Toy clutch replacement

RatLabGuy

RatLabGuy

You look like a monkey and smell like one too
Joined
May 18, 2005
Location
Churchville, MD
Getting ready to replace the clutch in a 93 Toy p/u.

Any advice/suggestions? I'll be doing it in my garage (no lift or anything fancy), mostly by myself...

Does the tranny need to come all the way out, or can enough room be made to swap it? I'm thinking ratchet straps will be useful here...
 
do you have a tranny jack or just a floor jack?
if it's just a floor jack, drill a hole in the saddle and bolt a bare rim to it.
it's best to pull it all the way out so you can inspect the bearing retainer and grease everything up.
the upper starter bolt can be a pita(i usually can get it easier from up top)
 
It can be done by slinging the trans from ratchet straps from the frame rails. It is easier to go ahead and pull the tranny out so you will have more room to work and clean the bellhousing out.
 
I would take it all the way out for sure. Are you turning or replacing the flywheel? I recently did one and "rented" the flywheel holding tool from Orileys.

At a minimum replace the pilot bushing and throwout bearing.
 
Yes, just a floor jack, nothing fancy. At least its a bigger 3 ton thing that is heavy. Been debating making a cradle out of wood or something.

I don't quite understand what using a bare rim buys me? Vs a couple blocks of wood screwed together?

Could I leave the rear driveshaft attached, so that it helps stabilize it while lowering and raising? I figure I can just leave it under the truck, semi-attached to clean out the bellhousing, swap the clutch and get it all ready to go back up... right?

What is this "flywheel holding tool"? Can't you just jamb a screwdriver in there to stop it while turning the bolts?
 
manuverability wise it's easier to pull T-case then pull trans, in total. a little messy ( gear lube ) but it was not too bad.

I've done both ways, on a sheet of plywood in a gravel driveway.

don't forget to pull both shifters out ( a no brainer right ? you'll forget something )

DO replace the pilot bearing, I found a craftsman 6" extension is almost perfect, pack the bore behind the bearing full of bearing grease, put extension in bearing and smack with a block of wood or small hammer ( you'll need to repeat a few times )

I unbolted the trans crossmember from frame, but left it bolted to T-case last time I did one, kept the whole assy from rolling off the jack and something to hold onto with a little leverage. YMMV

You'll want to disconnect both driveshafts, they'll get in the way.

if it's still there, expect the sway bar frame mount bolts to break on the way out. I welded the straps to frame when I replaced sway bar, the next guy should be pleased with that. ( that truck is somewhere in Mexico now )

Flywheel holding tool engages the teeth of the flywheel to keep it from moving when removing/installing flywheel bolts, some bolt to block to hold still, some are like and oil filter wrench and you'll need both hands or a buddy. ( an impact works well too )
 
Id never used the tool before the last go round. Much easier and less damage to the teeth.

Ive done a few yota clutches over the last few years. Always on asphault or concrete outside. Never had anything more than a floor jack. Found a good estimated balance point and started. Left t case tranny and cross member as one. Got everything unbolted, gave a good hard tug with a couple wiggles and it popped out. Balance point is usually off so i would keep a 6x6 toward the front to let front land on. Barbaric technique at best but it always worked.

I think any driveshafts still connected would be too cumbersome. I have also used a big ratchet strap from the rear flang to the rear bumper to help pull. Its also much easier with a second set of eyes and hands, especially for the install.
 
I've done many different clutches and like what has been said, balance is key. Take a little time to think about where that jack should go. (you won't know it's off balance until you pop that thing loose from the bell housing) Leave plenty of room for a way out just in case it decides to get away from you. (ask me how I know):rolleyes: An extra set of hands is best.
 
Cool, thanks for the input, this is helpful.
i'll shoot for leaving the crossmember attached.

One thing. is there some trick to getting to/at the bolts for the output shaft end of the front driveshaft: their behind the short CV unit and above the crossmember, virtually impossible to get to with wrenches. Do you just have to drop the crossmember first?

oh, yeah broke 2 of the 4swaybar mount bolts. Very rusty. Oh well, no intention of putting it back on anyway.
 
RatLabGuy said:
One thing. is there some trick to getting to/at the bolts for the output shaft end of the front driveshaft: their behind the short CV unit and above the crossmember, virtually impossible to get to with wrenches. Do you just have to drop the crossmember first?
Click to expand...

yes, dropping the X member is easiest, but I seem to remember unbolting the front end, marking the slip and pulling that end off, then bungee cording the shaft to trans.

It's been a few years since
 
Blkvoodoo said:
yes, dropping the X member is easiest, but I seem to remember unbolting the front end, marking the slip and pulling that end off, then bungee cording the shaft to trans.
It's been a few years since
Click to expand...

That's what I was planning to do... b/c I'm lazy... but then it was commented above to remove it.

This tuck has only 75k miles on it and clearly none of these bolts have ever been taken off. All those those DS bolts were very stuck.
To make it even more fun, this truck is an Xtra cab and has that 2-piece rear driveshaft w/ the CSB in the middle. That thing makes working w/ the rear DS an even bigger pain.
 
OK clutch is out, need to get a pilot bearing puller (Doh, didn't occur to me my regular puller would be too small)... and a buddy... then all back together.

A few notes/hints for future reference.
The top two bolts on the bellhousing are a real PITA to get to. Just no room between them and the body tranny tunnel.
Many different suggestions online for accessing them; in the end, I decided to just unbolt the 6 body mounts for the cabin and lift the body up ~1.5" and slip some 2x4 chunks in like a body lift. this only took ~10 mins an I've been debating a 1" BL anyway.
That made plenty of room to get to them. also makes the starter alot easier to access.

Actually removing those bolts is easiest by using 2 10"+ 1 3" extensions together, and go in through the shifter hole in the floor so your ratchet faces "up". using several extensions gives just enough flex to bend around the curve.

Rather than totally dropping the tranny and messing w/ balancing on a jack, I ran a couple of ratchet straps across and used that to "hang" it. used the T-bars as anchors above the frame. Left enough flex to swing it back etc and get the clutch out, right now its sitting about 6" back and 4" below the engine and that's been plenty of space to get it all swapped out. my thinking is, that leaves the jack free to move to different spots if needed to work it back into place. We'll see...

oh - once the tranny is disconnected, the flywheel will spin, making it hard to remove the clutch/flywheel bolts. Rather than mess w/ the fancy tool, I used this neat trick...
I removed a spark plug, and fished about 12" of the end of a rope into the hole. This makes a soft blockage from the piston moving all the way up, just enough friction for the flywheel bolts to break loose.
Also made sure to leave 4' of rope hanging out and off the fender so i wouldn't forget it was in there, lol.
 
For your pilot bearing, just pack some grease into the hole and then stick a 3/8 extension in the hole and hit it with a hammer. Bearing will push right out.
 
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