Did I just lose the clutch slave cylinder or something worse?

[blackboat]

Started having trouble with the clutch not disengaging on Friday. On Saturday I found the linkage rod from the pedal to the clutch MC loose so readjusted it and things got better. Until I was about 40 miles from nowhere in the mountains and the clutch began not totally disengaging again when I stepped on the pedal. Then there was a loud bang and no more clutch action period. Managed to get it turned around and out of the woods, then 150 miles home with no clutch (there are some upsides to having learned to drive in a Model A Ford with a 3 spd crashbox).

 

Today I went out to check a few things as I was trying to get a parts order together. The clutch slave is definitely blown out; I can move it in and out and hear it sucking air. WHAT REALLY WORRIES ME however, is that I can move the clutch fork that sticks out of the side of the transmission a couple of inches forward and back. As in the fork appears to be moving further than the slave cylinder pushrod moves. I'm thinking this is a bad sign. With the truck running, the fork still has the same amount of slop FWIW.

 

I'd really appreciate some input on this, as I'm thinking this may be more than I can handle right now. Not looking for pity, but I was diagnosed with kidney cancer last September, and have been involved in an experimental chemotherapy program since October. To give myself something else to focus on I went back to fly tying and built a new fly rod over the winter. Can you see where this is going? Well this Saturday was my first fly fishing trip in two decades, with all the new equipment. I was within 3 miles of my first stop when the clutch came apart. To have been looking forward to this for months, and finally having a little strength and time to do it....well, it was kind of a letdown to say the least. Anyway, point was supposed to be that I'm not really up to yanking the tranny at this point. The hydraulics I can do, but I'm getting a pretty bad feeling that they're not the whole story. Financially it's not a good time to take it to the mechanics, but I think that's where I'm at, and why I could really use some thoughts right now on what may or may not be wrong.

 

Thanks in advance,

 

Rob

[Precise1]

Hey Rob, it sounds to me like your clutch fork broke, the throw out bearing/carrier broke or the pressure plate let go, in order of suspected issues. I'm guessing that the slave cylinder over extended when the fork (or whatever) let go. I strongly suspect that the tranny will have to be pulled to fix it. Here is a thought though, a few people have replaced the clutch without dropping the tranny. They loosened the tranny, dropped the cross member with the T-bars in it and scooted the trannt back enough to get in there. If you can get some decent help and a tranny jack, you might be able to manage that and it's a lot less work.

 

Asked for or not, hang is there Bud. Sorry to hear about the ruined trip, that would be a big let down. I hope you pull through quickly and get another go at it next month...

 

B

[ejin4499]

Hey Rob, it sounds to me like your clutch fork broke, the throw out bearing/carrier broke or the pressure plate let go, in order of suspected issues. I'm guessing that the slave cylinder over extended when the fork (or whatever) let go. I strongly suspect that the tranny will have to be pulled to fix it. Here is a thought though, a few people have replaced the clutch without dropping the tranny. They loosened the tranny, dropped the cross member with the T-bars in it and scooted the trannt back enough to get in there. If you can get some decent help and a tranny jack, you might be able to manage that and it's a lot less work.

 

Asked for or not, hang is there Bud. Sorry to hear about the ruined trip, that would be a big let down. I hope you pull through quickly and get another go at it next month...

 

B