heavy clutch. a few details requested.

[jam0o0]

ok so after driving another members truck i've come to the conclusion that my clutch petal is VERY stiff. this is my first truck manual tranns so i thought it was normal.

things i know are wrong:
the bushings in the clutch linkage under the dash are loose
the rod going into the clutch master is eaten up from use without a bushing.
the boot on the shift fork near the slave is dead and half gone.

things i know are good:
no cracks in the firewall.
clutch master cylinder is full of fluid.

so what's left for culprits here? i looked up throw out bearing stuff and came to the conclusion that there is somethign everyone knows but me. do i have to drop the trans to change these? is there a write up on that? if i do that should i go ahead and do the clutch? it's got 140k on it. also i've pulled 2 trans of this size before. and both times getting them back on with 3 guys was a huge *****. i doubt i could do it by myself. plus with a turbo truck how long should all this take? sorry for all the questions but i'm new to working on trans. i've always been afraid of them.

 

[Rot Box]

I would start with the linkages and make sure they have all the bushings. I like to use a light grease to help lubricate them. You need to remove the trans to swap out throw out bearings but that will not cause the issue you are experiencing.

I've always thought I had a very hard petal to push.... When I picked up my truck this morning with the new South Bend Clutch I noticed the petal was much easier to push than before. My bet is the clutch. You'll probably just have to live with it imo others will chime in though

 

[THECACKLER]

Dude, was my clutch too easy on you?
What I would do, if you liked that Hydroboost Lockup Action, is to find a Hydroboost, Master Cylinder, lines, Pump and pedal Assy out of another 93 and rebuild the pedals if needed and slap the whole mess in. I got a price from Bronco Salvage up on Aldine Mail Route near the Tollway of $200 for the whole shootin' match about a year ago. Slightly on the high side of a sweet deal but to get the complete kit it's well worth it. Just make sure it's from a Superdoody Stick shift. We could swing by there Saturday if you want. The Dust Boot is easy as pie to replace. Just pull the Salve and stick it in. JBG has em' I think. See you tomorrow..
BTW my clutch is a LUK SMF kit from Dial-a-Clutch.

 

[hesutton]

Fix what you know is bad (bushings and what not). It would be a good idea to get a small or large firewall reinforcement kit from Jason as the firewall may flex even though it's not cracked.

You'd be suprised how much of a difference a well lubed throw out bearing will make in clutch effort. Everytime I change my oil, I pull the slave and the fork out of the tranny and lube the TOB by hand as best I can. For a month or so, I enjoy significantly better clutch effort. As a matter of fact, I need to change my oil and lube my TOB again.

But, like the others have said, there is no way to change the TOB without pulling the tranny.

Heath

 

[lotzagoodstuff]

My factory clutch was pretty stiff. Two issues: the bushing on the actuator rod are notorious for wearing out (see rod end fix), I replaced mine with a bronze bushing and that helped a lot. The second issue is that the factory clutches are just plain stiff. When I put my kevlar clutch in I felt like I was driving a Ranger. It was seriously a huge difference, I'll never go back to a stock style clutch.

 

[jam0o0]

thanks for the advice guys.

yea cackler yours was the one that showed me mine was way screwed.

my concern with replacing all the bushings in the petal assembly is that if it's still really hard to push i'm just gunna destroy the bushings again.

i think i'm gunna pull the seal, fork and slave and grease the TOB and put the new boot on on sunday. is there a way to check the TOB for wear if i'm getting into it that far?

 

[RLDSL]

If someone put a heavy duty clutch in the thing before you got it, it could take two men and a boy to shove the clutch pedal down. There. might not be a thing wrong with it Specing out a clutch makes all the difference in the world. I got a Kevlar clutch from Ft Wayne clutch and the grab on those things is so high that they can match them up with a lighter sprung pressure plate, even for pulling heavy loads Makes it REALLY nice on the knee. in fact if it weren't for that clutch, I would have had to switch to a slushbox With my arthritis, I don;t have any knees left.

 

[remington88]

i just put a new clutch in yesterday actually. smf swap and after doing that the pedal is a ton easier to push. and it grabs like a bat outta hell too. gotta relearn how to drive that thing now that it aint slipping anymore

 

[jam0o0]

-i know the PO had the clutch replaced. he usually goes for the best he can find. (the PO is my former boss, i used to do the maintenance on this truck before i bought it.)
-the clutch engages about 1/2" from the floor.
-there is a squeak midway through clutch engagement in most gears.
-the clutch feels a bit grabby. but it's not noticeable, unless i'm obsessing about it (like now)lol

some things i think i know:
i think the truck has a single mass flywheel. it shakes hard when you turn it off with no rattle, it's got loud gear noise if you work it below 1500rpm


thanks again for all the help.

 

[THECACKLER]

The clutch engaging that far from the floor seems like it's not good. I always remember when I did a clutch for a customer that ran it to the rivets, when they came to pick it up and got in and ready to leave, they sat there for a while then they shut it back off, got out and said "somethings wrong". I got in and checked it and it was fine. They were so used to it hooking up with the pedal just off the floor, they never let it out any more. Bad thing is, it may not be fully disengaging and that will beat the snot out of your syncros.

 

[RLDSL]

Is it beginning to engage 1/2" from the floor or is it engaged then? A properly adjusted clutch should begin to engage a full 1" from the floor, if not when the aftermarket clutch was put in something may not have matched up properly and you may need an adjustable clutch rod ( available at Napa for about $11) and that would explain the extra pedal effort.

 

[towcat]

thanks for the advice guys.

yea cackler yours was the one that showed me mine was way screwed.

my concern with replacing all the bushings in the petal assembly is that if it's still really hard to push i'm just gunna destroy the bushings again.

i think i'm gunna pull the seal, fork and slave and grease the TOB and put the new boot on on sunday. is there a way to check the TOB for wear if i'm getting into it that far?

if you haven't already gotten a updated pedal assy for the 93-97 OBS body style, do it. they provde a larger bearing surface for the plastic bushing to ride on.
left pic...orig pedal assy
center pic...updated pedal assy
right pic...destroyed plastic bushing from orig pedal assy.

 

[jam0o0]

ok so i fianlly got my tools, me, the sun and the truck in the same place. so those plastic bushings aren;'t suppost to have holes in them?

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also as you maybe can see the nub that goes in the rod for the clutch master is all screwed up. the hole in the clutch master rod is also egged out. i got some stuff to make a fix. i'll be sorta like the heim fix but i wanna change few things since i HATE set screws.

 

[jam0o0]

ok so update:

i ended up having to pull the entire pedal bracket.to get it out you have to pull, the cruise control, diagnostic plug, brake master cylinder, clutch master cylinder, steering mid shaft, clutch rod wiring, and some of the dealer installed ford alarm. i changed all the main shaft bushings.

for the clutch rod i got the nub off the arm, and drilled out the hole to 7/16. i drilled out the hold on the clutch rod 1/16th bigger. i got some bushing stock from mcmaster to make a new bushing there.

i put it all in and WOW. because i'm used to pushing the clutch in hard i hurt my knee this time when the pedal slammed the floor. it was SOOO easy.

notes after driving the truck to work today:
1. the clutch doesn't start engaging until it's 2.5-3" off the floor.
2. i had to loosen the nuts holding the nuts holding the clutch master all the way out to get the clutch rod on the bushing.

i'm guessing this means i need to adjust the hydraulic end of the clutch system. i thought it was self adjusting? if not what's involved.

all of the slop in the old bushings and the bend in the arm account for all of the difference.


thanks again for all of yall's help with this.

 

[RLDSL]

ok so update:

i ended up having to pull the entire pedal bracket.to get it out you have to pull, the cruise control, diagnostic plug, brake master cylinder, clutch master cylinder, steering mid shaft, clutch rod wiring, and some of the dealer installed ford alarm. i changed all the main shaft bushings.

for the clutch rod i got the nub off the arm, and drilled out the hole to 7/16. i drilled out the hold on the clutch rod 1/16th bigger. i got some bushing stock from mcmaster to make a new bushing there.

i put it all in and WOW. because i'm used to pushing the clutch in hard i hurt my knee this time when the pedal slammed the floor. it was SOOO easy.

notes after driving the truck to work today:
1. the clutch doesn't start engaging until it's 2.5-3" off the floor.
2. i had to loosen the nuts holding the nuts holding the clutch master all the way out to get the clutch rod on the bushing.

i'm guessing this means i need to adjust the hydraulic end of the clutch system. i thought it was self adjusting? if not what's involved.

all of the slop in the old bushings and the bend in the arm account for all of the difference.


thanks again for all of yall's help with this.

You may need an adjustable clutch rod. SOmetimes an aftermarket part has been used or a flywheel surfaced to where you need to be able to manually adjust the thing to make up for it, napa sells an adjustble rod for this reason. it'sabout $11