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Not a fun project....

daveSanborn

daveSanborn

Active Member
While delivering some cordwood to a friend of mine, the clutch pedal in my Jeep Wrangler went dead. I learned to power shift a few years ago, but what a PITA navigating through town.... stoplights.... without a clutch..... hauling almost a ton of cordwood.

Wanting to get all of the wood delivered... mostly to clear my "cordwood collection area".... I turned around and made a second trip.

:lol


After all of the wood was delivered I pulled the Jeep into the shop expecting to be replacing the clutch master, but not looking forward to it. Although the clutch master was only a few years old I suspected that it was sucking air at the reservoir to body seal. It wasn't and it got worse. I re-filled the empty reservoir and watched all of the fluid immediately pour out the bottom of the bellhousing.

Bad hydraulic throwout bearing. F*** !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I replaced the clutch on the Jeep approx. 3 years ago and it didn't get any easier this time.

After getting everything removed/disconnected, it turns out that the problem is the bleed line for the throw-out bearing. While I replaced the throw-out bearing 3 years ago, I re-used the pressure and bleed lines. The soft mild steel metal of the bleed line had busted clean in half allowing the leak.

Due to the nature of the line.... it has a flanged end on it.... it can't be made locally and I had to order a whole new slave clyinder to get the new lines. $98 later and my Jeep is still sitting in the shop waiting on the mailman.

Here's a picture of the throw-out bearing and lines....

N1751.JPG
 
It kinda makes me wish I was 20 years younger/stronger..... I don't seperate the transmission from the transfer case. As an assembly, it's one heavy mofo that wants to continually twist counter-clockwise due to the output on the transfer case for the front driveshaft. Removing the assembly is one thing, but reinstalling it is a completely different matter. I'm not looking forward to the mid-week bench press session that is before me. I'll have my jack handy, but it's almost worthless as the assembly keeps wanting to rotate.
 
Dave three things, one did you get that entire throwout assembly with lines for $98? Two, can that hydraulic slave be adapted to a tko? Seems pretty cheap compared to what the TKO stuff is selling for.

Three, can't you weld a tranny cradle for your floor jack, using the center hole in the jack plate to put a bolt through and then use ratcheting straps to hold the whole thing on? Seem like an easy welding project.
 
"ZFORCE" said:
Dave three things, one did you get that entire throwout assembly with lines for $98? Two, can that hydraulic slave be adapted to a tko? Seems pretty cheap compared to what the TKO stuff is selling for.

Three, can't you weld a tranny cradle for your floor jack, using the center hole in the jack plate to put a bolt through and then use ratcheting straps to hold the whole thing on? Seem like an easy welding project.
Click to expand...


I dunno if it has the correct dimensions for a TKO, but I can take some if you need me too....

Yep, $98 to include S&H. It'll be here supposedly Weds. The Dodge dealer wanted $160+ for the same item.

Yes, I could spend an hour or so fabbing up a cradle for the floor jack..... or I could jack it up so that it's close.... and then position myself under the assembly and "git r dun". Will the trans fall on my chest? Probably a couple of times, but I've done it before and I'll do it again. Work harder, not smarter is my motto!
 
Happy to report that the new throwout bearing is installed and everything is pretty much all back together.

I still need to add fluid and bleed the hydraulic system..... and after starting the Jeep (I had to replace the battery cable as it broke during removal) there's a bad exhaust leak at the manifold to pipe connection that should clear up after re-seating the connection.

The great news is that all of the heavy lifting/hard work is behind me!

I should have taken a picture to show you how I managed to get the transmission/transfer case up and aligned, but I kinda had to keep my hand on it as it wasn't very stable. I ended up jacking up the combo until I could get a wheel-dolly under the transfer case. Using blocks of wood on top of the dolly, coupled with the floor jack under the transmissionon, I got the combo lifted and aligned perfectly and the input shaft slid into the clutch pack perfectly. It was actually the easiest install to date!

What really helped was Joe was out there with me. He had some time to kill and it was great to have an extra body under there.
 
Measurements would have been great, maybe it's not too late and you have the bad unit? My TKO is already mated to my engine, but once I get started on my project, I can take measurements. In the mean time thanks.
 
Measurements would have been great, maybe it's not too late and you have the bad unit?
Click to expand...


Since I had to order a new throwout bearing..... one that came with the lines attached to it... I still have a brand new "line-less" throwout bearing sitting in the box. I'll get measurements this weekend.
 
Face to face it's 2.75"

Inner diameter is 1 3/16ths"



I got the slave bled and the exhaust pipe re-seated. After bleeding and re-seating the exhaust pipe I started it up to verify that the exhaust leak was fixed (it is) and now it's screetching like crazy when I engage the clutch. It wasn't making this noise before I bled the slave..... Something's definitely wrong and I haven't a clue what it is, it's definitely clutch related as there's no noise unless the clutch pedal is depressed. MF'er. It'll probably all have to come back apart to figure it out.
 
Before you rip it, try bleeding it again, maybe you had an air bubble and it's not engaging all the way...just a thought. I always try the simple things first, did you put a small smear of grease on the bearing contact point and input shaft contact surface (sometime we all forget the basics)?
 
"ZFORCE" said:
Before you rip it, try bleeding it again, maybe you had an air bubble and it's not engaging all the way...just a thought. I always try the simple things first,
Click to expand...


The clutch pedal effort feels good.... strong.... not as if it still needs to be bled, but I was thinking the same thing. I'll try re-bleeding it the next chance I get to work on it.

did you put a small smear of grease on the bearing contact point and input shaft contact surface (sometime we all forget the basics)?
Click to expand...

Um, as a matter of fact.... I did forget to grease the bearings contact surface..... and that is EXACTLY what the un-godly skreetching noise sounds like whenever the clutch is depressed.
 
Re: Not a fun project.... fixed!

I found out what the problem was a couple weeks ago and figured I'd share what it turned out to be....

As you'll remember upon clutch engagement the clutch was making an ungodly screeching noise. When I went to pull the starter in an attempt to inspect the throwout bearing/pressure plate contact surfaces with a mirror (wouldn't have worked, no room) I noticed that the bellhousing to engine block mating surfaces had a 1/8th inch gap only on the passenger side.

During the reinstallation of the trans I was working on the drivers side and my son was working on the passenger side. I blame him for not noticing this and myself for not checking up behind him. The passenger side of the trans was never fully seated/tightened down. This misalignment ultimately would cause an engaged throwout bearing to only come in contact with one side of the spinning pressure plate. This was causing the screeching noise. I tightened the passenger side down and everything has been working fine for two weeks now.
 
I love wrenching with my two boys, but since they are only eleven and six...at this point, I always double check their work! I love finding an exact cause for a problem, good job noticing that gap.
 
Well, this son is 30.... but I don't blame him. He was just under there lending a hand. I should have checked everything myself and not assumed anything. Yes, it was GREAT that I didn't have to pull the trans/transfer case again!
 
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