Need some info, suggestions on a clutch/trans

[jnoffsinger]

Hi everyone, this is my first post, and I'm looking for help.

My friend owns an '01 sport trac explorer w/ a 4.0L engine (is that standard?), and he's having clutch issues.

From how he describes it it sounds like either the throwout bearing is some sort of smashed or the pressure plate springs are shot. Regardless, he's ordered a new clutch kit (it even includes a new slave cylinder).

I've offered to put it in for him once I figure out if I'm up to the task. I've never worked on this vehicle before but I have a long list of prior experience, including clutches in
chevy cavalier,
ford ranger (rwd)
nissan sentra,
3000GT FWD and AWD (different cars)
as well as timing belts, starter, alternators, CV axles, brakes, etc

I've searched but can't seem to find basic info on the vehicle. How is the 4wd set up? Is it a transaxle (horizontally mounted) w/ a transfer case that attaches to driveshaft/rear diff, or is it basically a RWD truck w/ some interesting way of hooking up power to the front wheels?

How much does the trans weigh? The AWD trans on my 3000GT was about 125lbs and i managed to get it in and out w/o special tools but in the ranger there was no way i was doing it without a special jack.

Any info on this project is much appreciated, and, if i were to decide against it, what's a reasonable labor charge at the dealer/shop?

Thanks again everyone.

 

[brianjwilson]

Welcome!
The sport trac is very similar to a ranger, depending on which year the ranger was. The same transmission was used in rangers for years, still is. Yes, the 4.0L is standard.
The transfer case bolts on after the transmission. I believe you'll need to remove the front and rear driveshafts, and you could drop the tranny and transfer case together, but you'll probably need a good jack under there. You'll probably need to remove the exhaust system too, but I could be wrong...
If the kit came with a slave cylinder, that is good. The slave cylinder should always be replaced with the clutch because it is located inside the bellhousing.
When I had the clutch and slave cylinder replaced by a shop in my 4x4 ranger, I think I paid somewhere in the $850 range for everything. Beware that it can be a bear to bleed the system properly. I had to to take my truck back multiple times, and it seems to be a very common issue.
Manual transmissions are somewhat rare in explorers so you may not get a ton of help on this site. If you don't, try posting at www.offroadrangers.com
As I said, it's basically the same as a ranger and there are a lot of guys on that site who have replaced clutches on their rangers. Good luck

Oh, and what exactly is your friend describing as problems?

Hi everyone, this is my first post, and I'm looking for help.

My friend owns an '01 sport trac explorer w/ a 4.0L engine (is that standard?), and he's having clutch issues.

From how he describes it it sounds like either the throwout bearing is some sort of smashed or the pressure plate springs are shot. Regardless, he's ordered a new clutch kit (it even includes a new slave cylinder).

I've offered to put it in for him once I figure out if I'm up to the task. I've never worked on this vehicle before but I have a long list of prior experience, including clutches in
chevy cavalier,
ford ranger (rwd)
nissan sentra,
3000GT FWD and AWD (different cars)
as well as timing belts, starter, alternators, CV axles, brakes, etc

I've searched but can't seem to find basic info on the vehicle. How is the 4wd set up? Is it a transaxle (horizontally mounted) w/ a transfer case that attaches to driveshaft/rear diff, or is it basically a RWD truck w/ some interesting way of hooking up power to the front wheels?

How much does the trans weigh? The AWD trans on my 3000GT was about 125lbs and i managed to get it in and out w/o special tools but in the ranger there was no way i was doing it without a special jack.

Any info on this project is much appreciated, and, if i were to decide against it, what's a reasonable labor charge at the dealer/shop?

Thanks again everyone.

 

[jnoffsinger]

thanks for the info, I didn't realize the slave was INSIDE the bellhousing

He said there was loud squealing when the clutch was applied (sounds like a throwout bearing to me) and eventually it became hard/impossible to get the car to go into gear while moving (say 3rd-4th gear). While stopped it was fine (so no binding cables, etc).

I could try bleeding it first before i start ripping things apart, but it sounds like I'll be dropping the transmission.

Just to clarify, the engine/transmission are mounted horizontally like a FWD car, not pointed at the rear as in a RWD (maybe I should LOOK at the car to get SOME idea before I start this.....)?

 

[N2FORD]

Welcome, The ST is set up just like the ranger, engine in the front, trans in the tunnel, transfer case on the back of it and drive shafts going to the front diff and rear diff. It does have CV's in the front but you will not need to do anything with them, they come out of the front diff. Hope this helps, had to put a auto tranny in mine.

 

[brianjwilson]

Okay, yeah sounds like the throwout bearing. There is a TSB (or was for the ranger) for a loud squeal (screeching) noise while releasing the clutch pedal. The fix was replacing everything. My ranger did this too, but never caused problems shifting, just a lot of noise.
Like N2FORD said, it's laid out like a ranger, front to back (like a RWD car), not horizontal. It will be obvious once you poke your head underneath it.

 

[jnoffsinger]

thanks guys. I'll be calling my friend to set up a time to do this. Any guesses on the weight of the trans? do people have a favorite jack if necessary? I used this before and it worked pretty well for a DIY job
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=39178

thanks again, this has been very helpful