Clutch questions

[Eason]

Last year I had a local mechanic put a clutch in my truck. (83 F-250 6.9 4spd 4wd)I told him to surface the flywheel while he had the trans out. (He didn't) The mechanic called and told me the truck was ready. I got ready to drive it home and it shuddered really bad when taking off in second gear. The mechanic told me the flywheel looks good so he didn't have it surfaced. The next day it was very hard to get in gear. I carried it back to the mechanic and he said the slave cylinder was bad. (I would have thought he would have caught that in a test drive after completion of the job) Well 1 year later with only about 3000 miles you can't shift the truck. We tear the truck down and the mechanic had put a 3 finger pressure plate instead of the 10 finger, the bearing retainer was badly worn and was allowing the throwout bearing to slightly twist and contact the pressure plate at an angle amplifing the shudder on takeoff, and the pilot bearing had not been changed. I know I don't have a leg to stand on because it's been 14 months since the clutch installation but the clutch should have lasted over 3000 miles if done right. Sorry for the rant but just wanted you guys to know the background.We have replaced everything but the clutch wants to release only at the very bottom of the pedal. The firewall is not flexing that we can tell. Any ideas? Thanks Eason

 

[DBell]

Did you inspect/replace the piece on the transmission that the throwout bearing slides on? I forget the actual name for it, but if there is the slightest bit of wear on it the throwout bearing will not slide properly.

 

[MUDKICKR]

sounds like you still need to do some bleeding, might have some air still in the system, and its very hard to get out

 

[Eason]

Did you inspect/replace the piece on the transmission that the throwout bearing slides on? I forget the actual name for it, but if there is the slightest bit of wear on it the throwout bearing will not slide properly.

We did on the clutch replacement. The mechanic did not and it caused part of the problem. Eason

 

[Eason]

sounds like you still need to do some bleeding, might have some air still in the system, and its very hard to get out

What is the best way to bleed the system? Eason

 

[lotzagoodstuff]

Sorry to hear about your poor clutch experience. Bleeding slave cylinders can be very difficult. If you can, elevating the cylinder will help. If you can bleed it all and get all the air out of it and then install it, that's the best way. I am sure you'll get more input on this for your era truck, so be patient.

Good luck.

 

[MR.T]

What is the best way to bleed the system? Eason

The slave cylinder on mine (1988) has a bleed screw. It looks like an allen head set screw.