Hi I'm looking into buying a 1989 ford f150. I spoke with the owner on the phone. He told me the truck had recently returned from a clutch replacement, in preparation for sale, and its is now sometimes difficult to get the clutch to disengage enough to get the transmission into first. My first instinct was that this is a linkage issue, but I am inexperienced with these vehicles. Any Ideas? Is it true that the slave and master cylinder are in the transmission on this model? Obviously the seller agreed to come off the price a little, but would i be buying a problem bigger than the value of the truck? Thanks in advance. Also if anyone has any recommendations as to any common problems to look for when buying F150s of this year I would be abliged.

 

The seller should probably take it back to the shop that did the clutch, they should have made sure it worked properly before charging him for the work. As far as what to look at, well pretty much the same as all used vehicles, check for signs of abuse/neglect, color and condition of all fluids, signs of leaks. Also being so old crawl under and look at the condition of the brake/fuel lines. I just got done changing mine, it's not very expensive but is quite labor intensive. If it's a dual tank make sure it runs well on both tanks.

 

Biggest thing to remember is that this is not the only used truck for sale, if something doesn't feel right about it just walk away. I have regretted a purchase in the past and have seen many people also make regrettable purchases. Nothing ruins the fun of a new vehicle like getting home and wishing you didn't buy it!!!

 

Thanks for the advice.

 

When they did the clutch did they do the master cylinder? If so it could be air in the lines, my dad's truck is like yours, very hard to shift into 1st. When they bleed the lines they are supposed to bleed them backwards.

 

There also could be air inside of the MC not just in the lines.

 

^^ very true

 

Im not sure about the mc I'll have to ask when i go see it today.

 

Well, I went and drove it. The clutch isn't fully disengaging, so every shift is rough, and it has to be forced into gea,r with a lot of effort, if you are stopped in neutral. The owner said it had to be worked on because it was stuck in second, and when they took the tranny apart the shift rods were "ruined" (though I don't really understand what that means.) but that was fixed. He said it was bled many times to no avail. When said it could be the throw-out bearing he said that could be it, but the shop said it was likely slave cylinder, which is in the bell housing. So bottom line either he doesn't know exactly what the problem is, or he's trying to sell me a lemon. Unless anyone knows what this problem likely is, or if it sounds familiar, I might abort. I need a truck not a project. Thanks for the advice.