commanderjjones
Full Access Member
Hey guys. I've got an early '99 (I purchased brand new in 9/98) with almost 400,000 miles. The clutch started slipping after towing a heavy load a few months ago. I replaced the entire clutch system (clutch, pressure plate, flywheel, throw-out bearing, and pilot bearing) last week but now the pedal engages at the very top and it's still slipping. I thought maybe the slave was bad so I replaced the entire ass'y (pre-bled slave, M/C, & reservoir) but no change. It still engages at the very top and slips under hard acceleration . Engagement was normal (started to engage in the lower 1/3 of travel) before I replaced the clutch. Now it engages in the last 25% of travel, so I assume that it's not engaging completely and that's what's causing my slipping issue.
Assuming that I installed it properly (I've been wrenching for 45 years and doubt that I screwed up something this simple), is there anything other than a bent clutch fork that might cause this? Being an early '99, I upgraded to the newer clutch fork the first time I replaced the clutch back around 2008. BTW, this is only the third clutch that I've put in this truck, so it's hard to complain about getting nearly 200,000 miles out of a clutch. The fork didn't "appear" to be bent or damaged, but I also didn't have anything to compare it to. I would think that a bent fork would cause it to be fully engaged / not want to disengage, which is the opposite of what's wrong with this one.
I didn't replace the plastic pivot bushing because I replaced it last time and it appeared to still be fine. Is it possible for the fork to fall out of position and cause lack of engagement? I had to do a fair amount of wrestling and cussing to get the trans mated back up, so I guess it's "possible" that I could've knocked the release fork off of the throw-out bearing during that debacle??? I looked through the slave hole and the fork dimple is in the center.
I'm very meticulous about my work. So the trans was cleaned spotlessly before I put it back in, as was everything else......especially the flywheel and pressure plate surfaces.
Any ideas on other things to look at before I order a new release fork from South Bend? I hate to wrestle it again after just having done all of this work, but I guess that's the only way to tell what's wrong.
Assuming that I installed it properly (I've been wrenching for 45 years and doubt that I screwed up something this simple), is there anything other than a bent clutch fork that might cause this? Being an early '99, I upgraded to the newer clutch fork the first time I replaced the clutch back around 2008. BTW, this is only the third clutch that I've put in this truck, so it's hard to complain about getting nearly 200,000 miles out of a clutch. The fork didn't "appear" to be bent or damaged, but I also didn't have anything to compare it to. I would think that a bent fork would cause it to be fully engaged / not want to disengage, which is the opposite of what's wrong with this one.
I didn't replace the plastic pivot bushing because I replaced it last time and it appeared to still be fine. Is it possible for the fork to fall out of position and cause lack of engagement? I had to do a fair amount of wrestling and cussing to get the trans mated back up, so I guess it's "possible" that I could've knocked the release fork off of the throw-out bearing during that debacle??? I looked through the slave hole and the fork dimple is in the center.
I'm very meticulous about my work. So the trans was cleaned spotlessly before I put it back in, as was everything else......especially the flywheel and pressure plate surfaces.
Any ideas on other things to look at before I order a new release fork from South Bend? I hate to wrestle it again after just having done all of this work, but I guess that's the only way to tell what's wrong.
