bohnjerry
Dodge Dakota
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1/26/2011
10:19:03
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 Subject: V6 clutch hydraulics
IP: Logged
Message:
Recently, my wife got stuck with the 2004 3.7l QC truck unable to shift into any gear. I got it three years ago, and it has always seemed that the gearbox never really comes to a stop completely when shifting. Last summer the throw out bearing went and I replaced the entire clutch. I planed the pressure plate (more of a polishing, not much uneven-ness to it), the fork looked good, the old clutch looked evenly worn and in good enough condition to reuse (I didn’t). The truck drove just like has before, so my symptoms hadn’t changed. We had a cold snap that day (-14F) and I read where in the cold, the slave cylinder could lose it. I checked the reservoir and its level was halfway in the cup to the step. I added some fluid (for good measure), took the slave out of the clutch, and depressed it, then had someone pump it back in for me. I did that about two dozen times, and noticed if I let go of the piston without someone on the pedal, that it would ride back out by itself. Now I know in brakes that’s bad.. meaning you have air in it and the compressed air pocket slowly decompresses and pushes the brake pistons out again. Is that what is happening here? I would expect in a sealed system, if I pushed the piston in it should stay there until someone moves the pedal (thus the master cylinder piston).
I had no leaking, oozing, kinks or what-have-you on the system. The slave cylinder piston travel seemed solid when I was holding the slave cylinder and someone would depress the pedal. I reinstalled the slave and it still acted like you had the clutch half engaged when you shift.. Pumping the clutch a few times, then quickly sifting into another gear would work better.
I plan to replace the whole system with the assembled pre-filled (pre-bled) set. I wanted to validate that the piston should not return upon compression(by itself), and that this sounds like I’ve got my analysis right. I’m thinking that perhaps this is what did in the last throw out bearing… if that piston was always applying light pressure to the fork.
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