Clutch replace???
How can I tell if my clutch needs replacing?
I bought the truck used in 1997. I have never replaced the clutch in the truck. However I have replaced the slave cylinder twice. How long should a clutch last? is mine due for replacing. It feels like i have to push the clutch pedal alot further down to get the clutch to engage. Today it was hard to get into reverse. I checked the fluid in the master cylinder and it was good. I practiced shifting without the clutch on the way home from work today just in case. Is there a way of adjusting the clutch? If i need to replace it how bad of a job is it. Is it something that I could do myself with a manual of some kind? I am confident that I can remove the trany just fine its what comes next and alinging it back up in the truck that scares me. Any help thoughts or opinions would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks
steve
When they need to be replaced, they start slipping. When you have it in overdrive at around 2000, hammer the gas. If the RPMs increase out of proportion with the speed, then it's slipping. That's the easiest way to tell.
Also, when one of these trannies needs a clutch, I have found that they are harder to get into 1st and reverse.
Replacing one is a job, especially if it's a 4x4. You have to slide the tranny back far enough to get all the parts out (clutch disc, pressure plate, throwout bearing, pilot bearing, and flywheel).
It's definitely a two man job, preferably with someone who's done one before.
When changing the clutch, would it be easier to just remove the whole trany than reinstall it? Also do I need a realignment tool? Can you point me in the right direction to an almost step by step instruction manual? I do have a friend who says he has done this before. He offered to let me bring it over and he would help. I would like to read up on it first to know a little more about whats going on incase he makes a mistake.
The alignment tool comes with a clutch kit. It's just a plastic doodad that hold the disc in place while you're tightening down the pressure plate.
The closest thing to step by step instructions are going to be in a chiltons and/or a haynes manual. Buy both, and read the clutch section in each. You should have a good idea of what to do.






