1988 Dodge Dakota clutch slave cylinder

1988 DODGE DAKOTA
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GORDO1
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Drive Train Axles Bearings problem
1988 Dodge Dakota 6 cyl Manual

Hi.
The clutch in my Dakota will only release when the pedal is pressed hard to the floor.
Checked the fluid and it was down but only barely and the pedal never felt sloppy, topped it off (needed a tiny splash), no difference.

My question is the slave cylinder, per the Haynes manual it says the whole system must be swapped out (clutch master cylinder lines etc) because it a complete unit and bled at the factory. True? Can I just replace the slave cylinder as the parts show online to be seperate parts?

Thanks for any help you can provide!

Gordo1
Jul 21, 2009 at 7:46 PM
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JACOBANDNICKOLAS
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To the best of my knowledge, you can replace the parts seperatly. I have a question. Did this happen all at once? Was the clutch grabbing or chattering prior to the problem? The reason I ask is because I have seen the pressure plate go bad and get weak enough to give these symptoms.

Let me know.
Jul 21, 2009 at 11:53 PM
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GORDO1
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Hi, It started this problem gradually, and I thought it was the clutch itself, someone else mentioned it could be the slave cylinder. The truck has 370,000 miles on it with the original clutch and I bought a clutch kit from the Autozone so I'll swap out the old this weekend and see if that fixes it. As I think about it, it does chatter a little bit but is not really grabby. Thanks for the reply.
Jul 22, 2009 at 12:32 AM
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JACOBANDNICKOLAS
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Let me know how it goes. Wow, that's a lot of miles. Does it still run well for you?
Jul 22, 2009 at 11:41 PM
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GORDO1
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Runs well, tired though. Thank you jacobandnicholas! I will let you know!
Jul 22, 2009 at 11:52 PM
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GORDO1
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So I took the truck apart today. The bellhousing is cracked almost completely around! Nearly a 1/4" gap on the slave cylinder side!

I have only seen this on junkyard wrecks! Now need to find a bellhousing.

Thanks again to jacobandnicholas for the help!

Gordon Lindsay
Jul 24, 2009 at 9:50 PM
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JACOBANDNICKOLAS
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Gordon,
THat isn't good news. I'm sure you'll find one. Also, if you have other questions, let me know. You are one of the few people who I know that is going to get half a million miles out of a Dakota. I sould mine with 180K, and I have regreted it since.

Let me know how it works out for you.

Joe
Jul 24, 2009 at 9:54 PM