Hey all,

I just got my 03 F-150 with 112k on the clock. It has the manual 5 speed tranny behind the 4.6L.

However, since I've gotten the truck, it's kind of difficult to put in first gear. If you are sitting at a light and in neutral and the light changes and you push the clutch to the floor and put it in 1st (fairly quickly - a normal reaction time), it will actually do a little grind and/or thump. :-( However, if push the clutch to the floor and wait a couple of seconds and then shift into first, it's a bit of a "push" but it will go in without grinding.

Once in a while shifting to 3rd it feels the same way, but won't really grind.

I'm just wondering if that means the clutch is toast or is it the trans that is toast? Reason I ask is my 96 Cobra with the T-45 5 speed would grind going into 5th gear if I just normally put it in. I used to have to put it in neutral and then push the clutch in again and slowly shift to 5th for it not to grind. And it wouldn't go into 3rd if I tried to shift fast or under power. I replaced the clutch and found out the trans was actually going bad, but it had 173k on the clock.

So, I'm really paranoid that it's my darn trans in the truck instead of just the clutch. Whenever my old Camaro clutches used to be dying, they would slip more than they would ever grind going into a gear. :-(

Any help or thoughts would be appreciated as I don't have much experience with Ford equipment. My Cobra was the only other Ford I ever owned or worked on.

Thanks!
Mat

 

It's clutch-related. The pilot bearing could be starting to drag. The slave cylinder could be starting to leak.

 

And the slave cylinder is down on the trans, correct? I've never had a hydraulic clutch in my life, so it will be foreign to me. I have seen the fluid reservoir up top, but that's really been about it. I'm guessing the rest of the system is down on the trans and basically pushes the throwout bearing up/down the shaft depending on pedal movement.

I haven't seen any drips or any fluids down on the ground, but that doesn't always mean anything. I guess I'm going to have to put her up on jackstands and take a look at the trans to see if I see anything odd.

However, if the pilot bearing (in the end of the crank) is dragging/going bad, then I might as well replace the clutch since I have to pull the trans/clutch to get in there anyway.

On my Cobra, the shaft ended up being way dry and even had some dried grease or gunk on it that I cleaned and even lightly sandpapered off to clean up the shaft when I replaced that clutch setup (including throwout bearing, of course). The clutch push felt SOOOOOO much better after that, but it was a manual/wired clutch. So, the hydraulics might be hiding that fact from me this time because the clutch push feels just fine.

Well, looks like on Monday I'm going to have to put her up and see if I see anything. Do you know if there are any certain locations it tends to leak from?

Thanks for your help!

 

Your 2003 will have the newer design slave with the boot. The boot tends to keep the oil contained so it could take some time before you see oil on the ground. Try bleeding the hydraulic system to see if that helps.

Here is a pic of what the inside of the bell housing should look like.



The curved pipe is the bleeder. It works just like the bleeder on your brakes.

Here is a pic of the side of the tranny with the black rubber covers removed.

 

JMC - Thanks a bunch for the pics! Always helps me when I have a visual.

So, I take it that I'm going to have to have someone help me, just like the brakes. Where I have someone pump them 3 times and hold, I then release the valve/nipple, let it push the air/fluid out (while the person's foot goes to the floor), then close the valve/nipple and do over.

Well, I'll try that and see what goes. The good thing is I just bought a new bottle of DOT 4 brake fluid, so there should be no problem there. The bad thing is, if it's leaking fluid and it's encased in the boot, I won't know it, so all this might be a moot point if I have to replace it.

But I do appreciate the info and pics

 

http://www.supermotors.net/registry/media/244877
Credits to Steve 83 for the information.
I'd suggest picking up a haynes or chiltons for your truck. It will help quite a bit.
I never disconnected the line the way those directions say. I followed the haynes manual which tell you to fill the resevoir and leave the cap off, open the bleeder and let it slowly gravity bleed, tapping the plastic line some will help, then from there close the valve and pump the pedal like in steves directions then from there bleed like you would brakes with a partners help.

 

Bleeding the line is used when you replace the master cylinder.

 

I had this problem before, exact same symptoms. I ended up changing the slave cylinder and it went away. Hope that helps

 

Reverse bleeding works very well on these clutches. Get something like a pump oil can and fill it with brake fluid. Attach it to the bleeder nipple with a piece of hose. Take the cap off the reservoir, open the bleeder, and pump fluid through till air bubbles in the reservoir stop appearing.

If you are going to use DOT 4, I'd completely flush the system, not just bleed it. The factory uses DOT 3. You can mix the 2, but DOT 4 is more moisture-resistant.

 

I really appreciate all the good help here. :-)

I do actually have a set of the Ford factory manuals for my truck. I like the factory manuals over the Chilton/Haynes manuals, even if they do cost way more.

I'll drain out the DOT3 out of the system and refill it with DOT4 and then bleed it and see what goes. If it acts the same (which I have a feeling it will), then I guess I'll have to pull the trans and all that to replace the slave cylinder on the input shaft. Uggghhh...

I never thought of using an oil can as a primer to reverse bleed the system. That's pretty damn cool! I might have to try that one.

 

Ok...I finally got a chance to work on the truck.

I did notice that the level in the reservoir was down a bit, but not where it was sucking air. I'd have to say it was half way down. I also noticed that the rubber "grommet" that normally is on the bottom side of the cap (and goes into the reservoir cup) is missing. I don't know if that makes any effect on the clutch operation or just to keep out moisture. So, I totally drained out all of the old brake fluid from the hydraulic clutch reservoir and refilled it with fresh, new, clean fluid.

I then gravity bled it a bit and then had my wife help me fully bleed the system. Not much of a change. I may be "slightly" better putting the truck into first at a light, but not much. It seems like I have to push the shifter so that it "clicks" into gear in first. Almost like pushing it past something to get it in gear. That's what it feels like.

Only thing else I can think of is pulling the trans and replacing the pilot bearing and the slave cylinder/throwout bearing. It appeared to be working fine when looking at it, but it was squeaking whenever my wife pushed the clutch in. Doesn't look like there is any way to lubricate it and/or the shaft with the trans in.

So, any other suggestions before I feel I have to pull the trans and replace those two things? Obviously if it's not those two after I do this, then the trans is screwed, which realllllly sucks!

Anyone here rebuild one of these transes? Any suggestion on a book to do it with? I guess I could use the regular service manual, but sometimes an external book helps better with pictures and such.

Thanks again for everyone's help. :-)
Mat G.

 

It has been over seven years since the black rubber diaphragm in my reservoir went mission. Keep an eye on the fluid level. if it goes down the slave is leaking. Most likely it is a leaking slave cylinder.

 

I appreciate the info.

Well, I looked at it with a flashlight before I started anything and didn't see any wetness anywhere around the slave cylinder or on the trans or anything. So, I figured my next step was to replace the fluid in the trans, but I didn't see anywhere that it would be leaking either.

So, I'm kind of at a loss. However, when it comes time to pull the trans, I'm just going to replace the slave cylinder and the pilot bearing just to be on the safe side.

I'm really nervous because in my Cobra, I thought it was the clutch, so I bought a clutch, throwout bearing & a roller pilot bearing and replaced everything and even put Royal Purple SyncroMesh fluid into that trans and it didn't do a damn thing. The synchros must have been toast.

So, I guess I'm really paranoid that the synchros are toast in this trans too and I can't afford $1500 to replace the darn trans. I'd rather do it myself (as I have rebuilt a few Chevy automatic trans before), but I don't have any type of press or anything if I need it to replace bearing sets and such.

But I'll check again and watch the fluid. It was low and that made me wonder because it shouldn't go down like brake fluid does when you use up your brakes. So, maybe it's leaking and I just can't see where.

 

If you think it may be the 1st gear synchro, test that theory by putting it in some other gear first. If it has a hard time going into any gear, it's clutch-related. I'm betting it's either the slave or the pilot bearing.

 

It seems to be not as difficult to put into other gears, but it's not butter smooth either. LOL Meaning, that it's more difficult to put into 1st, but the other gears (including reverse) have slight issues as well.

Well, looks like on my next check I'll probably get a slave cylinder and a pilot bearing because if I'm going as far as pulling the trans, I might as well replace both. If I could afford a clutch, I'd do that too, but being this close to Christmas and other things that are going on, I can't do that. :-(

But the clutch itself never feels like it's slipping or anything like that, so I don't think that's an issue, for now.

But I'll also keep an eye on the fluid level. If it drops, it's gotta be going somewhere. LOL