Clutch Job

[Sabyre]

My 91 desperatley needs a new clutch. I plan on doing the job myself but I have a few questions that maybe you guys could help me with.

First of all we do some light to moderate off-roading in the truck and would like to choose a good clutch for that purpose. I can get a clutch kit from Advanced Auto that includes disc, presure plate, pilot and throwout bearing, and clutch alignment tool for $179.00+ but this is a normal replacement clutch. Is there maybe a better clutch kit that can be had for under $300? Do you think $179 for the replacement is too high?

I have the Haynes manual and its pretty straight forward about the procedure. I have done other clutches but never on a 4x4. Now, Haynes I know can be somewhat misleading or vauge. Is there any recommendations or maybe some links on this procedure? I don't wanna get 6 hours into it to find out I need a speacial thing to complete the job.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[unclemeat]

Dual centerforce is an option for a heavy duty clutch. Don't forget to replace the slave cylinder. Do a search ther is a lot of info. Keep us posted I need to do mine very soon too.

 

[Sabyre]

Bump

 

[mechanic021]

at our shop we like to use LUK clutches you could try to find a shop near you that sells LUK clutches to see if they make a heavy duty version for you, my dad has used them for like 20 years and only had 2 bad in all that time .

 

[Sabyre]

Well happy Easter guys!

I will be tackling this job today, hopefully starting around 1:00pm. I have gone over the steps a few times. It all seems pretty easy. The parts I am concerned about is:

1. The top most tranny to engine bolts (3 I think)
2. Hydrolic fitting on the slave cylinder
3. Pilot bearing removal and installation
4. The fact that the tranny is around 200LBS from what i've heard and is cumbersome to remove and install

Other than that I think it will go great. I am guestimating that it will take 9 hrs to complete the job. I am doing this with 1 other friend. I went with a regular replacement kit. It contains the clutch disk, pressure plate, throwout bearing, pilot bearing and clutch alignment tool.

Whats the word on the pilot bearing? Will I need to use a slide hammer like the book says to remove it?

Hopefully the flywheel is in good shape. I dont plan on replacement or resurfacing, I know this is a NO NO, but I am limited on time, money, and transportation.

What are some things I should look for while I'm in there?

I've heard that there is no loss in fluid when disconnecting the hydrolic line. Is this true? Will there really be no need for bleeding? Is bleeding a PITA?

Any advise givin will be appreciated. If any of you are in the mid-coast Maine area give me a call: 442-8517 the more the merrier.

 

[Sabyre]

OK... Round 1... Explorer

Started off great got the drive shafts off, skid plate removed, gear shift off, tranny and transfer drained. Then came time to remove the hydrolic line quick connector. The parts store gave me the wrong tool. We couldn't get it disconnected. Is it a big PITA?

Gonna look tommorow for the right tool.

Here is a question that is extremely important to the outcome of this project. Does the cossover pipe (y pipe) have to come off? That will definately be a big problem. Where it connects to the exhaust pipe is bad. There are no threads. Just 3 blobs of rust. Will the tranny come out with this pipe still on?

Any reply on this matter would be appreciated, thanks

-Sabyre

 

[DasFrem]

Sabyre, as for the release tool, don't worry too much about it. Using a small flathead screwdriver you can push the nylon sleve back far enough that it'll pop out. Don't tug too hard, when the sleave is all the way in, it will pop out with ease. The first time I dropped mine I spent 8 hrs driving around town looking for that damn release tool only to find out that I would have been wasting my money and time. I did eventually pick one up for a few bucks and to be honest, the screwdriver works just as well. Either way its a bit of a *****.

As for the Y-pipe, I'm not sure, every time I've dropped my trans I've had to take it off and it can be a PITA, but you might be able to move the trans far enough back before lowering it to get around the Y pipe, but I'd take a good look at it before attempting it.

Hope this helps

 

[Sabyre]

Thanks so much that was the sort of responce I was seeking. I wish I knew difinitivley if the tranny will clear the y pipe. I can't tell by looking. The bottom of the tranny is flat and in between the tranny and the pipe is about 2 inches. Ive never done this job on this truck before so I am not sure how much of a bell is on the bell housing. I can't tell if it will clear.

Thanks

-Sabyre

 

[bbmoose]

use a straight edge of some type on the trans pan(a nice sraight piece of 2x4 or even a level will do.Take it over to the bell area.That way you can see how much larger the bell size is compared to the rest of the trans.
Also i think you need to remove the y pipe.
Sorry if i am right on that

 

[Pack Ratt]

I've had my tranny off, and regrettably we did end up having to remove the exaust crossover. A deep socket (check your service manual for size) on an extension is the best way to reach the coupler bolts. If the bolts are that bad you may need to WD40 them (not to heavily, and not when the exaust is hot!) and tap the socket/extension onto it with a small hammer.

Ford wants $60 for the hydro decoupling tool, and six weeks to deliver. I laughed at them and went to Kragen and got the same tool immediately for about $5.95.

Good luck. The tranny's not too bad if you have your rig up on stands and use a floor jack to lower and raise the tranny.

-PKR

 

[albrosm]

You can find luk clutches on ebay, found mine on there but did not buy from there i called the phone # and made them an offer for 200.00 shipped and thats what i paid for is clutch, pp, and slave cylinder i couldn't even buy it from autozone for that price.

 

[DasFrem]

Trick for removing those annoying exhaust bolts I use:
1) Soak in WD40 or liquid wrench the night before
2) Next day start car and let it warm up a bit, when the headers are warm, the bolt will loosen more easily.

 

[bbmoose]

spray them twice a day for about 5 days.They should remove a lot easier then.
If you still have a problem then clean off hte excess(use some degreaser of some type or spray the area down with windex(yes windex is a good degreaser too and the spray pressure can get into some strange places without alot of mess).
And use a torche to heat the area nice and cherry hot and they should come right out.
Goodluck.

 

[Sabyre]

Well... Round 2... Explorer

Yesterday we removed the starter (which was coated with oil) and the transfer case shifter. I found the tool for the clutch fluid line but that didn't help at all. Someone who did the clutch previously or had the tranny out really did a number on that nylon clip. It was mangled. My friend ended up cutting the line. That will probably come back to haunt us.

We took the 5 bolts out of the transfer case and attempted to remove that but, the fact that it has a gasket between it and the tranny makes it very difficult to remove.

As for the Y pipe, I guess I will have to wait and see. I have heard that it can stay in and I have heard that it has to be removed. I'm not sure what to think. I can probably get it off the manifolds but, disconnecting it from the exhaust will not work. The 3 bolts that hold it on barely resemble bolts. They will definately snap. I priced a new Y pipe and I can get one for $52 but as low as I am on funds at the moment I hope it doesn't come to that.

Today I am very sick, I cought a head cold so I wont pick back up until Wednsday. I am greatly disappointed at the moment because of the trouble I am having with this thing. As I say I have done clutches before but they werent this troublesome.

Wish me luck all.

-Steve

 

[Sabyre]

Ok let me just conclude what has been a PITA!

It took an air hammer to get the transfer seperated from the tranny. The tranny came off without too much difficulty with the Y pipe still on. The clutch swap went well. I couldn't change the pilot bearing because I didnt have the tool. Changed the clutch, pressure plate and throwout bearing. The clutch disc was starting to wear the rivets. The fly wheel was in great shape. We put the tranny back in with the Y pipe still on. It did however take some modification to the body. We had to cut a flange in the bell housing area. After that putting it all back together was pretty easy. Execpt!...

Remember that hydrolic line my friend cut? Well it turns out that it did come back to haunt us. We went to the junkyard 3 different times to try and get the proper line. It seems that the one we need is rare. The one we needed was black like the original and the only ones we could find on similar year Rangers and Explorers were brass colored. The differerance between the 2 are about an 1/8 of an inch where the little metal fingers in the slave cylinder clip on the the quick connector.

We ended up filing the brass colored one and used it. Well today a week later it seems to be leaking badly from the quick connecter. I called around for a replacement and all I could find was $82.50 from the dealer.

Why are these so rare and does anyone know where to get one cheaper?

Thanks for all your help.

 

[Billy177]

i am not a fan of the luk clutches. i installed one on my friends 00jetta and wasn't terriably happy with it. if the ford one was good for 13 years then it shouyld be fine for the rest of the cars life


you can get the ford replacement for $181.71 plus the $50 or so for the flywheel resurfacing and the crankshaft bolts cause i think they are tty bolts

 

[Sabyre]

i am not a fan of the luk clutches. i installed one on my friends 00jetta and wasn't terriably happy with it. if the ford one was good for 13 years then it shouyld be fine for the rest of the cars life


you can get the ford replacement for $181.71 plus the $50 or so for the flywheel resurfacing and the crankshaft bolts cause i think they are tty bolts

Yeah, The jobs already done. Like I said in my previous post I am having trouble with the hydrolic line.

 

[Sabyre]

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