Clutch hard to shift 90 S15 4WD

I have a 90 Jimmy S15 4WD. I've replaced the slave and master cylinders and even had a high pressure braided hose made for the truck in an effort to correct the following:

When trying to bleed it, it took almost an hour before the peddle felt like it was holding any sort of pressure. Now it rattles a little in neutral until I depress the clutch. It feels rough when driving and shifts, but sometimes very hard.

I tried bleeding it again and it seemed to lose all it's pressure as soon as I opened the nipple on the slave cylinder. After a while I got really ticked and just pumped the crap out of it. the oil shot out emulsified but it did seem to build some pressure.

I'm at my wits end. The clutch and throwout bearing were replaced well over a year ago because of chatter. It hasn't been overworked so I don;t think it's any of the mechanism in the tranny clutch itself.

HELP!!!!!

When trying to bleed it, it took almost an hour before the peddle felt like it was holding any sort of pressure. Now it rattles a little in neutral until I depress the clutch. It feels rough when driving and shifts, but sometimes very hard.

Sounds like you have a transmission problem not a clutch problem, sounds like one of the main bearings going out.


I tried bleeding it again and it seemed to lose all it's pressure as soon as I opened the nipple on the slave cylinder.

That is normal, if you open the nipple the pressure goes out of it and does not disingage the clutch. The object of bleeding it just to get the air out of the line. The best way to do it is to place a clear rubber tube over the nipple and place the end of the tube in a container with some brake fluid in it, open the nipple and have someone slowly pump the peddle, keeping an eye on the level of the fluid in the master, until there are no air bubbles in the tube. Close the nipple and you are done.

The big clue is the rattle that goes away when you engage the clutch, the input shaft to the transmission stops spinning so the noise stops. You have transmission problems not clutch problems.

Lance

I will agree it's probably the tranny going out. Funny thing is this problem didn;t occur until the clutch hose blew out (got a hole in it). I couldn;t find a dealer replacement fast enough so I had one made at the Hose factory. A steel braided, high pressure hose just a little bigger in diameter (not much. They said it should build the same pressure. After I replaced the hose I ended up repalcing both sylinders because of my problems getting it to bleed. Am I totally stupid or insane or what???

Well, after much aggrevation I finally found the problem. It was the clutch. And it actually stemmed from when I replaced the master cylinder a few months ago. It seems the new master cylinders have an adjustment on the push rod (I hadn't noticed). Because the peddle wasn't being depressed fully I was essentially popping it into gear every time I shifted. Like anything you sort of get used to things and forget there's a problem. It wasn't like I couldn;t shift, it was just hard shifting. This was also the reason I could never bleed the clutch fully.

Popping it into gear each time eventually strained the clutch plate which separated the pad from the center spring portion (ergo the noise). It finally coimpletely separated and that's when it stopped moving. I never looked at the push rod because I was told there was no adjustment on this truck on the clutch pedal. Stupid me, one clutch later a lesson well learned! Thankfully the transmission is in full gear! ;)