Clutch engagment point changes???

[Ferret]

Ive noticed this odd behavior in my '01 4.2 with the M5OD. The clutch engagement point will vary at different times during the day. Usually it will engage in the middle of the pedal travel, but other times I will have to let the clutch out almost all the way before it starts engaging. The clutch freeplay also varies...from the usual inch of freeplay, to occasionally almost none. Its been doing this for over a year now. Its just a minor annoyance and doesnt really effect the driveability of the truck much. But id like to find out what the hell is causing it and see if I can fix it. I had alot of trans work done about 3 years/30k miles ago which included a rebuilt trans, new clutch, and new slave cylinder. The truck still has the original clutch master cylinder. Ive looked around for leaks but dont seem to see any. Any ideas on what to do? Thanks for the help...

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[JMC]

You have a leak somewhere in the hydraulic system. The most common place to look is at the slave. Pull the rubber plug on the transmission and look inside the bell housing for a leak. If you have a new style slave it will have a rubber accordion boot that can hold quite a bit of fluid before it starts to show.
Look on the floor and the firewall inside the cab for signs of oil seeping past the seals in the master cylinder.

Regards

Jean Marc Chartier

[Ferret]

Thanks for the help.

Is it possible for the slave to go bad again in only 30k? Ive been keeping an eye on the master cylinder and the fluid level doesnt seem to be dropping.

Could it possibly just be air in the system?

[JMC]

You can try bleeding it but if the pedal is moving around there is a leak somewhere. It doesn't take much to move the pedal.

Regards

Jean Marc Chartier