2002 Dodge Dakota clutch or transmission

DAKOTALAX7

MEMBER
2002 DODGE DAKOTA
6 CYL
4WD
MANUAL
168,000 MILES

Truck drives fine and I suspect my clutch however, last 3 days I noticed I have to "double clutch" to make a "grinding" nosie go away shifting from 2nd to third. Can make it happen thier most times and has happened coming out of first into 2nd but doesnt occur down shifting or in the higher gears. Am I correct in my assumption that I just need to replace clutch? Truck has alot of miles but I keep up maint and have another vehicle until I resolve issue. Thank you.

1 Reply

JACOBANDNICKOLAS

MECHANIC
108,269 POSTS

It sounds like the pressure plate has about had it. Many times the Pressure plate goes bad and doesn't completely disengage the transmission from the engine. What happens is you will grind gears when shifting and it will be very hard to put the vehicle in any gear with the engine running and the vehicle stopped. If you took care of the transmission with regular maintenance and didn't "pound" on it, most likely a manual transmission will outlast the vehicle.

One final thing. Did you check both the clutch fluid level and the transmission fluid level? Either one of them could cause a similar problem.

Let me know if you have any specific questions.

Joe