I have a 4.2 liter f150. When the truck is turned off I can put it into any gear without engaging the clutch. When I start the truck I can't put it into any gear. Any ideas? I'm guessing I might have to bleed the clutch since it does feel a little spongy might be some air in the lines.

 

you just solved your own prob. lol, bleed the master cyl.

 

If bleeding the clutch doesn't help, the tranny has to come out. It's quite likely a stuck pilot bearing and/or possibly a blown slave. While you are in there, you might as well get the flywheel resurfaced and replace the clutch.

With the engine off, put it in 1st and hold the clutch to the floor and start it - does it move by itself? If so, does it feel like it's just slipping or fully engaged?

 

hey glc...wouldnt it be funny if it was his slave cylinder and at 63k miles? lol then it would be 3 people having the issues at the same mileage

 

When my slave went you could see the fluid dripping out of the bellhousing and the pedal wasn't spongy, it went to the floor with zero resistance.

 

mine went about 3/4 with no resistance but the last 1/4 had resistance. mine wasnt completely gone yet tho. also I had trouble getting my truck in or out of gear a few times on the day it gave out to how it was.

 

could be the Neutral safety switch also. My Dad's 97 ranger was doing the same thing.

 

Manual transmissions don't have a neutral safety switch. They do have a clutch pedal safety switch, but that won't block it from going into gear, it only prevents the starter from engaging without depressing the clutch.

 

Clutch isn't releasing. This is obvious. Sometimes the sycnronizers are worn out for those gears affected.

 

The cause for a clutch not releasing is not obvious. Also, if the pilot bearing is stuck, the clutch WILL release but it still won't go into gear with the engine running.

 

Thanks for all the tips. I finally had a chance to look at it again. In response to glc I put the truck in gear and started it and it didnt move. Once I gave it some gas and started to release the clutch it began to move as you would expect from a working clutch although it may have been catching a little earlier than i remember. Still couldnt get it out of gear though. If I do need to bleed the clutch is that a two man job and can it be done without making a mess? Im not supposed to work on my vehicles at my apartment. Im wondering if I can drive it to a nearby shop. Just start it in 2nd and cruise there. Or isnt there a trick where you can change gears once you get it up to a certain rpm without the clutch?

Oh and the truck has 176,000 miles

 

I'd advise you to get it to a shop where they can figure out exactly what's going on. If it has 176k, I'd be prepared for a full clutch overhaul. Going price to do it right is in the $1200 range. Doing it right involves a complete clutch kit - disc, pressure plate, throwout bearing/slave cylinder, replace pilot bearing, bench grind or replace flywheel, and replace the rear main seal if it's leaking or seeping at all.

It really does sound like just a stuck pilot bearing, but at 176k there's probably not much life left in the clutch anyway. Everything has to come out to even get at the pilot bearing, it's pressed into the flywheel.

 

Yes, you can drive it and shift even if the clutch won't disengage. It's pretty easy to upshift, but you can downshift too. To upshift, when you're moving and ready to shift, about 3000 RPM, take your foot off of the throttle, then as the truck starts to slow, push it out of gear; it will pop out with very little pressure.

Now you're in neutral, for me the easiest way to do this is to wait for the RPMs to settle then slowly give it some gas and push it into gear easy. When the RPMs of the input shaft and the gear you're trying to shift to match it will slip right in. Downshifting is the same idea, but in practice is it more difficult to pull off.

The basic idea, is say you are going 30 mph in 2nd gear at 3000rpm, in 3rd you'd be at 2000rpm. When you're in neutral, you make the input shaft speed or the motor speed match the speed 3rd gear is spinning at 30mph or 2000rpm. When both are spinning the same speed they mesh, not grind.

One problem is you will need to shut the motor off to start from a complete stop. I did drive a car to the mechanic like this years ago and now a few times a year I'll practice it just in case.

 

That's exactly how I drove mine to the shop when my slave blew. RPM and load matching.

 

Remember if you grind the syncronizers you will be paying for the trany rebuild also. Its best to tow it in. Old trucks from the 30/50 era had heavy gears, the new have tiny brass syncronizers the are gone with a couple missed shifts. Then all it does is pop out of gear.