I have a 1994 F150 4x4, almost 257,000 miles, 302, manual transmission. Question is, is there a way to tell how much clutch you have left? Everything seems to be running fine, clutch pedal seems perfect, seems pretty amazing to me with that many miles actually, but is there any way to tell how much life the clutch may have left? AND, when/if it does go bad, will it be a slow progression, or a sudden failure?
ALSO, the tranny is original as well. Seems to be ok, how long can I expect it to keep going before trouble? (I know, thats probably impossible to answer, but if you had to guess). What should I be looking for first, or expecting to happen first when trouble is starting to raise its ugly head?

 

the clutch going out, i dont know if there is a way to tell, and im pretty sure they can fail any way lol, matter of seconds, or over a year.

the transmissions with a manual, the usual thing to happen is a shifting fork breaks, if the transmission it self goes, it starts slipping first usually.

you are right about how long these things last, i had mine replaced (automatic) at 94k miles, some people can put 300k+ on them and never touch the transmission. so cant really help you there, its definitely something that id worry about though, but with that many miles id worry about near everything, not meaning to worry you lol

 

As for a way to check, there may be a little cover or a sight to shine a flash light in. At least there is on my Mustang. But telling when the clutch is about to go, is when you have the clutch all the way out and you can kinda feel it slipping and you may see the rpms shoot up a little with out you moving on that power. Other than that you just have to keep driving it and hope it'll stay together long enough. If you know it might be going bad and you need to go on a long trip I'd suggest replacing it anywho. No one likes to pay for a tow and a mechanic's bill. Good luck and happy motoring!