Ford Ranger clutch issue

Hi all,

I'd appreciate the hive's help here. My neighbor has a 2000 Ford Ranger with 5MT and 4 cyl engine. He asked for my help diagnosing a suddenly not-working clutch. I came over expecting to see leaking fluid and a broken or dislodged hyrdraulic line. No dice. No evidence of leaking fluid and the line is firmly attached to the trans. 

Depressing the clutch, I can feel nothing is happening. The pedal does come back up. No loss of fluid in the reservoir. When the clutch is depressed, the level does not rise or fall. I removed the covering on the side of trans and looked in while he pressed the clutch. Nothing is happening in there. I can move the shifter into gear with or without the clutch in and start the truck in gear and it does move when I do. 

I'm thinking either the master or slave cylinder is kaput. Is there some way to tell? Maybe it's something else. 

Thanks!

If there is no fluid loss, and pedal motion does not result in throwout motion, sounds like the master cylinder is bypassing heavily.

If these are the ones that come as a complete master-hose-slave assembly, awesome.  If not, the easiest way to bleed the system involves inverting the master cylinder and cycling it by hand.

CyberEric said:

 I can move the shifter into gear with or without the clutch in and start the truck in gear and it does move when I do. 

With the truck off you can select any gear? And when it is in gear, you push the clutch in, start it and the truck moves?

with no fluid spitting out the slave, it's got to be your master, like Pete said. 

I believe those have the stupid internal slave cylinder. If so, you can't see if it's leaking. If not, I'm thinking of the older first gen Ranger.

I had a clutch disc fracture on mine, which is remarkable considering the output of the 2.3. 

If the master cylinder has failed it could be leaking inside the cab which you wouldn't see under the hood.

If it has the Mazda transmission like my old, early Ranger they have rubber plugs on the top of the case at the bellhousing. These shrink when they age and allow the fluid (ATF) to leak out. It usually looks like a leaking rear main seal, but it won't be. These should always be checked/replaced. It is possible to do them with the trans installed, though you're working blind. Probably has nothing to do with the OP problem but I like to mention it. Those transmissions failed a lot because of fluid loss.

It is most likely the master. I would check to see if the push rod on the slave and the master are in place. I have had them fall out when something hangs up and then the force of the clutch pushes the hydraulics back and the peddle is now only working against a return spring. Since you don't see fluid movement I would look at the master first. 

Yep, internal slave.  Mine had those symptoms and the answer was an air bubble.  No idea where it was hiding, but once bled everything was fine.

In the bleeding process you might as well replace the fluid while you're there.

In reply to jfryjfry :

Yes, I could select any gear. What was weird, when I first started the truck with it in reverse, it did not move. I then shut the motor off, and started it in reverse and it did move backward. I then shut the motor off, put it in first and it went forward. Maybe I wasn't all the way in gear and didn't realize it.

@ddavid, no leaks around the bellhousing. And I checked near the master inside the cab and no leaks there either.

@dean1484, yeah I checked that, everything looks in place.

@914, so you think it worth bleeding the system first before replacing the master? If so, how did you bleed it? It sounds like due to the positioning of the master, it's hard to not get bubbles in it. I see videos on Youtube of people removing the master to hold it in a better position, pulling the snap ring and draining off a bit of fluid.

Ranger clutch master cylinders are notorious for being difficult to bleed. Especially in the vehicle. Bench bleeding can be done, but I'd highly recommend buying the pre-bled master with the line already installed if you end up replacing it. It's going to save you time and frustration.

In reply to STM317 :

Good to know! Any recommendations for the best way to try bleeding it? (I just edited my above post and would love to know what the best way is.)

CyberEric said:

In reply to STM317 :

Good to know! Any recommendations for the best way to try bleeding it? (I just edited my above post and would love to know what the best way is.)

Make sure the master is bled too.  You will need to remove the master from the firewall and pedal.  Turn it pushrod down to bleed it.  Shake it around, tap on it with a screwdriver, etc.  Reinstall that. 

Now get 5' of hose that will just fit over the slave cylinder bleeder.  Crack the bleeder, put on the hose, and run the other end up to the MC reservoir.  Pump the clutch 3.2 million times (roughly) and make sure the reservoir stays full. 

IF your system is good, then that is the best way to bleed it on the Ranger.  There are too many rises and falls (including the high spot on the bleeder) in the system to easily get the air out.  

@jmabarone, The slave is inside the transmission, I don't understand how I'm going to access the slave cyl bleeder. I agree with the rest of your post that I need to position it pushrod down to bleed it. Edit: Nevermind, I see the bleeder screw on the bellhousing.

What are ya'll's thoughts on this... I'm wondering if using a vacuum of some sort will work. This video here uses a one man brake bleeder and suction (using his mouth). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z5e0HDps1_E

CyberEric said:

@jmabarone, The slave is inside the transmission, I don't understand how I'm going to access the slave cyl bleeder. I agree with the rest of your post that I need to position it pushrod down to bleed it. Edit: Nevermind, I see the bleeder screw on the bellhousing.

What are ya'll's thoughts on this... I'm wondering if using a vacuum of some sort will work. This video here uses a one man brake bleeder and suction (using his mouth). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z5e0HDps1_E

I have tried the vacuum on the bleeder and by far the hose to the reservoir works the best for me.  You are moving so much fluid through the entire system (hose on bleeder included) that it removes all the bubbles.  When I said pump 3.2 million times, I mean I spent a good 3-5 minutes working the pedal.  

All this talk about bleeding the system, but the fact is, the thing apparently was working fine for a long time then suddenly it wasn't. The system didn't just inhale a random gulp of air. Something has failed. 

I put in piles of slave cylinder-throwout bearings in earlier Rangers back in the 90s 

On the f250 the welded pin breaks off and the rod is disconnected from the master cylinder.  The springs bring the pedal back but your clutch won't work. Make sure the rod and all are connected.  

@jmabarone. thanks, good to know. With your method, could I also use a shorter tube and put it the end in a jar with a bit of fluid in it rather than all the way back on MC reservoir?

@cousineddie, that's an excellent point. It doesn't seem like it would go from working to nothing  by gulping some air all of a sudden.

@clownkiller, thanks for the tip. I'll double check that, but I think it was fine when I looked.

So my neighbor decided to just drive it to the shop without the clutch. So, not my job anymore. 

Thank you all very much for the support!