95 CK 1500 clutch dragging

81VWDIESEL

MEMBER
ALL OTHER MAKES ALL OTHER MODELS

Hey guys, you have a very informative site and I hope you can give me some insight into my problem.

I have a 95 CK 1500 with a 350/5 speed and 75000 miles on it. I have had problems with the clutch for quite a while and it is getting to the point where the truck is difficult to drive. You have to push the clutch pedal all the way to the floor to get it to disengage and if you let it up (even 1/16" it seems) the clutch begins to grab.

It has a sealed hydraulic clutch (no bleeder valve) and there is about 1 or 1 1/2" (measured at the end of the pedal) of free travel in the pedal before the push rod contacts the master cylinder piston. I have replaced the clutch disc, pressure plate, throwout bearing and pilot bearing but to no avail. I checked the balance of the clutch components and they all appeared to be in spec.

The problem seems to get worse as the truck warms up and after driving for 30 minites or so the clutch will sometimes grab even with the pedal all the way to the floor.

The clutch pedal is also very hard to push but I just write it off as being a truck. Not sure if this has any bearing on the issue.

Thanks for your time and I lood forward to hearing from you.

3 Replies

2CARPRO JACK

MECHANIC
11,533 POSTS

No fluid loss from the hydraulics? Almost sounds like the disc has a little bend in it. When you installed the clutch did you tighten the pressure plate in a cross wise fashion and only tighten it down a little at a time?
Manual trannies should slide in without any real resistance, otherwise the disc is misaligned and it will cause problems if forced together

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Monday, January 29th, 2007 AT 7:29 AM

81VWDIESEL

MEMBER
2 POSTS

There is no fluid loss and I was very careful when I tightened the pressure plate. The clutch was doing the same thing before I changed the pressure plate and disc; I was thinking maybe I had some warpage in there someplace but the new parts didn't help. I checked the flywheel with a straight edge and it looks good.

It almost seems that there is some air in the system and is expanding as the engine warms. Very puzzling.

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Monday, January 29th, 2007 AT 7:34 AM

MATHIASO

MECHANIC
1,209 POSTS

Let be sure that this is dragging clutch problem.
Clutch dragging occurs when the clucth disc is not fully released when the clutch pedal is fully depressed. This can cause gear clashing, espesially when shifting into reverse gear. The clutch disc, input shaft, and transmission gears should require no more than five seconds to come to a stop after the clutch pedal is depressed. This time is called the " spindown time"and is normal. However if the time exeeds five seconds, clutch drag is evident.
To check for a dragging clutch, start the engine and depress the clutch pedal. Shift the transmission into first gear but do not release the clutch, then shift the transmission into neutral. Wait five to ten seconds, then attempt to shift the transmission into reverse. If the shift causes gear clash, raise the vehicle and check the clutch linkage. If there are no problems with the linkage, the clutch must be dissembled and inspected. Clutch drag can be caused by a warped disc or pressure plate, a lose disc facing, incorrect clutch pedal adjustement, or a defective release lever.

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Monday, January 29th, 2007 AT 11:32 AM