Bad slave Clyinder???

[GreenRiverCummins]

Alright only a day before i take my big Camper on her first maiden voyage(with us that is). While in town cashing my check and getting Diesel $100 worth... I felt the clutch pedal was sponge like and pushed to easy compared to normal. shifted the same ran the same. Till i got home pulled in to the drive and started to back up but couldn't get it to go back in gear. Shut the truck off put it in first pushed the clutch in fired the truck back up. Let out the clutch truck rolled forward as normal then stoped repressred the clutch and wouldn't go back in any gear. Let the truck sit and cool for 3 hour's came back and it's back to normal now. Called a trans shop talked to him he say's it deff not the clutch or the presure plate he is sure either the fluid is weak or it has air in the line or just a bad slave clyinder. But thought i'd run it by ya'll before i pull my big camper in a few day's. on a side note the fluid in the clutch resivor on the firewall is orignial over 185k on it might need to change it. But will await ya'lls input thanks again.

[CUMMINSDIESELPWR]

stock clutch or heavy duty after market? sounds like the line is getting weak.

[GreenRiverCummins]

Not sure if stock or not original owner was unavaliable for info when i bought it and by line you mean the Rubber line to the dslave cylinder still newish to Hydrolic manuals transmission's.

[dripley]

There is not really a good way to change the clutch fluid. I changed mine when the master cylinder went out about 3 years ago. What you are describing either the master or the slave is going. Have you ever noticed the truck trying to pull itself forward while clutch is depressed? That was the first symptom mine showed. Not going back into gear without shutting the engine down was the second. It does sound like one or the other is gone. You can buy the separate cylinders and replace them or buy an assembly already filled and ready to go. No bleeding required. Mike has a good write up on it. http://articles.mopar1973man.com/2nd-generation-24v-dodge-cummins/28-transmission-systems/54-hydraulic-clutch-master-and-slave-replacement I replaced mine one at a time before I knew any better. I took alot of foot pumping to bleed the master. I mean near 2 weeks. I could still drive it but had to pump the clutch a lot, but it worked. The slave I bought and replaced later came with a bleeder screw on it and I sure wish I had replaced both at once. Could have bled the whole system on the truck. Mikes way appears to work also.

[GreenRiverCummins]

Thanks for the info i got down and looked and there is fluid leaking from both the master and slave clyinder's so gonna order the parts from rockauto in the am i guess. Thanks again will fill ya'll in on the replacement when through.

[dripley]

The slave I ordered came with a bleeder screw. I did not order it that way, it just came that way. Might have been in the description but I did not see it. Just got lucky.

[GreenRiverCummins]

Thanks again since the kit is alittle higher then i can shell out atm and need the truck back asap i'm gonna buy the slave clyinder first and thorugh it on and then get the master clyinder if i have the cash just don't have enough for the kit. I can live with pumping alittle more till i can get the HD set from South Bend since i'm getting a aftermarket clutch soon aswell.

[hex0rz]

on a side note the fluid in the clutch resivor on the firewall is orignial over 185k on it might need to change it.

Crap! Yea, that needs to be changed, too! Service intervals may not be as much as the brakes, but going 185k on the same fluid is a long time! Fluid breaks down over time and could very well be your problem. I suggest you change it out first before doing anything else. Brake fluid is hydroscopic so you could have quit a bit of water in the fluid. I think service intervals for the clutch system are probably going to be sooner than brakes. I would think the fluid would see more "use" than the brakes cause you have to use the clutch everytime you shift..

[dripley]

Crap! Yea, that needs to be changed, too!

Service intervals may not be as much as the brakes, but going 185k on the same fluid is a long time! Fluid breaks down over time and could very well be your problem. I suggest you change it out first before doing anything else. Brake fluid is hydroscopic so you could have quit a bit of water in the fluid.

I think service intervals for the clutch system are probably going to be sooner than brakes. I would think the fluid would see more "use" than the brakes cause you have to use the clutch everytime you shift..

I have not looked in my owners manual to see if there is a service interval for the clutch system, but they sure did not leave a way to do it. The only way I can see to do it is to take the whole thing off and drain it. Then there is no way to bleed it after you refill it, unless you read Mike's article. Thats the only place I have ever seen a method to do it. Bring that up on another forum and see how many people tell you it cant be done.

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Thanks again since the kit is alittle higher then i can shell out atm and need the truck back asap i'm gonna buy the slave clyinder first and thorugh it on and then get the master clyinder if i have the cash just don't have enough for the kit. I can live with pumping alittle more till i can get the HD set from South Bend since i'm getting a aftermarket clutch soon aswell.

When I did my master, I filled with fluid before I installed it. I lost a fair amount trying to get it on since all I did was replace it and did not remove anything else. The master came from Advance Auto and the slave I got from Rock Auto. Neither were heavy duty as I remember and i reused the stock hydraulic line. This on a valair clutch with a 3400 or 3800# pressure plate, cant remember which. The master has 80k on it and the slave has 60k on it. I am not knocking the SB heavy duty, but it seems standard duty is working fine in mine.

[hex0rz]

That is just ridiculous that there is no way to bleed the system! Even my old mazda truck was bleedable! Brake fluid has got to be changed every so often. Its stupid to think that the engineers at Dodge at the time could not come up with a better idea than that...

[dripley]

I just read the FSM and it states the assembly is filled at the factory and should need no further attention unless fluid needs to be added. I had near 210k on mine when the master started leaking internally. Kind of made it a guess for me when mine went bad. Lucky for me I did not know there was a slave. Until the master gave out I probably opened it twice in the 9 years I had driven it at the time. I dont think it is exposed to the atmosphere enough to absorb much if any moisture.It also states the master and slave cannot be serviced individually. Another thing I did not know at the time.Sometimes ignorance is bliss.

[stodg73]

Slave cylinder replacement. I got my slave cylinder from RockAuto and it was prebled/prefilled and took about 1 hour to r&r.

[dripley]

Mine came from Rock auto also but was not prefilled. It does have a bleeder screw on it which made bleeding it very easy. If the master ever goes out again it would make bleeding it a breeze compared to the first time.

[GreenRiverCummins]

Took my truck to the only trans guy for well around a 100ish mile's any way but, i dropped the truck off last tuesday and he said he'd check it out next after the 3 allison rebuild's infront of me (Note: less then 100k mile's on the trucks they were destroyed inside thought they were suppose to be top dogs but don't seem all that amazing to me ...back to topic ) and i went by on sunday the truck had not moved. called mutiple time's and was told it was already in the shop on the lift since thursday... but went yesterday to find out any info if on the issue he said he drove the truck and felt the clutch was almost gone and that the 5,6th sync were almost wore out. He said that a master or slave clyinder don't get weak or wear out they just work or don't so he said that could not be the issue (Which i totally disagree with his info) and Said that i need a Dual disc clutch from south bend and the new snyc's and if i'm really lucky that's all.... all in all be about $3500 installed IS this a resonable price (note labor is $75 an hour)

[dripley]

My master went out slowly over about 6 months. BS on that one and I have read of many others going the same way. I dont know why you would need a DD clutch. I lived on the OE with what is in my sig for near 6 years with no issues.Replaced the OE for another single disk Valair about 2 years ago. No slipping with the 15k 5th wheel on the back. I dont know about the synchro issue, but could be possible. Unless he works on trannys like the 5600 I would be leary. $3500 is high to me, I would be doing Most of this work myself.

[stodg73]

The only way I knew the slave was going out on my truck was I could not get it out of reverse when backing up my driveway. I had to shut off the truck and pump the clutch to get it out. Dodge Cummins NV5600 Master & Slave Cylinder Replacement

[Mopar1973Man]

Anytime a clutch hydraulic problem occurs it just best to replace both master and slave. I typically just go to local NAPA store and buy master and slave and bleed myself. Hang the whole unit from the shop ceiling and let gravity do its job allowing the air to rise while pumping the slave cylinder rod.

[GreenRiverCummins]

Thank's for the info and you think a Single disc clutch will handle my 17,500pd camper course only pull it 2 times a month or about 6 time's a year if all work's out. and also a 22,5xx pd load of hay (13 2k pd roll's of hay is heavy :p )?? And i'm gonna put the Master/slave on some time in a week or so against my dad's wishies he belive's if i throw new part's on a weak tran's i'll finish it off but to me if it is going out i'm gonna replace it anyway's but should i get the napa one's or the South bend one's for $315 what's the difference?

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[dripley]

The south bend is supposed to be heavy duty for a stronger clutch. I have no experience with it. My Auto Zone master and Rock Auto slave have been on with the stock lines for over 2 years with no issue. I just hope it does not break tomorrow since I talked about it. My single disk Valair holds 15k at highway speeds even going up and over the mountains. I dont have any experience with 22K+. I personally would not want a dd from what I have read. I dont want jerkiness or hard engagement and a stop. That seems to be the biggest complaints I have read about.

[Mopar1973Man]

Master/slave unit from NAPA is like a $110 bucks and you have to bleed yourself. Still running mine years later. (Soutbend ConOFE Clutch)