Hello all,

Let me start by saying I am not a mechanic nor have I ever played one on TV. I have a very basic (meaning minimal) understanding of auto mechanics in general.

My 17 y/o son recently bought a 2000 Dodge Dakota 4x4 for his first vehicle. The vehicle seemed to run just fine there were some maintenance records that checked out and a clutch replacement by a reputable shop approx 10 months prior. With in the first month of ownership the heater core went out..No biggie I understand that can happen. We take it to a local shop and they replace it no big deal. About a week after we get it back My son complains the clutch isn't working right. I check it out and the pedal seems to go clear to the floor before it engages but it does engage at the end of the stroke of the clutch. I look online thinking maybe it needs to be adjusted or something but of course hydraulic so no adjustment..one thing I did see was check if still had fluid. Fluid level was good. It was still drivable so told him just keep an eye on it and if it gets worse we would maybe take it back to the shop that did the repair 10 months ago (2 year warranty on repair but to the previous owner) about a week later the heater core goes out again. No biggie we call the shop and they apologize bring it in and we will take care of it. When we are driving to the shop the clutch gives out completely. I ask the shop (heater core shop) to check it out, while doing the new (2nd) heater core and see if there was anything funky with the clutch since it had just been replaced 10 months ago. They call me and say the clutch is engaging but only at the complete end of its throw, in order to find out what is going on they need to drop the transmission which comes with a $400 labor charge before they can even figure out what is wrong. I completely understand sometimes you have to charge and cover your labor to diagnose but what I am wondering is it seems like this is a HUGE coincidence. I know there is no direct relation to the clutch and heater core but I also know heater cores don't go out in a week and clutches normally last longer than 10 months.

Is there something the shop could have inadvertently done while replacing the heater core that could have caused the clutch issue?

I realize maybe it is a rare thing but it seems just a little to much of a coincidence?

any help or suggestions would be appreciated..

 

I'm assuming by "engage" you mean it dis-engages the transmission. My terminology will be opposite if this is true.

I would say coincidence, there's no correlation between them. Sounds to me like one of the cylinders is giving out. I recently helped someone change the master and slave cylinder in a 2000 Honda Accord, it was also hydraulic, so the time-frame is correct if it's never been changed before. Check the fluid, see if it's darkened, black or burnt looking (would be debris from the internal seals). The internal seals bleeding through would cause the clutch to take more pressure, and eventually, grab when you don't want. When the seals wear out, you can press it to the floor, then within a second or so, re-engage, making it very dangerous in traffic. The fluid slips past the internal seals allowing pressure to bleed off until the transmission grabs. It's best to replace BOTH master and slave at the same time, and flush the lines with brake cleaner and fluid before reassembly. Debris from the failing cylinder could damage the other, and remnants in the line could damage the new components.
There IS adjustment in a hydraulic clutch, the master cylinder rod that connects to the pedal is usually threaded. Disconnect it from the pedal, back off the lock-nut if it has one, then turn the thread the pushrod end in to lower throw, up to raise it. My dakota is an automatic (sadly) so I can't say exactly for sure, but this is my experience with how you described the problem.

 

I say they are scamming you. That's wayyyyy too high of a bill just to R&R a trans.