I have a 2000 F150 4x4 w/ 55k miles. It is a 4.6 w/ a 5 speed manual tranny. Just picked purchased it and got a great deal on it.

Here is my question. When up shifting into second and thrid, it seems like it takes a little too much effort to get it in gear. Also, if I shift too fast into third, I sometimes get a little quick "grind" when it sets into gear...but if I shift slowly and smoothy into third, it goes in easier and w/ no grind (but w/ some resistance)....

so, is this an actual clutch problem or would it be related to the slave cylinder? What is the slave cylinder responsible for in the clutch set up? Would bleeding my master cylinder possibly help this problem?

The clutch will not disengage until the petal is ½ way up from the floor, leading me to believe it is the clutch itself.

TIA for any info / words of wisdom.

Adam

 

If you were to do a search of this forum you would find a ton of questions similar to this. You might want to give that a try as there is a ton of good information here.

The grinding is a very common thing. I think the thing(s) that are usually responsible are the syncronizers. I think most of us get a grind at some point in shifting. On my truck it's the 1-2 upshift. These things just don't shift fast well. I recently installed a Hurst short throw shifter. It's a HUGE improvement but the 1-2 grind is still there.

I had my clutch replaced last year. The symptom that made it clear that it was going bad (at 47k) was it slipped in 5th when I got hard on the throttle. I think if the truck were stock the clutch would still be working fine but with a few pounds of boost it wore out faster. Better the clutch than something more expensive, I suppose.

The slave cylinder actuates the pressure plate diaphram spring. Based on what I have read here they do fail. I believe they will generally leak, so you might want to get under the truck and see if there are signs of leakage.

There may be a problem, but then the manual transmission in these trucks isn't known for being any kind of smooth.

Good luck!

 

thanks for the info. I have browsed the threads, and thought I would pose the question to get it fresh

the slave cylinder for this tranny is internal if I remember correctly, right? also, who is the manuf of this manual tranny. i remember my 88 F150 had a manual made my Mazda, what do the newer trucks like my 2000 have?

 

The newer ones are Mazda too. I don't think they've changed much over the years.

 

As wittom stated, the sychronizing rings are part of the transimission, and if worn can cause rough shifting.

The clutch can also play a huge factor in the type of shifts you get with your truck. If you are having trouble with your slave cylinder for example...it wont fully disengage the pressure plate from the fly wheel, which means that the when you try to shift, everything is still turning causing the grinding..etc.

One thing you can try.

Bleed the slave cylinder and see if that cures the problem. If it does, it will probably start doing it again in a week or two, and you will know that your slave cylinder is leaking. The clutch master cylinder is next to your Brake Master Cylinder. Use brake fluid in your Clutch Master Cylinder, and bleed that slave cylinder just like you do your brakes.

If that doesn't stop the rough shifting, then your sychronizing rings are probably wearing thin and need replaced.

These are just two causes that I know about, I'm sure someone else will have some more suggestions for ya.


Good Luck

 

As suggested bleed the hydraulic system. You could also do a fluid change. Synthetic ATF will help but at a fellow F-150 Online member's ( dirtyd0g ) suggestion I have been using GM syncromesh fluid. So far this has produced the best shift feel of all the fluids that I have tried. FYI mine diesngages the clutch at about ¼ of the way down. When yours gets to ¾ of the way down start pricing clutches.

Regards

Jean Marc Chartier

 

i might have stated my "disengaging" wrong.

when I am at a stop, I have to let the clutch appx 1/2 of the way out before the truck will start going (it starts going a just a little before 1/2)....i guess that is the clutch engaging.

Is this normal for you standard drivers out there??

I will def. try the synthetic oils in the tranny...what are the change intervals for normal driving (no towing, 50% hw/city)?

Thanks

 

Well, I'll put it this way. I had a 95 F-150, and my slave cylinder was bad. The clutch would engage just by barely letting out on the clutch. It took smashing the pedal all the way to the floor to dis-engage it (sometimes I had to pump it). I could bleed the air out of the system, and it would be fine for about a week or so, then the same thing.

On top of all that, I had tranny problems too. I didn't have to worry about anyone stealing that vehicle, cause nobody could drive it but me. lol

If you are engaging about 1/2, then it sounds about normal to me, maybe a little loose. It still wouldn't hurt to bleed the system, just to elimate another possibility. It takes about 2 minutes.