any car guys out there that know clutches?

[coolguy8769]

alright well last week i noticed alot of play in my clutch, so i added fluid in the clutch resivor. well last night im driving home and suddenly i get so much play in the peddel that the clutch almost wont engadge. i quickly find a gas sattion and find brake fluid cause i knew it was the same problem. i take the cap off and its almost empty. I filled it to the top and it was back to normal.

what is causing this problem? i'v notcied my clutch slipping could that be it? cold weather? i have no idea so please help, and how can i fix this

oo its a 2002 chevy s10 4.3L 5 speed

[89dc240]

You're leaking fluid from somewhere. It's probably not the clutch. Check your lines goin from the clutch master down to the slave, then the slave goin to whatever that's connected to. Fittings may be lose, you may have a pinhole, maybe something failed between the clutch master and the arm that pushes the throwout bearing, but it doesn't sound like the clutch.


How many miles on it?

[coolguy8769]

96,000 miles

has an 8" lift with 33's

[KXRida]

might be your slave cylinder.

[wvspeedfreak]

Probably the slave cylinder or clutch master cyl.Look under the dash where the clutch rod goes through the firewall into the clutch master cylinder to see if it is leaking there.Also get under the truck and look at the slave cylinder to see if it's wet.I believe those trucks have an external slave cylinder.

[KXRida]

If it's an internal slave... blah, time to pull the tranny, tcase, and all that fun stuff!

[89dc240]

Ha, whoa. 8 inches and 33's. I'm sure your clutch is on it's way out, but it should last a while longer hopefully. I believe that model does have an external slave. Not like my Ford's internal. If it is, might as well get a new clutch anyway. No sense goin in there without all the parts handy. Nobody likes to drop a tranny. Although that much higher up would make a world of difference, lol.

[CDCHONDAS]

yea those slaves suck, they are internal, just make sure if you do it yourself to get the slave on right, if you put it on in the wrong position the transmission will leak.

[KXRida]

Originally posted by 89dc240
Ha, whoa. 8 inches and 33's. I'm sure your clutch is on it's way out, but it should last a while longer hopefully. I believe that model does have an external slave. Not like my Ford's internal. If it is, might as well get a new clutch anyway. No sense goin in there without all the parts handy. Nobody likes to drop a tranny. Although that much higher up would make a world of difference, lol.

haha yah I know the feeling. I have a ranger with 9" of lift and 35's. It's easy to drop. Getting it back in is a different story.

[CDCHONDAS]

the only good thing about those late model 5spd s10s is you don;t have to drop the torsion bars, but they have those braces that go back each side which sucks to me. I ain't got a problem pulling a tranny and putting it back in as long as I can put it up in by myself, if I can;t lift it then I know its going to suck because 2 people trying to find 1 hole is rough lol. I pulled a zf 6 spd out of a 7.3 stroker there a few years back, left the transfer case on, never again, that ***** was like 500 lbs and 6 ft long, I haven't had a transmission down since like spring, knock on wood.

[KXRida]

Originally posted by CDCHONDAS
the only good thing about those late model 5spd s10s is you don;t have to drop the torsion bars, but they have those braces that go back each side which sucks to me. I ain't got a problem pulling a tranny and putting it back in as long as I can put it up in by myself, if I can;t lift it then I know its going to suck because 2 people trying to find 1 hole is rough lol. I pulled a zf 6 spd out of a 7.3 stroker there a few years back, left the transfer case on, never again, that ***** was like 500 lbs and 6 ft long, I haven't had a transmission down since like spring, knock on wood.


AH FINALLY SOMEONE THAT KNOWS WHAT A ZF IS!!!!!!!! My brother is running a zf 5 spd and a NP205 tcase. Fu(k man that is so heavy. My brother found it easier to pull the engine and transmission as one.

[CDCHONDAS]

205 is a good t case, but I gotta ask what is the combination, I take it that its not a divorced setup? and whats it in, because I really hadn't seen a 205 on a zf, then again I don't do fords and thats where you see them zf's mostly. I guess really early ford diesel pickup, non turbo maybe.

[KXRida]

Originally posted by CDCHONDAS
205 is a good t case, but I gotta ask what is the combination, I take it that its not a divorced setup? and whats it in, because I really hadn't seen a 205 on a zf, then again I don't do fords and thats where you see them zf's mostly. I guess really early ford diesel pickup, non turbo maybe.

Nope not a divorced tcase. You can run a 205 to a ZF and I believe a 208 will work as well. He actually has the ZF and 205 in a ranger with a 351 punched out to a 396 stroker. Ironically his slave cylinder is leaking as well. Once he pulls the 396 out, he has a 408 stroker built up ready to go in for the time being. Later on down the road once he does his axle swaps, he has a 460 on the stand ready to be built up. If I remember correctly the ZF's came in heavy duty diesels and tow trucks. Overall good transmissions except for a soild one piece bell housing. He had a borg warner clutch in the ZF last summer rated at 550 ft lbs. and he ended up bending the pressure plate fingers on it and pulling the clutch fibers out of the rivits, so I forget what new clutch he put in it.

[CDCHONDAS]

yea the whole which trannies fit on what on ford I dont know, but yea a 208 would have to swap, some zf5's had internal slaves and some had external. oh well I think we lost the original thread.

[KXRida]

yah sorry buddy, hope you did get some information out of it.

yea I believe a T18, T19, small block C4 & C6, ZF (5spd & 6spd) and a t56 if you can get one will all fit on a small block. 460 wise, you'd be better off going with a built big block C6. I know my brother was talking about doing a 205 doubler for his ranger. I want to do one for my ranger because the stock 2.9 doesn't cut it for low range at all, but until I get the time/money to swap in my 302 or 351 it will have to do.