Can't put ST into (any) gear

[chris haggard]

Had a problem with my '02 5 speed ST (48k miles) this morning. It cranked just fine, but it would not go into any gear. I didn't try to mangle it in there, but I physically could not force it to go in gear. The clutch petal felt very light so I checked the reservoir, and it was quite low. Added fluid, pumped the clutch, it got a little resistance back in it, but still no shift. With the truck turned off it slides right into any gear I want, just not while running. Any thoughts on what this could be? I still have some warranty left, and the extended warrant, but I wanted to check if anyone had ideas before having it towed 30 miles to the dealer. Thanks.



-chris

 

[EddieS'04]

Maybe the clutch slave has gone bad...

 

[Tim Turner]

Will your steering wheel turn? I had a problem with mine where my steering wheel locked up and I couldn't shift into any gear. Try forcing the wheel out of the locked position, if that's the problem, and that should work.

 

[Bart Adkins]

My mom's new 500 did the same thing a week or so ago...towed it to the dealer, well was gonna tow it. When the tow dude got there it was fine again...DROVE it to the dealer and they couldn't find a thing:blink:and it hasn't happened again since!:huh::blink:

 

[Richard L]

Yep, it sounds like the clutch slave cylinder has worn out or developed a leak



...Rich

 

[Brad Bottoms]

I just had the exact same problem fixed on mine. It was the clutch slave cylinder. If you want to get by for a while you can fill it back up with fluid and bleed the system and see how long it lasts. Just keep a watch on the fluid level and keep it full. In your case, it sounds like it happened all at once one morning, so you may not be able to patch it like this.



As far as cost, its not pretty. Book time is around 5 hours, a Ford slave cylinder is around 100, and a clutch kit is around 200 (with 50k miles you might as well replace it to save labor costs down the road if you plan on keeping it).



Good luck man

 

[Kevin Palmer]

There are a few things that can cause this. Clutch wiped out, (but you'd know that based on you being the primary driver).



No or low fluid,

Hose or line leaking,

Slave Cylinder defective.



Since you were able to put some fluid in it and get some resistance I am also going with the slave cylinder. There is a chance that a connection or the bleeder is leaking. It would act lust like a defective slave cylinder as the cylinder would not have the fluid/pressure required to move the piston...

 

[Gavin Allan]

HOLY COW!?!?!? Five hours to replace a clutch slave cylinder???



The last one I did (old Nissan) took me about 25 minutes, including the bleeding.



Where did Ford bury this one?

 

[Brad Bottoms]

Gotta drop the tranny (if 4x4, the t-case too obviously). Its mounted inline with the clutch on the main shaft from what I could tell on the drawings. A lot of clutch kits made for the Explorer and ST come with the slave cylinder as part of the kit because it would be crazy not to go ahead and replace it while you were in there anyway.

 

[chris haggard]

Thanks for all the input on this. I ended up having the truck towed to my the dealer today. They are saying $1200 for a new clutch and cylinder, including the tow. And none of it is covered under the warranty (std or ESC). Does that sound right?

 

[Gavin Allan]

I could see why they might say the clutch disc would not be covered (wear item), but the slave cylinder and labor should be covered.