Time to replace the clutch

[Mulochico]

Well, I had planned on this next year but I loaned the truck in my signature to a very trusted friend to tow a car 400 miles from LA area to Modesto. He reported smelling clutch going up Cajon Pass, but no discernible slippage until he got to Modesto. He let out the clutch and the truck stumbled, but did not stall. The clutch was borderline at best. He is a master mechanic and is planning on helping, but has to work until 4 pm so I will be doing things pretty much on my own until then.

I have been searching and gathering good replacement parts (Luk clutch, rear main seal with speedy sleeve, over sized trans jack to reach as I have a lift on the truck). I do believe I should have it together. Planning on starting the job Sunday morning.

Problem is that I will have very limited help until late Sunday afternoon/evening and, while I have done many Motorcycle clutches, this will be the first on anything with more than 2 wheels. It looks pretty straight forward. I am looking forward to the task, just want to ask if there are any better than average ways to do the job.

So far it looks like one of the areas that could be a pain are the bolts at the top of the bell housing. I have a few ideas on how to get to them, but am looking for experienced input to either confirm or improve those ideas.

Thanks for any input. It should be a good learning experience.

 

[pelky350]

Top bell housing bolts I used many many extensions like enough to where I was using wratchet down by the end of my transmission and a buddy helped guide/keep socked on bolt , maybe a wobbly somewhere in there too but I can't remember right now, I used a luk clutch kit single mass. Took most of a day to complete with help only hard part is removing/ installing heavy transmission and we didn't remove tramsfercase/front driveline either. Would recommend the extra few minutes doing that because it makes things unbalanced going back together lol

 

[bbjordan]

Yours is a N/A engine, so those top bell housing bolts can be reached fairly easily. You'll pretty much have to lay on the engine to get them. I think I used a wrench. Once the cracked loose they threaded out by hand. YMMV.

I see you are planning on replacing the rear seal. Just beware of that flywheel. It is HEAVY. Don't let it fall on you. It'll hurt. When putting it back on, you will need to put some sealant on the bolts. The flywheel bolt holes are thru holes. I use Black RTV not the Ultra Black.

I think the bolt heads on the transmission cross member upper bracket (the ones you can barely see) are 15 mm.

I like to wire brush all the bolts and hose them down with penetrating oil well in advance of disassembly. It just make life easier.

I didn't see a pilot bearing or Throw Out Bearing in your parts list. Some clutch kits come with them. I had to buy mine separately.

Good luck and stay safe!

 

[gnathv]

When I've removed transmissions I block the engine in place so when I remove transmission it stays at the same angle. Usually makes aligning it back up for install easier.

 

[franklin2]

Well, I had planned on this next year but I loaned the truck in my signature to a very trusted friend to tow a car 400 miles from LA area to Modesto. He reported smelling clutch going up Cajon Pass, but no discernible slippage until he got to Modesto. He let out the clutch and the truck stumbled, but did not stall. The clutch was borderline at best. He is a master mechanic and is planning on helping, but has to work until 4 pm so I will be doing things pretty much on my own until then.

I have been searching and gathering good replacement parts (Luk clutch, rear main seal with speedy sleeve, over sized trans jack to reach as I have a lift on the truck). I do believe I should have it together. Planning on starting the job Sunday morning.

Problem is that I will have very limited help until late Sunday afternoon/evening and, while I have done many Motorcycle clutches, this will be the first on anything with more than 2 wheels. It looks pretty straight forward. I am looking forward to the task, just want to ask if there are any better than average ways to do the job.

So far it looks like one of the areas that could be a pain are the bolts at the top of the bell housing. I have a few ideas on how to get to them, but am looking for experienced input to either confirm or improve those ideas.

Thanks for any input. It should be a good learning experience.

You did get a single mass conversion kit correct?

They are correct about that flywheel. It was very heavy to lift it up in place.

If you want to go to a little more trouble, you can take the front seat out, fold the floor mat back, take the floor panel cover bolts out and take the cover out, and those bellhousing bolts you are worried about will be staring right at you. I had to do all this because I was doing a c6 to zf conversion, so I had to replace the pedal assembly and the cover. So it was easy for me to see that was what I needed to do to get the bolts out when I was in the middle of the conversion.

 

[Zephyr]

I just finished bell housing bolts for engine removal. As Pelky350 stated u-joints and extensions are your friend. I think I used about 30" worth and the ratchet was close to the rear of the transmission. Not really difficult at that angle and distance with a long 1/2" ratchet.

 

[icanfixall]

As already posted. Extensions are your friend but so is removing the floor panel to reach the top bolts. you also can remove the rear trans support and then lower the engine and trans to easily reach the top bolts. Then build some kind of engine oil pan to support the engine after the trans is removed. I recall the those flywheel bolts are 47 lbs torque or 54 lbs.Not sure now but surely someone will post the correct torque. Not sure why you want to do the rear main seal. To replace that seal its easier to remove the seal plate. Hope you purchased the new seal with the two lips and no need for oil or grease what installing. the material is something way better that the oem material requiring a dry install. I ruined a seal trying to install as one piece per instructions. Thats driving the seal and sleeve on without separating it.My plate was on the engine and the oil pan was not installed yet. The plate kept flexing. Probably would have been fine with the pan on the engine. No seal plate gasket required either. Its fine if you have one but we all know the oil pan NEVER had a gasket.Just rtv. Please make sure the area where the seal plate meets the block and oil pan is very clean. Any oil in that three piece area will allow plenty of oil to leak out ruining your work. Use a tooth brush and some brakecleaner to get deep in the crack.

 

[shawn deere]

Seal the threads that bolt the fly wheel on! I would use blue lock tite. Double check the torque on em also. there was a kit with the wrong specs listed. (46lb for flywheel, i thiiiink 18lb for the pressure plate.).
Single mass flywheel makes it growley at low rpm driving....

 

[Macrobb]

Lets see... Last clutch replacement I did was on my '92 a few months back. This had a Sidewinder turbo on it, and I was able to do the job without messing with any exhaust piping.

I also did this on the gravel floor of my barn, with a couple of pieces of OSB to lay on. Transmission jack? Don't have one of those!
I didn't have a helper, either. Totally by myself.

A few tips:
1. Ratchet straps are your friend. Having a couple will let you block and strap it as needed to keep it from falling.
2. I never removed the floor pan. That being said, I did remove the shifter boot, and then remove the 4 allen-head screws holding the shifter stub into the top of the transmission(so there is just a hole at the top). This gave me a bunch of extra clearance.
3. I removed everything from back forwards - Rear driveline, front driveline, transfer case and finally the transmission
4. You need a couple of those impact-grade universals. These guys are wonderful: https://www.harborfreight.com/2-pc-universal-impact-joint-socket-adapter-set-67920.html
5. Get a pack of extensions, too. Those top bellhousing bolts are hard to get to without a bunch of extensions.
6. I'd say that the hardest part of the whole mess is getting the slave cylinder back in place. Took a lot of pushing and levering on the slave cylinder rod to get it back in far enough to get the thing in place.
7. I used a LuK SMF in place of a 6.9? style(6-bolt) DMF. Don't ask me why - it's got 1/2" headbolts and should be a 7.3.
Anyway, it runs fine. At idle, it sounds like somethings about to fall apart, what with all the rattling from it.
Note that this truck needs a set of injectors and isn't the smoothest at idle.
This is also similar to my last SMF truck - they tend to rattle a lot at idle, especially if your engine isn't perfectly balanced.
You may also want to up the idle RPM a little and see if it quiets it down.

You'll also want to add an extra pint or quart of ATF to the transmission(4-4.5 quarts). This will help quiet things down a bit.
You have to add the extra oil from the top, through the shifter hole(which I removed anyway to get it removed and installed).

 

[Mulochico]

Top bell housing bolts I used many many extensions like enough to where I was using wratchet down by the end of my transmission and a buddy helped guide/keep socked on bolt , maybe a wobbly somewhere in there too but I can't remember right now, I used a luk clutch kit single mass. Took most of a day to complete with help only hard part is removing/ installing heavy transmission and we didn't remove tramsfercase/front driveline either. Would recommend the extra few minutes doing that because it makes things unbalanced going back together lol

Yep, single mass kit. I should probably get some more extensions, thanks. Separating transfer case and removing drive line are going to be a must for me.

I see you are planning on replacing the rear seal. Just beware of that flywheel. It is HEAVY. Don't let it fall on you. It'll hurt. When putting it back on, you will need to put some sealant on the bolts. The flywheel bolt holes are thru holes. I use Black RTV not the Ultra Black.

I think the bolt heads on the transmission cross member upper bracket (the ones you can barely see) are 15 mm.

I like to wire brush all the bolts and hose them down with penetrating oil well in advance of disassembly. It just make life easier.

I didn't see a pilot bearing or Throw Out Bearing in your parts list. Some clutch kits come with them. I had to buy mine separately.

Good luck and stay safe!

I know the SMF kit is heavy and the DMF is even worse, thanks. I remember reading something about sealing those bolts, thanks for reminding me!!! Also, the throw out bearing did come with the kit.

When I've removed transmissions I block the engine in place so when I remove transmission it stays at the same angle. Usually makes aligning it back up for install easier.

Good to keep in mind

You did get a single mass conversion kit correct?

They are correct about that flywheel. It was very heavy to lift it up in place.

If you want to go to a little more trouble, you can take the front seat out, fold the floor mat back, take the floor panel cover bolts out and take the cover out, and those bellhousing bolts you are worried about will be staring right at you. I had to do all this because I was doing a c6 to zf conversion, so I had to replace the pedal assembly and the cover. So it was easy for me to see that was what I needed to do to get the bolts out when I was in the middle of the conversion.

The factory manual I have said something about pulling the seats and carpet, but not about the cover. I will keep that in mind as I will be mostly alone and that might be the only way, Thanks!!

As already posted. Extensions are your friend but so is removing the floor panel to reach the top bolts. you also can remove the rear trans support and then lower the engine and trans to easily reach the top bolts. Then build some kind of engine oil pan to support the engine after the trans is removed. I recall the those flywheel bolts are 47 lbs torque or 54 lbs.Not sure now but surely someone will post the correct torque. Not sure why you want to do the rear main seal. To replace that seal its easier to remove the seal plate. Hope you purchased the new seal with the two lips and no need for oil or grease what installing. the material is something way better that the oem material requiring a dry install. I ruined a seal trying to install as one piece per instructions. Thats driving the seal and sleeve on without separating it.My plate was on the engine and the oil pan was not installed yet. The plate kept flexing. Probably would have been fine with the pan on the engine. No seal plate gasket required either. Its fine if you have one but we all know the oil pan NEVER had a gasket.Just rtv. Please make sure the area where the seal plate meets the block and oil pan is very clean. Any oil in that three piece area will allow plenty of oil to leak out ruining your work. Use a tooth brush and some brakecleaner to get deep in the crack.

Lowering the trans was what I was thinking to get to those bolts. But there are several good options included in these posts so I have possibilities if something isn't working out. Great!!! Doing the rear main seal as we saw some oil in that area when we removed the inspection plate. Figured I would fix what I find when it is apart

Seal the threads that bolt the fly wheel on! I would use blue lock tite. Double check the torque on em also. there was a kit with the wrong specs listed. (46lb for flywheel, i thiiiink 18lb for the pressure plate.).
Single mass flywheel makes it growley at low rpm driving....

Thanks for the torque #'s. I do have a factory manual (downloaded it not long after getting the truck, great investment). I am aware of the extra noises of the SMF. Not worried as my hearing isn't what it used to be and if someone else doesn't like it, they can walk.


I really do appreciate the responses. I am not worried about getting it done, but I like to learn from others. It saves time on the learning curve.

 

[Macrobb]

The factory manual I have said something about pulling the seats and carpet, but not about the cover. I will keep that in mind as I will be mostly alone and that might be the only way, Thanks!!

Like I said, I didn't remove anything inside the cab except for the shifter. You remove the shifter boot(4 screws), pull it up to expose the 2 gearshift bolts, remove them and the gearshift will come away.
Then, pull back any rubber/foam pieces until you see the top of the transmission. 4 allen-head screws and you can pull the shift-lever stub out of the top of the transmission. This nets you enough clearance to not need to remove anything in the cab.

I *would* shove a rag in there to keep crud out of the transmission, though.

 

[Mulochico]

Like I said, I didn't remove anything inside the cab except for the shifter. You remove the shifter boot(4 screws), pull it up to expose the 2 gearshift bolts, remove them and the gearshift will come away.
Then, pull back any rubber/foam pieces until you see the top of the transmission. 4 allen-head screws and you can pull the shift-lever stub out of the top of the transmission. This nets you enough clearance to not need to remove anything in the cab.

I *would* shove a rag in there to keep crud out of the transmission, though.

Didn't see your post initially. Those impact grade universals are what I've had for awhile, work great. I am probably going to work from the simplest to the more complex ideas as I do the swap. If something isn't working, I will try another idea.

I have heard about the extra ATF and higher idle speed to quiet things down. Definitely on my list to fine tune the swap.

 

[Mulochico]

Just thought about this. Is there a sealant when you put on a speedy sleeve? Haven't checked with my mechanic friend as he is at work right now. And I did get the install tool.

 

[franklin2]

The speedi sleeve should come with a small tube of loctite/sealant in the box.

I am not sure how some of these guys are getting the zf trans out without lowering the assembly down and tilting the engine back. My c6 would not come out, and my zf would not go back in until I took the exhaust loose so the engine/trans could be tilted down so the top of the zf bell would clear the floorboard.

That hole in the floorboard is pretty big. I have never tried it, but I am thinking you could use a engine hoist with a strap through the floorboard to support the weight of the trans if you wanted to try it. Taking the seat out takes about 20 minutes, you can handle it yourself if you take the bolts off and take the back of the seat out separately. However you can manage it, there are always several different ways to do things sometimes.

 

[Mulochico]

The speedi sleeve should come with a small tube of loctite/sealant in the box.

I am not sure how some of these guys are getting the zf trans out without lowering the assembly down and tilting the engine back. My c6 would not come out, and my zf would not go back in until I took the exhaust loose so the engine/trans could be tilted down so the top of the zf bell would clear the floorboard.

That hole in the floorboard is pretty big. I have never tried it, but I am thinking you could use a engine hoist with a strap through the floorboard to support the weight of the trans if you wanted to try it. Taking the seat out takes about 20 minutes, you can handle it yourself if you take the bolts off and take the back of the seat out separately. However you can manage it, there are always several different ways to do things sometimes.

I've had the seats out before so that shouldn't be a problem if needed. I ended up getting this: www.harborfreight.com/2000-lb-low-profile-transmission-jack-60391.html to remove the Transfer case and transmission. A bit of overkill, but it has over a 32" max height so I can get to the trans, etc easily.

The speedy sleeve didn't come with any sealant, but I will probably use loctite or see if my mechanic friend has something else

Thanks for the ideas though.