91 yj clutch problem - updated question on torque arm

[dekies]

The clutch on the 91 yj 4.0 went out my wife yesterday. It only has 45K on it and was not acting up before yesterday. When I got home I checked the fluid and it was low, I filled it up and got it to shift, but it is still not right and is way to soft. I did not have time to bleed, will try that tonight. The master cyl was replaced a year ago, but I'll still probably try that first if the bleeding doen't help. I really hate the idea of replacing the slave.
Any way I'm open for any ideas, but knowing my luck I'll be dropping the tran and replacing everything.

 

[Snitty]

might have a leaky slave cylinder... if that is the case, i'm sorry to say that you'll have to have the transmission out... you have an internal slave cylinder... might as well replace the clutch while at it

 

[jps4jeep]

If you filled it, you most likly need to bleed the any air out of the Hyd-clutch assembly. But I would tend to agree with snitty on this, sorry! fluid had to go some where.

 

[dekies]

Any preferences on a clutch kit? Our the heavy duty any good? I really want to retain the stock "feel" of the clutch pedal as my bride drives this quite a bit.

Is it worth the extra effort to change this to an external slave? If so what parts are involved (give me all the details), or should the slave last the life of the clutch, might be a dumb question since this one didn't.

Any thing else I should replace while I'm wasting a weekend... real seal???

 

[laneiac]

I just did that on my gals 93 yj. Very easy fix, just time consuming. I wouldnt worry about upgrading to a heavy duty clutch unless your really hard on it or have lots of power. I wouldnt bother swapping to an external slave, unless its easy to do.

 

[Snitty]

you can swap to an external pretty easily... all it takes is the bellhousing and slave from a 94+ wrangler with the same transmission... but the slave SHOULD last the life of the clutch... most clutches you buy will have a lifetime warranty

 

[dekies]

well last night I took some time and crawled underneath looking for brake fluid. I found a whole lot of nothing. Nothing on the bell housing, fittings, hose, master cyl, fire wall (inside and outside). It is garaged every night no I checked for fluid on the floor and nothing. I drained the fluid, put in new and bled the line, everything back to normal. Either a very small leak or jeep had a miracle cure. If it is a small leak I would have thought the clutch would have gradually gotten worse not all of a sudden know clutch. I plan on keeping an eye on the fluid level and see what happens. Thanks for all the input.

 

[Snitty]

when it leaks... it can stay inside your bellhousing... and when you drive, the air speed in there flings it around... it is likely that you won't see any leaking... it can be slow enough for you to not notice any drops... my friends old yj's slave cyl leaked.. never showed one drop on the ground though

 

[Bounty__Hunter]

Don't waste the money on a performance clutch behind a stock 2.5L or 4.0L, the stock motors just don't need the extra holding power.

 

[newbie]

i'vechanged to many of them to count. transmission doesnt have to come out. remove the driveshafts, lower and pull it back about a foot, good to go, should only take about two hours, its a shit design, most of them dont even bolt on they just sit on a locator pin, try a gravity bleed first!

 

[Snitty]

if you are gonna pull the transmission back a foot... i would rather take it right out for ease of working... unless you have a lift of course... you may have to disconnect the exhaust for some room too

 

[dekies]

Ok, since my last post I have had no problems with my fluid leaking, I check it weekly. Well between my weekly checkups it lost all the fluid again. Again I looked everywhere and did not see any signs of fluid. I know it is not a slow leak (a couple of months with know leakage), but why would it lose all the fluid it one week? I refilled and bled the system and all is normal again. Any ideas??? I know the slave is the most obvious, but I still don't want to drop the transmission unless forced.

 

[Bounty__Hunter]

I'd keep up the fill/bleed routine and see if it develops into a pattern. If so, changing the clutch slave is in your future.

For a swap to the external slave, you'll need a '94+ bellhousing, external slave, throwout bearing, and clutch arm. It's worth it as problematic as the internal slaves are.

 

[dekies]

In the spotlight...

I think I'll go ahead and see what I can get the parts for to do the conversion. Will the old master cylinder work or will I need to match the cylinders? Thanks.

 

[Bounty__Hunter]

I don't know, you'd have to compare if the external slave lines would hook to your clutch master cylinder, or if it's one piece.

 

[XJNick]

Hi,

The master and external slave on my TJ is all one piece... what a pain. The system is not bleedable and if anything goes wrong the whole assembly (master, slave, and fluid line) have to be replaced. I've been through that twice now with my wrangler in the short time I've owned it and it is not cheap :shock:

This might not at all apply to the external YJ setup though

-Nick :!:

 

[dekies]

A Grander Cherokee (Forbes.com)

Well I priced the parts to do the conversion;

125.00 bell housing
65.00 front bearing plate
25.00 shift fork
45.00 for hose

Plus a new master and slave cylinder (another $100) plus a clutch (another $125).

Pretty expensive if you ask me, is it really worth it?

I'm thinking I keep my lousy setup and spend the $150 for new clutch and slave, that sounds a lot better than $500.

 

[Bounty__Hunter]

I'd spend that $150 and get everything needed from a pick-n-pull salvage yard. Or check out www.car-part.com .

 

[Snitty]

its not bleedable? can you swap just the slave?

 

[dekies]

during the process of the clutch/slave replacement I noticed the torque arm just doesn't look quite right to me. But what to I know, it took me 10 hours to rip this apart and put it back togeather (what I wouldn't have done for a pilot bearing puller!!!). Any way the bushings look good but there is a LOT of play they do not "mesh? together on the metal arm at all. Is this normal? I plan on replacing the transmission mount (shot) in a week or two, so I'm planning on getting new torque arm bushings as well but that won't solve the slop ploblem. Any way it is good to have the jeep back on the road. Thanks for all the suggestions, not a job I care to do solo again.