ok guys, first as a final response to my last post, i have my dad ride with me and he says im going fine, so im not worried about how im driving my truck now.

I do have a 2 new questions about what my truck is going..
usually in 3rd gear or 4th going down the road (cruising or light acceleration) i feel the engine rev slightly and suddenly, then i feel the rpms drop back into place. the feeling is like when im doing a burn-out (which i have done in the past but never with this truck) when the tires finally hook up and the rpms drop. I dont think my 98 with a v-6 and a 5 spd is gonna break the tires loose in 3rd or 40th gear at 35-40 miles and ahour when cruising. I have burned up my fair share of clutches in my time and to me when they go they usually go and its pretty quick. I can accelerate hard (pedel almost to the floor) i can also do 90 miles an hour in 3rd (oops) while passing. and the clutch is there and solid. so what could this be??

second question is..
i have noticed that from the beginning of a trip (20-30 miles with as many as 20 stops at lights and such) to the end, the place where the clutch grabs on the pedal moves. Like yesterday and to day, when i started the day out, the clutch grabbed at about half to 3 quarters of the way out, and at the end of the day, the pedal clutch grabs right when you start letting it out. when i got the truck it grabbed right when you would let it out all the time, but after my first time backing my trailer uphill (and taking 40 minutes doing it err)it started to grab all the time at half to 3 quarters the way out, but yeasterday and today, it seems to move, but you let ti sit for 4 or 5 hours and its back to half to 3 quarters agian???? WTF?? im pretty sure this isnt normal or is it??

 

come on guys, no one has any advise or help for me???

 

It is likely you have a seal leaking in either the slave or master cylinder. Sounds like air is getting into the hydraulics as you use operate the clutch then after it sits for a while the air can purge a little.

 

its not the hydrolics, i pumped on the clutch quite abit before i started to truck and it grabbed right where it has been.

 

could getting the fluid hot and it expanding cause the clutch to "move" after the fluid has got hot?? i noticed that today when i started the truck they ther fluid level was at the little reinforce thing around the resivoir. and when i got home today after a good day of driving and the clutch moving agian that when i removed the cap there was pressure under it and some fluid came out from the release. so could this be the problem and if so what has it been doing to my clutch?? could i encounter slipage when i remove a bit more fluid and allow for the expanse?? also sense i know as a clutch wears away it dispaces fluid into the resivoir, so could it be time for a new clutch??

 

Sorry to say that your clutch is starting to slip. It will slip in the higher gears first. Your hydraulic system also has a leak somewhere. When you pump the pedal you are in effect pushing out some of the air and this repressurizes the system.

JMC

 

it doesnt slip during hard acceleration in any gear, or towing or going up hill. and i had the hydrolic system checked by the dealership and they said it was fine. I have notices that it actually is happening most when have to slow down a bit and i let the clutch out and i have to accel when the engine is running low rpms, usually in second or 3rd. thats just been recently. so still the clutch??(probobly).

 

If the RPMs are climbing and the speedo is not then there is slippage. The only thing between the engine and the transmission that can slip is the clutch.

JMC

 

well i dont have a tach but i did take it to ford today, and yes the clutch is going, and the hydraulic system is fine. so thanks guys.

 

Make sure to get a new slave cylinder when you replace the clutch if its an internal one. Dont want to have to pull the tranny again to fix it..

 

is the slave cylinder in a 98 xl with a v6 on the outside or inside??

 

It is inside the bellhousing.

JMC

 

just an update. When everything was removed and they techs were actually looking at the clutch and its components, then toldme that about 60 70% of the clutch material was still left and everything else looked good too. Also they did a pressure test on the hydrolic system and it checked out. So why then after i drive in the city and in stop and go traffic does the clutch move toward the floor, and there be now tension on the pedal except at the very bottom and all the free play at the end of the clutch is gone?? could it be the pressure plate heating up and loosing springiness?? could i be heating up the hydrolic fluid, and increasing the presssure in the hydrolic system?? what could be the problem???