Clutch Ford Ranger 1986, Help Please, Lost

[MikeJoel]

(New here)

Ford Ranger 1986
2.0L engine
Rear wheel, 2 wheel drive
Manual transmission
(forget milage)

Well this truck started showing signs of a bad clutch very suddenly (over night in fact).

Tried to get a little farther with it to get a few things done and it finally gave out partway home. It wouldnt go into gear. Pulled over and then it wouldn't get out of gear. Pumped the pedal a bit and let it up real quick (slipped the foot off of it). Then it seemed to work fine again for about 10 seconds then started slipping.

Got it back and finally was able to work on it.
Found the clutch pad was almost gone on the pressure plate side and worn badly on the flywheel. In fact pieces were missing and loose on the pressure plate side (I figure that pieces of the disk catching is what caused it to work for a few seconds).

Anyway put in a new pilot bearing, flywheel, disk, pressure plate, release bearing (this model is one that has the hydrolic master and slave not the usual throwout).

Put everything back together and found I cant put it in gear!
It acts like I have the pedal down all the time.

Can anyone suggest what is up?
I tried bleading the clutch and no real air came out so I cant see that causing it.

Can I also get suggestions on what to look for (I am reopening the housing).

Thank you for the time
Michael

[danny]

welcome to the forum.

is this right, if you have the pedal pushed all the way down the gear shifter won't go into gear?

[MikeJoel]

Originally Posted by danny

welcome to the forum.

is this right, if you have the pedal pushed all the way down the gear shifter won't go into gear?

Thank you.

No. It acts like I have the clutch pedal in, all the time.
I can put it in gear and it wont move.
I hear the flywheel spinning and a little scrapping of the clutch disk (like the pressure plate and flywheel lightly brush it, but that stopped after it ran a few minutes) but that is it.

I know in these models there is sometimes some kind of metal cylinder they tell you to get rid of when putting a new release bearing in but it was confusing and I didnt see anything like that that made me think it was it. The old release bearing looked just like the new one. I almost was going to just unclip the center pieces and echange them but then I just rotated the old release bearing until it popped off and then placed the new on on and pressed in as the directions say.

I am lost.
Would it harm the slave cylinder to test it while I have it open by pushing in the master cylinder's rod? I leave them all attached, including the reservoir, while I drop it, it is easier than trying to pull the hose in the position it is in.

Thank you
Mike

[gnewby]

You wouldn't of happened to have got the clutch plate in backwards would you?

[danny]

maybe the rod is adjusted out too far and not allowing the clutch to engage. i think there is a rod adjustment on these for wear and it may have been adjusted to the point that the new clutch won't engage until the rod is re-adjusted.

[MikeJoel]

The clutch plate had a marking that said "flywheel side", springs toward pressure plate.

The Book doesnt mention a rod.
This is all hydrolic. The master cylinder extends or retracts the slave cylinder which pushes or pulls the release bearing onto the pressure plate fingers.

Mike

[danny]

i am trying to get a picture of the assembly.

[gnewby]

How much grease did you put on your splines etc?

[danny]

i guess the slave is on the transmission nose shaft. i will have to search for the adjustment procedure.

[danny]

olddog has a ranger, i think, maybe he can shed some light on this matter.

[Daniel Wood]

Crazy question I know but I'm going to ask you anyway. Did you take the disk and slide it on the splines to see if they matched. The shaft on the transmission could be smaller than the hole in the disk. Just a thought.

I know on the old cars and trucks you can put a clutch in backwards (learned that one the hard way) and you could put it into any gear you wanted to with the engine running. Because there was no contact. I don't believe you can put a disk in backwards anymore on account of the springs hitting the flywheel, not sure though.

[MikeJoel]

Let me run down the facts,

1) I know the flywheel, clutch disk, and pressure plate were put on facing the correct way.

2) After getting everything back together the truck can be pushed, the drive shaft spun, even when the clutch pedal is up and is in gear.

3) When I first spun it I could hear a slight "scrapping" of the clutch disk against the pressure plate and flywheel. It was a sound I expected to hear. It made you think of two hard items just lightly touching each other. I assumed that to be normal for new parts.

4) Tried to bleed the clutch about 2 times. The first time I might have gotten a little air out but not much, the second time really didnt get anything but fluid.

5) Read somewhere about a possible problem with air in the master cylinder so unbolted it from the firewall and tipped it and got a little air out of the hose into the reservoir (this was done between the first and second bleedings).

Ok today I am planning to open it back up. Any ideas of what I should look for?
Also would it hurt the slave cylinder to pump the master cylinder while I have it down to make sure it is working? (I drop the whole clutch system, including reservoir, it is easier than trying to pry the hose off before dropping it). I know with the brakes pressing the brake pedal with the pads off will cause the brake cylinders to pop out of the boots.
It wont damage the slave cylinder to do this will it?

Thank you all,
Michael

[justen]

I think it's not bled enough or something if the clutch isn't releasing. If the tranny was assembled right, I would check everything on the clutch because thats what it sounds like. Does that clutch have a master cylinder of some sort?

[MikeJoel]

I removed the NEW release bearing and compared it to the OLD one.
The NEW one's collar is 3/4" longer than the OLD one!

GRRRRRR!
I know people will say why didn't you catch that. I did but I am not a mechanic and figured it should be like that.

So now I have to either replace the slave cylinder or what? Can I cut 3/4" of the NEW collar, it is plastic.

Mike

[dougbfresh]

I would get the correct one, don't hack the one you have.