stroker4501

checking for leaks where else is the fluid going to go i had exactly same symptoms so i replaced them before really checking anything out and it didn't fix anything at all they will leak as they are going out. i haven't seen where he ever said he has weak pedal ever on this thread just tryin to help...

Busboy

The master cyl have a tendency to bypass internally so no leakage externally but you don't get full travel of the slave cyl.

wadecool

In my situatuon, the cylinder didn't have a weak pedal til it had totally failed. I remember leaving for a trip from KY to MI & wondering why I was having trouble getting it into gear with the pedal on the floor. Then after stopping to eat, the pedal was completely dead & it wouldn't go in gear at all unless the engine was off. That was the night I got on my blackberry & found this awesome site.

CORed

Regarding changing the fluid suggestion - and don't want to get off-topic, but everyone still recommending the Syntorq or whatever it is at the dealer that came stock? And how often? Every 25,000?

Again, don't want to get off topic, just curious.

Busboy

Amsoil has one that's recommended for the NV4500, that's what I'm using as it's less than half the price of the dealer.

Captain Coop

Im not sure I have a weak pedal or not. After reading this earlier today i payed attention to my pedal pressure and I think that I might. But, it has come on so slow that i havnt really noticed. But I think it is there. Theres never any fluid beneath the truck and sometimes it sits for a while. I also havnt seen any fluid caked up on the truck. I agree with wadecool here. I think its time to get a new master cylinder. Its temperamental right now. Sometimes its fine and sometimes I have to force it in to gear. I feel like if it were the clutch it would be a constant, worsening problem. It also seems as if it acts directly with the ambient temp of the air as well as the temp of the truck. I think when the fluid gets good and hot it begins to bypass internally like Busboy suggested. Any body remember how much one cost?

turbo2

OK ..... so... What I would like to know is how many miles you have on your clutch setup. And are those easy miles or hard miles pulling loads in stoplight traffic. What happened to my truck at 180000 miles is the clutch fingers were worn so thin where they meet the throwout bearing that they would bend a little bit and would no longer push far enough to fully engage the clutch. I wish now I had taken a picture of it to show you what it looked like.When you see it its one of those "Oh no wonder it guit working" moments. The throwout bearing was a little worn but not too bad. I went through the same steps you are about to take. First I replaced the tranny fluid with six quarts of amsoil. No change. Second i canged out the master slave assembly. I went to the dealer for the part because I wanted the one piece unit. Cost like about 250.00 and easy to change. I did not have the fire ants on me so it took me longer to change, like two hours of easy fooling around. At 180000 I wanted to get new hydarulics so as not to have a problem for a long time down the road. When that did not change anything I knew it was the clutch.

Thundercraft

You forgot to mention the "refreshment" breaks in the aluminum cylinders every 20 minutes....

Captain Coop

I have 150k on the truck but i have only had it since 134k. I have done very little towing with it. Just my fishing boat from time to time but its only like 4k pounds I think. As far as the previous owner, I have no idea. I bought it off of a used car lot so there was really no way to tell. The four wheel drive had obviously not been engaged in years when I bought it so if I had to guess I would prob say it was used as a tow rig on the road. I also have no idea how many miles are on this clutch setup. As far as I know its still stock. So basically i have no answer to that question ha. Is there a way to check clutch wear without taking the whole **** thing apart?

wadecool

I don't know of a way to check the wear of the cylinder since its a sealed unit. I think I paid around $200 for it a the dealer but it may be cheaper at Napa. As far as whether you should change it now, I would cause at your current mileage, its a good idea.
About using Amsoil, I've heard great things about it in the engine & diff but personally I'd only put Castrol Syntorque in the nv4500 because its the only oil designed for it. I change the tranny oil every 20 to 25,000 miles.

GUMP

When my cylinder quit, you could be sitting in the drive, engage clutch, put it in gear, leave pedal against floor and the truck would start moving on its own! I figured there was some kind of seal failure, so I bought the dodge unit. I am also running the amsoil in the tranny. My truck is showing 196,000 and I think it still has the stock clutch, I would guess it has been well used for towing etc.