I've got a 94 F-150 and the tranny went out yesterday when I was testing to see if the clutch was bad. Right now, you can put the clutch in/out shift through all gears and nothing happens. Never engages, no power.

The symptoms leading up to this started a few weeks ago. I started getting a problem when shifting into 3rd and 4th where the gears sounded like they weren't engaging properly, grinding, gears dancing on gears. Also, when moving with clutch in, there was a rattling sound comming from the tranny.

Before I go nuts and start buying stuff, I just wanted to get an opinion as to whether this is a transmision problem, clutch problem, slave cylinder or all of the above? Thanks.

 

It _sounds_ like your clutch was dragging (not fully disengaging) and instead of fixing it, you kept driving it and shelled the tranny. It probably started with a failing master or slave cylinder, but now, well, ouch. A clutch's natural state is to be engaged. They start to fail by slipping. But when they are totally gone, they will still drag (until you grenade the disk and it totally locks). If all your gears are basically like neutral, you have some serious issues. You need to yank the tranny and drop it off at your local tranny shop, go ahead and replace the pressure plate, disk, throwout bearing, and pilot bearing while you have it down. Don't forget to have the flywheel resurfaced. At that age, I would go ahead and replace both the master and slave cylinder just on principal.

 

It sounds, pun, like you toasted the tranny. You have to remove the tranny to inspect/replace the clutch so while it is out drop it off at your local tranny shop or have a look see for yourself. Drain the oil and look for metal shrapnel or filings. Remove the Shift Control Housing, or Cover and look down at the gears looking for chipped teeth. You can buy the parts to rebuild or pay to have it done. There are online shops that sell remans for about $850.00 + S&H.

JMC

 

Indeed, best-case, the clutch went ka-blooey. You'll need to drop the trans either way. When you do, the problem will be easily narrowed down: Either the clutch will be toast and that's why the trans won't engage (which wouldn't explain the 3/4 shift issue) or you'll find the clutch is working fine and intact, and it's an internal issue.

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news.... Good luck getting it repaired. Keep us posted.

-Joe