Engine/Transmission (1998.5 - 2002) clutch/transmission/hydraulics help

[Ted Constantine]

So my 5600 is very hard to shift. It is notchy into all gears, almost impossible to get into 2nd (or any gear for that matter) at a stop sometimes and coming out of gear it sometimes pops out like it is still under a load. Pedal grabs less than 1/3 of the way off the floor. Peter at southbend is not conserned about it being the clutch itself(Con-fe w/ 40k on it).



We are thinking either hydraulic problem or pilot bearing.



If it is a matercylinder issue what are people installing as replacements. Is there a better than stock option?



what are the options for improved pilot bearings?



Any other opinions or suggestion for the problem or things to do if the transmission is out?



tia

Ted

 

[DAAguiar]

Take the floor mat out and anythingelse in the way of full clutch pedal travel. If clutch operates correctly ,leave mats out or cut and weld clutch pedal pivot pin or make the clutch master push rod shaft longer. Moved my pivot pin about 1/8 " clutch pedal is aprox. 1 " higher than brake pedal shifts great.

 

[Oil Burner]

Ted,

I just replaced the master and slave cylinders in my truck. I was told the factory units were about the best so I got one from Dodge. First one made it 90k.



If the above suggestion doesn't help, I would guess the pilot bearing is the problem. Mine is acting up alot lately, but then again, it never shifted "good".



Jason

 

[Ted Constantine]

moving the pivot makes sense but why does it need to be done now? Something has changed and I want to know what and why.



Jason, did replacing the master and slave help yours?



I thought I remembered people changing to 2nd gen 12v master cylinders or something like that



anyone?

 

[Supermod56]

You can upgrade the pilot bearing to a sealed roller bearing, but you have to machine the flywheel to accept it. Definately the way to go if you want to go through the hassle. I also heard that the 96-97 12v slave cylinders are better, you can do a search on it.



Tom

 

[Ted Constantine]

tom who makes the a sealed bearing? Are they locally available or a specialty order item?



With a holiday coming up this NEEDS to be fixed by friday and I have to leave on a 4000 miles trip with a trailer next tuesday so I am getting nervous.

 

[Supermod56]

I know you can get them from Quad4X4, any "decent" machine shop should be able to modify it for you. www.quad4x4.com It's called the "Torque King" bearing I think. Talk to Dan @ Quad and he should be able to give you the part# so you can buy it locally

Tom

 

[Ted Constantine]

thanks tom. I will call dan tomorrow.



As for the slave cylinder- the part number listed in all the old threads is not shown for the 98 1/2ton application and shows on as a clutch pressure plate on the napa website.

 

[Supermod56]

Don't know on the slave, maybe somebody else who knows will "Chime" in. I know I have seen something about it on here before

Tom

 

[Ted Constantine]

I found it for a 97 12v. 360051 shows up as the napa part number. Thank Tom.



Either you are on the other side of the world or you are nocturnal

 

[Supermod56]

Other side of the world, Middle East to be exact!!!!

 

[Oil Burner]

Ted,



the slave and master cylinder fixed my problem but those symptoms were different for me. The cylinders were leaking and the clutch would engage while sitting at a light with the pedal to the floor and the truck in gear. Now, all is well again.



The trans still hates to go into gear unless the speeds are matched on the road. At a stop, it can be a bear. I will do my pilot bearing when the transmission comes out for the clutch.



Jason

 

[Ted Constantine]

I got a HD pilot bearing over nighted from quad4x4 and the flywheel is being machined to fit it. Also having it resurfaced since they have it.



We are also replacing the master cyclinder and the throw out bearing since they both appear to need it. We will see how this all works out.

 

[JKaltenheuser]

Ted, sounds like your having the same problems i had with my 01' HO. Push clutch all the way to the floor, but doesnt go into gear... Try pumping the clutch pedal, if i seems to help, it could be the slave cylinder. Im my case it wasnt the slave cylinder at all, replaced it and it did nothing. Dont buy the slave cylinder buy the whole assembly, there isnt a bleeder on the slave cylinder itself and if almost impossible to bleed. My problem ended up being a burnt up clutch... . Good Luck! Hope this helps

 

[Ted Constantine]

OK well the truck is done and much better. The first issue we noticed was the input shaft and pilot bearing were both completely dry. No lubrication at all. The pilot bearing was intact though. We put in an HD sealed pilot bearing from quad 4x4. While the machine shop was machine the fly wheel to accept the larger bearing I had them resurface the fly wheel because the south bend clutch had dug a TRENCH in it. The throw out bearing was replaced because it was a little loud on inspection and was obviously wearing on the pressure plate fingers. We also lubed the input shaft and clutch plate splines very well with white lithium grease as per woody at south bend (peter is on vacation). A leak was found in the master cylinder so we changed that as well. Bleeding the system is a real pain even though only the top of the system was open. I think JKaltenheuser's advise to replace the system as a unit is definitely the way to go. I don't know how that works with going to a 36051 slave cylinder or if those have a bleed on them or not.



The system seems to be back to normal before the mastercylinder change. We just did the master as a precaution as it was leaking.



Unfortunitely all this was done at once so I don;t know which actions produced the results but it seems to have works. Thanks for the input. Ted