I did a quick search for this but no results, so i'll ask here. Its a 97 ford ranger XLT w/M5OD tranny. 4x4

Basically, we replaced the slave last year and throwout bearing. At one point, the system was fully bled with air (yea, we were a bit stupid at that time). My problem is, when the truck is cold (first 15-20 mins of driving) it shifts fine, and the clutch spins down fine. once it gets hot, after a longer drive, or if i'm shifting alot, it won't fully disengage. and this is only when its hot.

could this be a master/slave problem? i have bled the living **** out of the system, so i don't see how there is air. i even fought getting the master out and in for 4 hours to bench bleed it (something i'll let the dealer replace if i have to). at the moment i just bought a full clutch kit, comes with plate, clutch disc, pilot, throwout bearing, and a slave cylinder. before i tear this all apart, is there anything that could be an issue? i really don't see how the slave could be bad, its only a year old. is it worth mentioning that the clutch pretty much engages right off the floor? i'm stumped with this one....thanks for any help!!!

on a side note, this is the second ranger forum i'm on, and i hope to be as active on this one as the other. I'll never own another ranger (not big enough) but i do like the one i have now, as its all i can afford.

 

could be a bad pressure plate or there could be air in the master did u bench bleed it when you replaced the slave. it kinda still sounds like a bad slave. did you check and make sure u still got brake fluid in the reservor

 

no just 2 days ago i bench bled the master in a last ditch attempt. then i bled the hydraulic system as a whole after re installing. yep, the reservoir is full. i'm extremely obsessive about fluids being full...haha.

 

well it could be a bad pressure plate or a bad slave mine releaes slow when its under a big load

 

thats kind of my symptom. i can feel reverse grind if i sit there with the clutch in, and the speed of it kind of rises and drops, even tho the idling rpm stays the same. and eventually it will stop spinning/fully disengage.

 

you need to find a clutch with an adjustable pressure plate to install...my dads 93 had the same problem

 

the original one is in it right now, and my Haynes manual says its adjustable. but i have a brand new pressure plate here from Sachs in the kit. so i'm not sure if i wanna adjust whats in it, or replace it. i think i'm going to replace it because its so much work to take it out again if adjusting it doesn't work...i'm not sure. what does the adjustment do?

 

you cant adjust it, it does it on its own, it keeps the pressure plate far enough away so it will disengage and it moves it closer when the clutch wears

 

hmmm. maybe its all seized up then...or too free and moving as everything expands/contracts...

 

My 93 did the same thing.. I had no leaks but it was sucking air somewhere... When it was cold it worked fine but once it warmed up it wouldnt shift right... I was bleeding it about once a week. Turned out to be the Slave was bad. I replaced the clutch while i had the trans out. worked like a charm for 3 weeks till It got totaled.

 

hmm. sounds like pulling the tranny and changing everything is pretty promising then!!! yea just bought my new slave to go with the clutch kit. $83 for it. $160 for the clutch. so for $243 i've pretty much got a new system. i'd like to replace the master to but its just to much work the way my truck is set up. if i really have to i'll let Ford do it for me.

 

well here they are!! ready to install sometime next week i'm thinking. shouldn't there be a boot around the spring in the slave cylinder?

 

Not all the slaves have boots around them.

 

hmm well thats good to know then...will i have to remove the flywheel to get the pilot bearing out and in? i do not plan on resurfacing it unless it is burnt or warped.

 

No they have a pilot bearing tool that you can rent. But I recommend why not just have the flywheel turned, since your already in there ,and save yourself the headache.

 

i really don't want to spend the money...can i just break the glaze with some emery clothe? or i've even heard of turning them on a brake lathe. we do have one of those.

 

im not sure i usually just take mine to a carquest, and they turn it for like 25 bucks out here.

 

do not turn it on a brake lathe.....find a shop that has a blanchard grinder hand have it done correctly

 

ok. if i make alignment marks on the inside part of the flywheel those won't get touched right? i would have to have a vibration when i put this back together.

 

flywheel only goes on one way so no need to mark it, make sure you torque it to spec and do not install it with an impact

 

ok then. this will only be a weekend project i've dropped plenty of trannys. i just want to make sure i get everything right. due to the Transfer case making it a PITA to get out. will i need to drain the fluid? i'm almost thinking no...

 

woops i used a impact when i installed mine owell

 

No

 

ok thats what i figured. since i'm not actually opening the tranny up. if i had the money i'd be putting taller gears in it. i cant stand how low geared my M5OD is.

 

Be aware of the exhaust bolts from hell.....you have to remove the y pipe and it can be a HUGE PITA!

My 01 I wound up breaking the studs, took about 3hrs to torch them out.

Got smart on the 04 and heated the nuts first, had no problems.

Did a 93 a week ago and it was a NIGHTMARE! Nothing was getting the nuts/studs out, so I wound up breaking them. Had to torch/plasma a new hole in the manifold to get bolts in. Not a fun job....