I hopped in my truck yesterday and went into reverse just fine, the when I pushed the clutch in it did not disengage. Finally got it out of gear after killing it, then tried to put it in 2nd and no such luck. The pedal has pressure at first, then it goes away and I get a dead pedal. I have heard the slave cylinders on these trucks are junk to begin with. Sounds much like the slave cylinder, but I talked to a diesel tech and he said it might be the master cylinder..Anyone ever had this problem before??

 

If it's leaking outside it's the slave cylinder (unless it's leaking up by the firewall). If there is no visible leak it's the master cylinder.

The master cylinder can bypass internally.


John

 

I don't really think it matters because these are sealed hydralic systems. You have to buy the Master cylinder and Slave as a unit. That's what I have read.

 

Does anyone know where to get the asembly other than dodge?

 

South Bend has an upgraded hydraulic assembly.

 

Is the south bend assembly already charged with fluid like the dodge assembly is? What is the difficulty of instalation on a 1-10 scale?

 

same thing happened to me. They first replaced the master cylinder and that seemed to fix it. then a month later happened again. forced through the gears on the way to the dealership. they took a look at it and said that dodge was aware of the problem. some type pf spring in the clutch. needless to say they are replacing the clutch underwarrenty. It is taking a while, they have had my truck almost a week.

 

well I ended up going the southbend route and it is supposed to be here on thursday....I sure miss my truck

 

I drive an 03 3500 6spd also. My clutch just started doing the same thing. The truck sat for 2 months while I was working out town, I'm not sure if that had anything to do with the current status or not.

It will drive fine 80% of the time for normal traffic shifting, then when I have to do any driving that involves having the clutch down for anything more than 2 seconds, it starts to bleed out. By the time I start backing my trailer in to my warehouse the clutch is starting fade and the pedal is to the floor. Then the truck is moving on its own while I have the clutch pedal fully to the floor. At that point the only way to get it out of gear is to shut her down and pump the clutch. So far it has been coming back as soon as I pump it a couple of times. So now I have been pumping the clutch just as it before it fades to the floor. This gets real tiring, by the time I've backed the trailer in I must of pumped the clutch and extra 50 times.

I am waiting for a shop to find an after market clutch Master/Slave. The word is that the Chrysler ones are just crap, hence the current situation.

The guys did mention the fact that it may be an issue with the throw out bearing. Because it sat for a while, he's saying the bearing may have dried up and is not spinning properly. This to me does not make any sense, the way the clutch fades away seems like something bleeding out. But, I could be very wrong cause I'm no pro. I called the guys at BD Diesel, they said that the system is weak from the factory and they only install the after market set up. I would go to them but they are so booked up I wouldn't get in there until next year.

I'm curious to see how yours turns out cmorgan06. Are you going with the after market set up?

 

cmorgan06, was the upgrade from south bend pricey? I believe im going to need one. Just installed the con fe sat. the petal is stiff and doesnt go into gear a well as stock. Did you talk to them about it, easy install? Primed with fluid already and stronger than stock, thanks p.s. what clutch do you have

 

NAPA has replacement slave and master cylinder that can be purchased separately. Stock unit went out with 40,000 on truck, have since put 120,000 on napa parts. The slave cylinder is tricky to bleed, just make sure and follow directions.

 

whats this about it having its own resevore? Why wouldnt it just reuse the stocker. Ill have to give sb a call tomorrow.

 

I got the slave and master from Texas Diesel Shop out of Madisonville for $255 shipped. The hardest part of the install was getting the old one out. Since the system is already bled I guess that is why it has its own resevoir. The stock resevoir is mounted on top of the clutch master cylinder and I guess therefore is not reusable. The SB one has a hose running to the resevoir from the master cylinder. I just zip tied the resevoir the brake lines that are right there (I think thats what they are without looking at it). Let me know if you have any other questions bout it.

 

I can see you have a 03 so it a nv like mine . And you replaced yours due to it going out rather than not being strong enough right, your clutch is not in your sig. is it still the stocker or an upgrade like my fe. Due to it not going in gear as easy as before is what makes me think i could need the upgrade. Just went and looked at truck again, your kit replaced the yellow caped master cyl. itself to that mounts to the firwall with the 2 studs? Then there somthing else right under it on the same line? Was it all an easy repair and does it feel much diff. than your stock setup did when it was still working.

 

I have the SB CON OFE. I need to put that in my sig. Mine just went out, but several people have told me that it could be do to the upgraded clutch. It feels much better than the stock unit. The stock setup was pretty grabby and much harder to push than the SB setup. With the SB the clutch engages much smoother for smoother takeoffs and shifts. You actually dont have to take the two bolts going through the firewall out, you can just turn the master cylinder within the bracket and it will pull straight out.