 87 gasser broke the slave cylinder tabs and a bell housing bolt off) or a bent/broken clutch fork.

 

[jhughes76]

Yeah. I'm thinking I might pass on this one. I mean the truck is in perfect shape other than that, but I really need something I can drive now. I am inclined to say there has to be some issue. The clutch really is about as difficult to depress as a high tension racing clutch in a drag car. I had a '59 Chevy 2500 truck with a clutch I thought was miserable, and the one in this '88 is much more difficult to depress.

 

[94f450sd]

dont let the clutch scare you away.go check a couple things it might even be just the bushings in the pedal are junk.if the pedal bushings are junk the brake pedal will move when youre on the brakes and step on the clutch at the same time.if it needs the bushings itll probably need the aluminum bracket that the pedal shaft goes through.if ford still sells it the bracket and bushings were less than 100 bux.takes maybe an hour or so to replace it.

too see if the bellhousing is cracked have somebody pushing the pedal as you peek under and see if the tranny or motor move when the clutch is depressedjust like checking the firewall for cracks the motor and tranny will seperate if the bell is cracked.

if everything is good,stuff an 80 dollar clutch disk in it.if you buy it tomorrow youll be driving it by monday morning if you do it yourself.its a real simple job to do.i can do a clutch/tranny swap in these trucks in less than 2 hours from start to finish.

 

[starmilt]

Every cracked firewall or cracked bellhousing I have had to repair either didn't completely release or you had to stuff the pedal in the floor before it released.

 

[DragRag]

The problem sounds opposite of a cracked firewall or bell, I agree with startmilt on that. If it is engaging very high off the floor, I can almost gaurantee it needs a clutch disc at a minimum. The hard pedal, I can't say for, but it could be the diaphragm is stiff on the pressure plate, or it could be on the hydraulic system. Either way though, at the very least the clutch is worn out. If you buy it plan on dropping the trans, and doing the pressure plate, dis, throw out, and pilot bearing. If it is stiff after that then well you know it still needs hydraulic work.