I have a '99 CTD with the 5 Speed. The truck has over 200k on it. It just recently started having problems shifting & it has me stumped.

I bought the truck about 4 mos. ago and it's been great. About a week and a half ago, I was pulling a trailer with a car on it. I came on a set of Rail Road tracks that were really rough, (6" of asphalt sticking up in one section.) I drove over the tracks cautiously in 2nd gear, then proceded to shift into 3rd. For some reason, when I depressed the clutch and tried to get it into 3rd the truck acted like the clutch was completely gone. I couldn't get into any gear. I pulled over, messed with the T-Case shifter hoping it had something to do with that.

Eventually I just started the truck in gear and drove it like that... shutting if off when I came to a stop, then starting it in gear and synchro-shifting once I was moving. I drove about a mile and everything started acting "normal" again!? It was still a little wierd, but it worked.

Now, I have a hard time getting it into gear. Quite often I have to double-clutch it to get into 1st (When I use it), 2nd, 3rd and Reverse.

I took it to a local shop to have them check it out & they couldn't tell me anything. They said it was normal, but it's never been like this. I asked them if it could be the clutch and they drove it and said the clutch was perfect. They also think the clutch going out after the RR Tracks was probably a air bubble in the Hydro Clutch line... I don't know about that.

I think I'll drain the tranny fluid and add a quart of Lucas Gear oil. Other than that, I'm clueless.


Anyone heard of or seen something like this before?? Any suggestions?

 

It is NOT normal. The clutch is not disengaging completely. My truck has a slush box, but I know a little about this. I have seen the following cause this sort of thing, not necessarily on a Dodge: Collapsed springs in a diaphram-type clutch, problems with the clutch master cykinder/slave cylinder, loose bell housing bolts or cracked bell housing.
Your clutch master cylinder and slave cylinder should be self bleeding, so air in the system would be a transient thing, lasting for only about 10-15 presses of the clutch pedal. There is the possibility of a seal in either leaking. Do you have any leaks from either? Check inside also for leaks from the master cylinder.

What I'd do is crawl under the truck and see if I could see any damage from that crossing, though the truck shouldnn't have bottomed out, if it was as bad as you describe, I'd look for something to have gotten hit under there. Once you know what got hit, if anything, that will give you more to go on.

Chris

 

I just had the same thing happen on my 1999 5 speed too. I checked my clutch fluid reservoir and it was a little low so I filled it up. I was driving from Washington Dc to Tampa, FL when it happened to me. I knoticed it in Jacksonville, Fl., That's where I refilled the reservoir. By the time I got to Orlando my problem was gone. My guess is I got a air bubble in the hydraulic clutch line since it went away within 200 miles.

 

I would bet your slave cyl. or master cyl. took a dump - real common just go a head and replace them (its ezer then a clutch and then you have eliminated that possability) adding fluid will not change anything if they are bad.

 

I had a similar thing happen to me, the master cylinder went out. I could tell by having someone push in the clutch while I listened to the master w/ the engine off. I could hear the fliud leaking past the seal in master cylinder. It could probably be rebuilt, but I didn't have the time. I just replaced it with a new one.

 

the EXACT same symptoms happened in mine - after finding nothing wrong with the above suggestions, finally pulled the trans out and the pilot bearing had failed.

The pilot bearing supports the trans input shaft inside the flywheel. It's a known weakpoint on the NV4500 setups in earlier trucks like ours. THe damaged bearing allows the input shaft to wobble - the clutch is on this shaft, and when it isn't perfectly straight, the clutch disk never separates from the pressure plate. Instant "no clutch" syndrome like I had...

if nothing else above pans out, it's probably time to call Peter at South Bend Clutch. My truck has minimal power upgrades (+100HP to the wheels), so he set me up with the MU 090 "Rally" configuration. It's been in there about 80,000 miles, pedal pressure is like stock and it basically feels like a totally stock clutch, but it can handle the little extra power I run through it.

Post up if you need more help...

 

Awsome... thanks for the help guys! I'm pretty sure my Clutch Master & Slave are good, as I haven't been loosing any fluid at all. I'll crawl under the truck once the ground dries up & double check to be safe. Plus, the hard shifting is pretty erratic, I'd think Hydro Clutch problems would be pretty constiant.

I'm thinking it's the Pilot Bearing... once I think about how everything happened, that makes sense. No biggie, the trucks going to need a clutch pretty soon anyhow.

Again, thanks!!

 

You do not have to loose fluid to be bad........the "o" rings hemorage past themselfs and you do not get enough thow anymore.......like I said it is the ezer thing to check and at 200000 miles you could use the new parts anyway

 

Ahhh... thanks!

Mabey I will replace some cheaper parts first. I just hate 'throwing parts' at a problem when I'm not 100% sure exactally what it is.

 

I forgot to mention, when my pilot bearing failed - the symptoms included a "normal" clutch feel. In other words, the pedal travel and pressure were exactly the same before the failure. Not sure if yours is diong the same thing... feel free to PM with any questions.

thanks,
-scott

 

Yep, mine is the same way. Feels like a normal clutch, just difficult to get into gear at times. Thanks for the info!

 

It also could be your input shaft going bad. When the pilot bearing went out on mine it took the input shaft gears with it. I would check that also if you get the tranny out.