ex-Galaxie500

I tried a few searches but could not find an issue like mine -

The other day I was traveling home (2 hours interstate) and when I was making an exit I went to downshift into 4th gear and the clutch pedal gave me no resistance and went straight to the floor. I was able to shift and the more I did, the stiffer the pedal became and it was much easier. The rest of the way was back roads which kept me shifting and kept the pedal stiff.

Cut to two days later when I'm making the same drive in the opposite direction. When I go to get off that exit the same thing happens only this time I can't get it into gear. I coast down the exit ramp and pull off on the shoulder. I pump the clutch pedal several times and it gets stiffer and am able to make it back.

It seems that the longer I have the car in gear without shifting gears the "weaker" the pedal gets until I can't shift anymore. Once the pedal stiffens up, the car seems to shift fine.

Does anyone have any ideas what the problem is? I know the clutch is hydraulic so maybe its losing pressure? I have no idea

Thanks in advance

05YellowGT

Sounds like you've got air in the lines ... When they replaced my clutch they didn't bleed the system very well and for the first couple of day when I first got in the car in the morning the pedal went to the floor the first time. I had to pump it a couple of times to get rid of the air and then it felt normal ...

ford4v429

theres another thread in here about bleeding the clutch, guess the slave bleeder is inacessible, so you have to just put a vacuum pump on the reservoir to suck the air out...bigger question is HOW did it get air in there? ever been low on brake fluid(shared reservoir) or had the clutch serviced? any modifications/damage to the line that could have it too close/boiling fluid from exhaust heat(doubtful- think lines are plastic, but not sure) any leakage at the bottom of the bellhousing (a bad throwout bearing overheating the cylinder?) applying just light pedal pressure will usually make a bad throwout rumble...on my truck I could hear it and feel it in the pedal if foot was just resting on it- but it leaked like a sieve too... good luck

ex-Galaxie500

Thanks for the input, the air in the lines would make sense but I don't know how it could have gotten in there

The transmission has never been serviced. I did do the brake pads myself (in fact that was why I took the trip where I noticed this happening) but it happened before I had replaced them and afterward. I will say though that I had trouble braking but when I replaced the pads, the old ones seemed to still have quite a bit of material left on them and the guy at the auto hobby shop was confused as to why I was changing them. I thought they were nearly gone by the way it braked. I wonder if it had something to do with the fluid rather than the pads.

But as I understand from reading the posts, the brake and the clutch pedal share the same fluid reservoir, in which case mine has always been full. It was the first thing I checked when the brakes started to "go."

I haven't had anymore trouble with it since this posting, but again, I have only driven about town and haven't made another highway trip yet.

Shotokan1509

Clutch AND brake issues, sounds like hydraulic issue... go doublecheck your fluid level and how well the cap fits.

My 94 b4000 the slave cylinder leaked and my foot went to the floor, of course my luck it happened to be 170 miles from home.. I had been straight cruising on the highway for over 100 miles so didnt notice. When I replaced it, I had an airbubble that caused erratic clutch engagement, bled it and was good to go.

ex-Galaxie500

Well, finally took it into the dealer and had the problem diagnosed and fixed - guy said the slave cylinder was leaking/had leaked all over

Smooth sailing now, can really tell a difference in pick up and gas mileage

Enfynet

I think my slave is going out. When changing trans fluid I noticed the bottom of the transmission was lightly lubricated and it wasn't motor oil or trans fluid. I've had a slow leak in my brake fluid and just found out the systems are linked.

Any other symptoms I should look for? Trouble shifting at high rpm?

Should I replace the clutch while I'm in there? I've got 90k on the car.

ford4v429

if it leaked onto painted surfaces(like if it blewback on the floorpan) might want to check out the paint- brakefluid will lift paint to bare metal pretty easily, one guy in here had his m/c leaking under warranty, and ford had to repaint the firewall(cant imagine what a bear that would be!).

wonder why it would affect mpg/power? was the clutch slipping severely?
Tim

ford4v429

when my trucks went out, i swapped the slave only- leakage was all down the input shaft, throwout bearing/disk were suprisingly clean...i cheeped out and didnt replace anything else, was fine...
if the disk was contaminated, its likely shot and the flywheel/plate might be chattered, will need cleaned up at a minimum...at 90k in a 'sports car' type application, i'd definitely throw a disk in there while its out...if the throwouts not integral to the slave, i'd do that too- just use good (oem) parts- not something youd want to have to redo before another 90k
watch for paint damage(like i mentioned a post up)- brake fluid and paint stripper arent much different

ex-Galaxie500

Well I never really measured anything so it may just all be psychological but before I had it fixed it seemed like I had to give it a lot more gas to get to the same speed; that's what had me concerned at first and then I noticed the... 'malfunctions' on the long highway trips. Felt like I had to fill up a lot more often. It definitely started slipping toward the end there but then I had it repaired. It was weird- hard to describe what exactly it felt like except to say that it just didn't feel right. Bought the car new and was definitely not as... peppy

Thanks for the advice regarding the paint - I will have to check it out