Gear shifting difficulties - 85 BII

[jules]

hi fam. I have an 85 B2 that's new-ish to me. I've done some work on it:

New dual core radiator
New plugs/wires
Distributor cap and rotor
New valve cover gaskets
New Heater core


I'm dubious any of these are related but I'm mentioning them here just in case they are.

Now - the issue. After 20-30 minutes of driving, I sometimes cannot get my car into any gear. It just won't go. Last night I got stuck at a light and couldn't move. I turned the car off and on again which fixed it - but boy that sucks. Any ideas?

 

[tw205]

What type trans are you driving. Manual or automatic?

 

[jules]

Ah yes! Manual 4x4. This is in 2wd mpde

 

[tw205]

The clutch system should be hydraulic. Have you checked your fluid level. If you have a leak it could take a couple pumps to get the throwout bearing back to the pressure plate.
The only time I’ve experienced a similar issue I found the PO had not tightened the clutch plate bolts and they had come loose.

 

[jules]

Heya thanks for the advice. I just checked the clutch fluid reservoir and it is indeed empty. Is this something I can just fill or do I need to bleed the system? Is this something that a n00b can do? I don't actually know what fluid to put in there - is it brake fluid?

 

[tw205]

Yes it dot3 brake fluid. Unscrew the lid. The black rubber boot comes out, fill it about 3/4 full and put the boot back in and tighten the lid. You may need to bleed the clutch if you have air in the system. The hydraulic system on the 85 is generally much easier to bleed in fact you may not need to bleed it at all.

 

[jules]

Ok - I filled it and it is still intermittently having issues. Should I use a vacuum pump to bleed? Is that the best technique?

 

[jules]

ok, i picked up a mityvac and it is pulling all kinds of air out of the line when I provide suction at the bottom of the clutch fluid reserve. I think it is gonna fix it! for anyone else interested, I just watched this video:

 

[tw205]

I watched what seemed like every video on tube for bleeding on Rangers and BIIs but had no success as my issue turned out to be something different. You may well find this fixes your trouble if you have air in the master. If the air is in the slave, you will need to bleed the other direction. Gravity bleed should work in that direction. Keep that fluid level full.