tjohnson

My brother has a 2001 24V with 6 speed. Here's the problem.
At idle it doesn't want to shift into gear. You can step on the clutch pedal, shove it as far as you can and when you try to put into any gear it slightly changes the engine rpm's and acts like it wants to move forward like the clutch isn't fully disengaging. He had the same problem last year and the dealership put on a "cylinder". Evidently fixed the problem temporarily but now the problem is back

I have done some searching on DTR and seen some info on the "slave cylinder" and pilot bearing being potential problems. What is the slave cylinder?

Can anyone help me here.

I have checked the hydraulic clutch reservoir and it is full, no leaks in the engine compartment or inside the cab along the firewall.

It's just gotta be a clutch related problem. HELP!

tjohnson

I was hoping to get some help on this hyd. clutch problem. I don't have a local dodge dealer so I had to get seperate slave and master cylinder from the parts store. They are not pre charged and will need to be bled either before or after they are installed.

Can anyone help with a bleeding procedure?

darrenG

it's easiest to have a friend help for bleeding but it can be done alone. the bleeder should be on the master cylinder on the side of the tranny housing. bleed them after installing.

take a long peice 1/4 fuel line(or whatever best fits over the bleeder) and a 20oz plastic soda bottle. cut a hole in the top of the bottle and push the hose through to the bottom of it. Make sure air can pass through the hole around the hose. crack the bleeder, use a socket if necessary, but not enough so it's flowing. put the hose over the bleeder and open it a 1 or two turns. Making sure there's full fluid in the resevoir keep pressing the clutch down fully and letting it up. you probably can't watch the bottle, but if you can, keep doing this until the tip of the hose is under the fluid AND no air bubbles come out. If you can't see it, just do it a lot, keeping the resevoir full so it doesn't suck air - then you have to start over. close the bleeder and enjoy your clutch. The hose being submerged under the fluid means when you let the clutch up it sucks fluid back in, not air. If there are no air bubbles coming out but the end of the hose is barely under the fluid, keep pressing the clutch a few times to put more fluid in there. and keep an eye on the resevoir. If it sucks air you have to start over.

hope it helps

tjohnson

darrenG,
You lost me on the location of a possible bleeder. You said it should be on the master cylinder on the side of the tranny housing. The clutch master cylinder is mounted on the firewall, not the tranny housing and the slave cylinder is bolted to the tranny housing.

There is no bleeder that I see on the slave cylinder or the master cylinder. Your method makes sense if I saw a bleeder, but I'm not seeing one.

darrenG

oops, sorry. The bleeder will most likely be on the slave cylinder, I was wrong.

I'd check my truck but it's a 5pd so it's likely to be different.

there's no bleeder? Weird. You can always loosen the line @ the slave and have someone press the clutch while you watch the fluid. then when it stops belching air have 'em hold the pedal and tighten the line up.

tjohnson

Just an update. Got the shifting problem fixed, it was either the master cylinder or the slave. I replaced both at the same time.

ADVICE:
Since we don't have a local dodge dealer I ordered master and slave from local parts dealer as seperate components. When I got them the slave was the wrong part and the system would need to be bled, would also need to use the old lines.

I ended taking the parts back and driving 40 miles to the closest dodge dealer. I got the slave and master cylinder as a kit. It came pre charged, resevoir included. It cost $194, about $50 more than the parts from the parts store but I can assure you it was worth every penney! Believe me, the money I would have saved it not worth the time and hassle.

I have never replaced one of these before and I pulled out the old components, replaced with the new, and was driving it down the road in 55 minutes with no shifting problems.

Thanks to DTR for the information on the kit from dodge. Great site!