Get the LUK clutch kit. You will be bombarded with helpfull info on here. Il add my bit. If your doing this yourself. Go to harbor freight and get a floor trans jack. Think it was $80 but you will not be able to do this with out one. The trans/t case as an assembly is very very awkward and heavy and the weight is not centered! Put the jack more under the t case than the trans. T case is much heavier. Say good bye to your nice shifter knob. You may as well take a grinder it the face now.. you have to pry out the 12345 gear face round plate on the top. They don't come out easy! (Mine didnt) there's a bolt under the thing that you have to remove to remove the shifter knob to remove the center console. Unless your boot is torn all the way around. First thing you do is undo the batt connections! You have to remove the starter. Leave wires attached and sling it up on the frame rail... replace your trans mount at this time. Unless it's new. Umm.. srry for the random advice.. there's a special socket you need for the BS top 2 bell house bolts. I bought one.. forgot wtf it was.. like an E12 or some bs crazyness. They have no business holding a trans to a engine... you can buy it at local parts stores for chump change. While your at said auto store. Rent a pilot bearing puller. You will need it! 100%. And again be carful. Everything on your back is heavy. And jeep parts are very heavy! Also might want to do a good under body pressure washing a few days prior. Random jeepery falling into eyes sucks! The guys will fill in what I'm missing as far as what write ups don't prepare you for

 

The ridiculous E-Torx is the E-14, I’m replacing mine with hex heads the Jeep TJ gives me plenty of room to get in there.

I suggest you order the E-14 torx online, Harbor Freight no longer carry them and Lowe’s only sells them in a kit at $32.88

 

I just did my clutch (and all the leaky seals I found along the way) late last year. I didn't have to remove the shift knob ('98 4.0 with AX-15), I was able to reach up over the trans and undo the shift tower. I found several write ups that were helpful, but these were probably the most thorough that I found, and I referred to them often.

http://dailydriventj.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=931

http://4x4xplor.com/clutch.html

I wouldn't call the job difficult, it is more time consuming, and there are a lot of "WTF were they thinking?" moments. I would second the suggestion on the transmission jack, and would go further to suggest the higher dollar model. I have the $80 trans jack, and it doesn't hold adjustment well, and is very limited in the adjustment that it offers. I've pulled a few transmissions with it, and officially hate it. If you don't have a long term need for a trans jack, sell it when you are done. I would also recommend two floor jacks, and as many jack stands as you can find. I had several points where I used both of my floor jacks and my trans Jack to get things lined up. Along with the special socket (E10, I think - it is an external torx socket), you will need a really long extension (18-24")to get at the top bolts on the bell housing. Follow the guides, it makes sense when you are under there looking at it. BTW - best price I found on the LUK clutch kit was RockAuto.com. I paid less than $100 for it. Good luck!

Chris

 

Thank you both for the input! I already have 4 Jack stands, and a 3 ton craftsman Jack . . I'll look into getting a trans Jack

What exactly will I need? I saw the luk clutch kit was $79, the luk pro gold was $169. Is it worth going for the pro gold?

Trans mount

Tranny fluid, recommendations?

Will I need the alignment tool, clutch fork, clutch release bearing, flywheel (I can't tell if it comes in the Luk kit), input / output seal ??

 

. . . Would it also make sense to replace my rear main seal while I'm at it? Would it be much more work?

 

You do not need to remove the shift knob to do a clutch job. Just use a standard LUK clutch kit (not the gold). If yours is a 6 cylinder there is no point in doing a rear main seal at the same time since the transmission does not need to be pulled to do it and actually makes it harder because there is nothing supporting the rear of the engine when removing the pan. On a 4 cylinder the transmission must be removed to change the rms, so if yours is leaking, it would be a good time to do it. BTW, don't ever have a Jeep flywheel machined. If they are severely heat checked or warped, replace them, if not, just clean them up with a little emery cloth or sand paper. Here's a video we did a year ago or so that goes through the process of pulling the transmission and lists all the tools it takes.

The release bearing, pilot bearing, clutch alignment tool, clutch plate, and pressure plate will be included in the LUK kit. Use your existing release arm, and flywheel unless there is damage

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mIXhdAG3qaE

 

Thank you for the video! And last time the clutch was swapped. They did not replace the flywheel. So I think I might as well. Is there any difference between the luk and luk gold?

 

It's insignificant. The standard LUK is the oem clutch and should be good for 150K-200K miles. There is no point in spending more money on something that is not going to be of any benefit. Many of us have been wheeling hard with these clutches for years and smoked them many times and they still keep going strong.

Jerry B has a good picture of his with smoke rolling out of it, and it was still fine after that. Maybe he'll post it up.

 

The comment about the clutch release arm made me remember that I had to replace the spring clip that retains it to a ball stud in the bell housing. Not a big deal, and it's a cheap part, but I couldn't find one anywhere but the dealership. My dealer is a 40 minute drive each way, so it's not just a quick run to the parts counter kind of thing.

 

Excellent catch. They are usually rusty and break when taking them off. Less than $5 at the dealer.

 

Can some point out if I'm missing anything?

Obviously I have my tools, (sockets, breaker bars, torque wrench, e12 socket), 3 ton Jack, trans Jack, 4 Jack stands. Zip lock baggies and zip ties (cause I lose shit!), pilot bearing puller

And I'm ordering the Luk clutch kit, flywheel (what brand is good?), the little spring retainer and ball.

And I'd like to change the trans fluid while I'm at it, maybe royal purple or amsoil?

 

Can some point out if I'm missing anything?

Obviously I have my tools, (sockets, breaker bars, torque wrench, e12 socket), 3 ton Jack, trans Jack, 4 Jack stands. Zip lock baggies and zip ties (cause I lose shit!), pilot bearing puller

And I'm ordering the Luk clutch kit, flywheel (what brand is good?), the little spring retainer and ball.

And I'd like to change the trans fluid while I'm at it, maybe royal purple or amsoil?

I just did my clutch in my 11 a couple weeks ago and was way more time consuming than I expected. The exhaust manifolds were a MF. The little clips that hold the square nut are a royal pain. I didn't put them back on. You will need a 9/16 or good crescent wrench to get a hold of it. The d/s bolts are tedious. Be careful not to strip them and get 1/2, 3/8, and 1/4 inch drive swivel attachments to make it easier. Also they only torque to 15 ft lb I believe so if you only have a large torque wrench like I do be very careful not to strip them and take your time! Same goes for the 6 clutch bolts. Very carefully torque them and once snug, tighten either in a circle or star until they are all tight. Can't remember the torque for them but it isn't a lot. Also with the tranny bolts. The top 4 are 30 ft lb, outside 2 are 50 ft lb, and bottom 4 (15 mm) are 40 ft lb. Makes no sense to me either (that "WTF moment"). Lining it up for removal was a lot harder than putting it back in. Once you get everything removed and ready to lower (should be in neutral at that point), put it in 3rd so when you drop it down the stub of the stick doesn't hold up on the lip. Mark a line on the drive shafts before removing as well. The holes and bolts will all need a thorough cleaning. When you get to the bell housing make sure and do your TOB while your there. Again, if it's a JK and original clutch, TOB needs to go. I replaced the release fork, release fork bolt (Teflon ball head), clutch disc, pressure plate, and release bearing. The bell housing was filthy. Took pb blaster and a lot of brake cleaner. Make sure you have plenty of NEW grease for the TOB, release fork, spindle, release bearing, and release fork bolt/clip. I had some white lithium for the release bearing but had to pick up a tube of the grease. Forget what it's actually called but it was for building engines and is dark gray. Make good use of your jack stands to support your d/s when disconnecting as to not tear a boot or stress them too much. Oh and I found it much easier to remove the exhaust bolts from the sides. If you chopped your fenders they will be easier to access otherwise fold the plastic with the heat shield and pinch it with a vise grip. Not fun but much more accessible. That's about all I can think of at the moment. Hopefully this helps. If you have a friend to help you great. This would be very difficult if not damn near impossible alone. Oh and an impact wrench. I couldn't imagine doing this without one...

 

Get a luk flywheel aswell. Amazon has them cheap. Also you could use mopar manual trans fluid. I'm currently using honda manual trans fluid. Have been for 5k miles. 2 of my good buddies have used it since new (01 and 04) for what ever reason the jeeps man trans really loves the shit. You could Prolly even get away with regular motor oil in it if it's yellow metal safe

 

Get plenty of brake parts cleaner! You will want it after you see the mess left behind. Good idea to clean the new flywheel and pressure plate with it too mine were oiled to hell (the new ones) don't let the flywheel cut your hand off when u remove the last bolt and pull it off. Again with the everything is heavy bs. Look up tq specs on the 4 small trans mount bolts. They break easy. Or just use a 1/4 ratchet and go beast mode on em. Can't put much tq through a 1/4 ratchet no matter how strong you are.

 

Getting my 2010 done next week. At some point in your life you decide you would rather just pay somebody else to do certain things than do them yourself. At 60 I decided that doing my clutch and risking the bodily injury that comes with that job, back stress, banged knuckles, hair loss from pulling it out, and just plain time just wasn't worth the $550.00 labor that my shop wants to charge. So I am going the Centerforce route. 412.00 for the clutch. 100.00 for the new flywheel and 550.00 for the labor. $1100.00 for the whole job and no down time. Drop it off before work and pick it up after. I usually don't let anyone else work on my vehicles but some jobs are better just left up to someone a lot younger than me. It would be great if someone would invent a throwout bearing that would last as long as the clutch.

 

centerforce is silly in a tj

 

Sorry that is on my JKU. Is it really that much different on a TJ.

 

When you replace the throwout bearing make sure you set it up properly. Sometimes there is a shim behind the factory one or if it has been replaced they may have shimmed the new one. Bear in mind there is no external adjustment on a hydraulic throw out bearing. It is made to move only so far and that distance has to be checked and set before you install the transmission. If it is set to close to the pressure plate it may whine or not disengage the clutch properly and wear out quickly. If it is to far away it won't engage the clutch fully and the trans may grind going into first or reverse.

There is a specific procedure for setting these up, so you may want to do some research before you start. It's not hard, you just need to measure from a fixed point of reference. I think this why you often hear about complaints after having a clutch installed because people forget or aren't aware of this step. Good luck on your project.

 

Can you expand on this at all? Everywhere I read shows our TJ throwout bearings are not adjustable at all. The reason I ask is because I recently replaced every clutch component and I'm still getting a noisy throwout bearing. And the pedal feels a bit rough or "gritty"

 

Welcome to the Forum, from Cave Creek AZ.

 

1994 and 1995 YJ should also be external slave clutch


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

Yup, I had one of each (94 and 95) and both had the external slave, as does my '03 TJ.