New clutch will not disengage

Ok, tried Keith’s suggestion of letting it try and rub into place and that didn’t work. I got the flywheel cover off and made sure I put the disc on right and that the fork was moving and everything was good there. After I put everything back on I decided to continue to bleed the hydraulic system and now whenever the truck is running I can get it into third and fourth gear but no other years so it has to be the master/slave isn’t pushing the fork down far enough is what I think, what are you guys think?

George I also tried your idea of pumping up the clutch and then trying to get in the first and second and that wasn’t working either

How is it that you can determine if the clutch plate is facing the right direction just by removing the cover and looking? While you were looking, did you have your assistant push the clutch pedal down? If your assistant is holding the clutch pedal down and you see a gap on both sides of the clutch plate, it is in right, if you see a gap on one side only, the clutch plate is facing the wrong direction.

If you do see a gap on both sides, then the issue is with either the throwout bearing or the pilot bearing, or something is on one of the friction surfaces of the clutch plate, i.e. a damper spring came out of its position. This is why I suggested “riding the clutch” to wear it down a little.

If there is no gap, then it is either the master or the slave cylinder.

I think you’re on to something…
Is there an adjustment? Is the slave moving full range but not moving the fork enough, or is the slave only moving part-range when you operate the pedal?

Have your helper step on the clutch pedal slowly while you watch the slave cylinder. The slave cylinder should move as soon as the clutch pedal is depressed. This is a hydraulic system and you can’t compress a liquid. If there’s a delay between the time the clutch pedal is depressed and when the slave cylinder starts to move, the master cylinder is leaking internally.

I felt this when my master cylinder failed. Before it failed there was pressure at the top of the clutch pedal. When it failed there was no pressure at the clutch pedal until it was depressed about half way down.

I installed the new master cylinder today and I’m back on the road!

Tester

Outstanding! And thanks sincerely for the follow up post.

Happy motoring.

I ended up getting a new master and slave cylinder got it installed and bled the crap out of the line. After that I was able to shift into all gears. Took it for a test drive and after having trouble shifting into 1st and 2nd I drove back and bled the line even more. After another bottle of brake fluid I was able to shift into all gears again. I was able to drive home. It’s a little stiff and I have to make sure I have to have the pedal pressed all the way down to shift but everything is working. I bought this truck a few years ago and never realized how loose the clutch was. Thank you all so much for all your help! Keith I was able to tell by feeling into the bell housing and feeling for the lip on the plate. It’s good to have small hands every once in a while. Thanks again all.

I’m not sure about the lip on the plate, every clutch I’ve replaced, the direction was determined by the offset of the splines at the center of the disk. If the offset was on the wrong side, then the clutch plate would stick to the flywheel or the pressure plate.

But glad to see the problem is solved.

Congrats TJ, glad you have the problem solved. Problems like that are frustrating.

ok so i had the same problem and after taking it apart for the second time and still no clutch i gave up and brought it to a shop appearantly the idiot in me didn’t see the little part of the throw out bearing that had exploded that was left on the transmission shaft after i had thought i had gotten everything out and was keep the bearing from going all the way back and releasing the engaging the clutch with the pressure plate. i now have a lesson learned.

That’s called “on the job training” … lol … I think most everyone who diy’er their own cars has examples like this. A mechanic who works 40 hours a week on car does this once or twice, and never does it again. But we diy’er are often doing things for the first time on most any job we do. So what’s the solution? Chalk it up to having some fun and enjoying a learning experience, then have a laugh & a beer.

One time I was rebuilding a CV joint when all of the sudden the balls came loose from the cage all at once and each one rolled to a different hiding place. It took me 4 hours to find them all, Beer helped … lol .

I had a TR6 purchased used. It needed a clutch and I bought a brand name kit. Took out what had been in there, and it was different. The new correct clutch, would not disengage. The hydraulics were fine. I made an adjustable rod for the slave cylinder out of two old incorrect rods, and it shifted very well.