Doodlebug

My truck is doing three things that makes me wonder if I need a new clutch or possibly some transmission work, and I would like to get you fellas opinion. First off, it seems like I have to mash the clutch all the way to the floor board to get it to go in gear without a little bit of grinding. Second, I'm starting to get a touch of grinding going into second and third unless I shift slowly and, again, push the pedal into the floor board. I don't know if that is clutch or if something may be wrong with the tranny. Third, when I let out on the clutch, it wants to grab all of a sudden. It doesn't seem like its as smooth as it should be. The grabbing can get so bad that it feels like something is loose in there, but I don't think there is. The truck pulls fine and there is no slipping. Most of the problem is the grinding and the grabbing when I let out on the clutch. Is there any way to adjust the clutch on these trucks or should I plan to replace the clutch sometime soon? Thanks for your help.

nv4runner

That sounds more like a bad master or slave cylinder, or the shift fork is worn out on the hydraulic clutch system. A bad clutch usually starts to slip when you really get on the gas at lower RPM's. RPM's go up but you don't move much faster.

Doodlebug

Wouldn't the master cylinder show signs of leakage if it were bad? How would you go about checking the slave cylinder to see if it were bad. Also, would the tranny have to be pulled to replace a bad shift fork? Sorry for all the questions, I've always been an automatic man.

thook

1) Usually.
2) Same as checking the master.
3) Yes

Look under the floor board mat and on the floor board for fluid.

How does the shifter feel? Sloppy or tight and smooth?

Doodlebug

There's no fluid leakage and the shifter does feel tight and smooth. Like I said, what I would think are the typical signs of a bad clutch, slipping, chattering, etc. are not there. The biggest problem is just getting it into second and third gear without it grinding. It doesn't grind a lot, just a little touch of grinding as it goes into gear. If I shift real slow and make sure my pedal is all the way down as far as it will go, it will shift into gear real smooth.

Kinked

I had roughly the same problem on my blazer. turned out that the fork was done, as well as the throwout bearing. yours may not be that bad, but its worth a look through the inspection port on the transmission.

TNRabbit

Make sure the clutch pedal bracket under the dash isn't cracked. This is a relatively common occurrence. You have to be watching while someone pushes the clutch in to tell if it's cracked. It will flex causing you to not get full throw.