Clutch help needed

[Tater]

So, here's my problem: I took my kids out for an afternoon of trail ridin yesterday and my clutch went out. It worked just fine when I left my apartment but, when we got back in the Jeep after finding a geocache, the clutch wouldn't sinc up the gears. I had to shut it off, put it in gear and start back up. When I started up in gear (with the clutch pedal engaged) my Jeep started rolling forward as if the clutch wasn't engaging at all :eek: I'm thinking (hoping) that the clutch master cylinder blew a seal since it went out so fast. I've never heard of the clutch plates going out that fast. How do I trouble shoot this to see if it's the linkage, clutch master cylinder or the clutch itself? I'd rather not shell out $250 for a new clutch if it's something else. Any help is greatly appreciated. Thank you.

[toxic111]

Chances are that it is the clutch master cylinder.

Check the fluid first, if that is good, check the cylinder, and then the slave cylinder at the transmission itself.

They are hard to troubleshoot with out seeing it.

BTW it is usually easier to replace the whole part instead of the seal itself.

[fabsroman]

Just pray it is the slave cylinder and that it is mounted outside of the transmission. With my dad's F-150 the slave cylinder has gone bad twice and it is located on the inside of the bell housing, so the entire transmission had to be dropped. That isn't a fun undertaking unless you have a lift.

Oh yeah, when the slave cylinder went in the F-150, there was clutch fluid coming from it. Look to see if anything is leaking.

[Allen]

If there is no fluid leak and the clutch master cylinder is full then it could be the clutch pressure plate. It is possible for a pivot point to break and cause the clutch to not release. This happened to me with my 1975 F 250 years ago. The pedal did not feel right when pressed and the clutch would not disengage. Had to drive to work at 5 am to stay out of traffic. Starting a truck in gear and shifting without a clutch is not pretty and I wanted to be the only one on the road. I hope its something easy for you to fix.

Allen

[scalerman]

There is also the throw out bearing. It has a spring on it that can break. It sound to me like you need to get somebody to take a look at it. I hope it is the slave cylinder- that would be a fairly easy fix.

[rickjordan]

My old man used to have an 83 Jeep and his was doing the same thing- I climbed under it and found the master cylinder losing fluid at one of the return lines. If both your cylinders are full and not losing fluid, try to adjust the linkage on the clutch and see if you can gain some life on the clutch. If you have broken springs on the pressure plate or throw out bearing, you will need to replace the clutch. I have no idea how mechanically inclined you are but my clutch mechanic at work can change a clutch in an 18 wheeler in 8 hours and you have far less stuff to remove and a much smaller clutch and transmission to deal with. I would think it could be done in 3-4 fours without killing yourself.