When you push the clutch pedal in, it does not fulling disengage (or engage) the clutch brake to move from one gear to another. although when the engine is off, you can shift to any gear without any problem. I can generally get it out of say first, but cannot get it into 2nd while in traffic. I have the feeling it is a simple fix, but not sure where to start on this. Any help is greatly appreciated.
Theres a leak in the master or slave cylinder. Unfortunately on a Ford the trans has to come out if the slave is leaking.
Look under the dash where the clutch rod connects to the master cylinder is it wet with fluid? If you’re lucky it will be.
Top off the fluid, pump the clutch pedal a dozen times & see if it works better. If it does you can probably limp it along like this for quite awhile.
You’d better HOPE it’s just a hydraulic issue. It sounds to me like your clutch is going out. Clutches can fail by slipping OR by not disengaging. You may have the latter. Hey, even if it is the slave cylinder, the transmission has to come out. You may as well replace the clutch, pressure plate, and throw out bearing while you’re in there.