Topic: And now, it appears my clutch is out...

[Sine Deviance]

I'll be driving down the road doing, say, 55mph in 5th gear, and I can floor it and the RPMs will just keep going up while the Jeep goes the same speed. The throwout bearing is not squealing. Is there some kind of clutch adjustment I might need to do? I know my last car ('91 Eclipse) had a clutch that you had to adjust once every year or so, otherwise it would start slipping as well. I checked my Haynes manual but there are only instructions for clutch removal and installation, so I'm guessing the answer is no, but I figured I would ask anyway. And is there anything else I should check besides the clutch?

When it rains, it pours. Seriously, I am about at my wit's end with this Jeep. I just spent almost $1000 on it with the PCM, alternator, and a 250-mile tow, and now after having it back on the road for one f***ing day, it seems like the clutch is going out.

[sharpxmen]

I'll be driving down the road doing, say, 55mph in 5th gear, and I can floor it and the RPMs will just keep going up while the Jeep goes the same speed. The throwout bearing is not squealing. Is there some kind of clutch adjustment I might need to do? I know my last car ('91 Eclipse) had a clutch that you had to adjust once every year or so, otherwise it would start slipping as well. I checked my Haynes manual but there are only instructions for clutch removal and installation, so I'm guessing the answer is no, but I figured I would ask anyway. And is there anything else I should check besides the clutch?

When it rains, it pours. Seriously, I am about at my wit's end with this Jeep. I just spent almost $1000 on it with the PCM, alternator, and a 250-mile tow, and now after having it back on the road for one f***ing day, it seems like the clutch is going out.

you need a new disk at a minimum (but you can't buy just the disk unless you get a refurbed one). there's no adjustment, it's hydraulic and will auto adjust, your other vehicle most likely had a cable in which case the thinner the clutch disk would get the more the pressure plate would come out towards the throwout bearing so you had to release some of the tension in the cable - not the case with your Jeep. I would suggest to replace the throwout bearing as well if you chose to skip on the pressure plate.

[Sine Deviance]

you need a new disk at a minimum (but you can't buy just the disk unless you get a refurbed one). there's no adjustment, it's hydraulic and will auto adjust, your other vehicle most likely had a cable in which case the thinner the clutch disk would get the more the pressure plate would come out towards the throwout bearing so you had to release some of the tension in the cable - not the case with your Jeep. I would suggest to replace the throwout bearing as well if you chose to skip on the pressure plate.

Thanks for the reply.

Well, if it needs replacing I'll just spend the $125 and get the full clutch kit with the disk, plate, and bearing. No point in doing all that work if I'm not going to replace all of it.

This procedure is going to be a real b***h, isn't it?

[smashcoast]

Well if you have to take the transmission apart go ahead and just do a new clutch. The centerforce II 's are supposed to be really good about $220.

When I had to do my clutch I shopped around and $675 was the best price on parts and labor.

So I ended up doing it with a buddy for about $200 (parts,lunch and beer). It was a pain in the ass though and after thought was $675 didnt seem that bad.

[Sine Deviance]

Well if you have to take the transmission apart go ahead and just do a new clutch. The centerforce II 's are supposed to be really good about $220.

I'm just gonna go with an OEM replacement clutch to save money. My 2.5L doesn't have the kind of power that would warrant a stage-1 clutch kit anyways.

When I had to do my clutch I shopped around and $675 was the best price on parts and labor.

So I ended up doing it with a buddy for about $200 (parts,lunch and beer). It was a pain in the ass though and after thought was $675 didnt seem that bad.

Damn, I really didn't want to hear that right now. How long did it take you guys to do it? I'll probably be doing it myself. I definitely can't afford to pay a shop labor after everything else this month, and I don't think anybody would be able to help me.

[sharpxmen]

I'm just gonna go with an OEM replacement clutch to save money. My 2.5L doesn't have the kind of power that would warrant a stage-1 clutch kit anyways.

Damn, I really didn't want to hear that right now. How long did it take you guys to do it? I'll probably be doing it myself. I definitely can't afford to pay a shop labor after everything else this month, and I don't think anybody would be able to help me.

i posted a step by step once in a thread on how to replace the clutch. It's not that hard other than a few things i wish i knew in advance (figured those out during the process).

1. take out the fluids from both t-case and transmission (the transmission seals itself on the t-case input shaft on the AX-5 to NP-231 setup).
2. make sure you buy a good clutch centering tool, the ones that come with the kits are ok but a universal one with cones worked better for me
3. make yourself at least one if not 2 long centering studs - threaded with M12 (12mm metric thread), can't remember how long (something like 8 to 10'' i think) - the idea is to screw these in in the 2 holes from the engine block on the top where the bellhousing bolts on - do this prior to put the transmission back in, then slide the tranny over thes 2 (i got away with one but 2 would be better, the second one should be shorter though). these will support the weight of the transmission while you try to slide the input shaft into the clutch and pilot - i tried w/o it and i failed big time, but did it by myself with no help and i was on my back in an uncomfortable position so if you have a lift this shouldn't be a problem. Best if you have one of the hydraulic motorcycle jacks with rollers or a strong buddy to help you lift the tranny up onto the stud(s) - once you're there you should be able to slide it by moving the end around. sometimes the splines would not line up so either move the flywheel left and right slightly (should be enough since the splines on the AX-5 are small).

[Bounty Hunter]

I'd get an OEM clutch like those from LUK available at www.carolinaclutch.com , great prices.  It's not a difficult job but is time consuming.  I was able to lift the transmission back in place by myself, it's pretty light, and got the splines to engage the clutch on the 2nd lift attempt.

[Sine Deviance]

Okay, cool. I'm feeling a little more confident about this now.

I do have one more question. Should I unbolt the t-case from the transmission and then drop the transmission separately, or is it easier to unbolt the ujoint on the front driveshaft and drop both of them together?

[sharpxmen]

Okay, cool. I'm feeling a little more confident about this now.

I do have one more question. Should I unbolt the t-case from the transmission and then drop the transmission separately, or is it easier to unbolt the ujoint on the front driveshaft and drop both of them together?

you have to unbolt the front d/s at the t-case and the rear d/s at the axle (that's what i did, you could probably go about it another way in the front but i think this is best). take the t-case off the tranny if you do this w/o a lift - if you have a lift you can leave it on.

make sure you take both tranny and tcase shifters off before and also don't forget the fluids - be careful which plug you remove on the t-case as the most obvious one that hangs low is the chain tensioner and not the drain plug (the chain tensioner is on the under side, the drain plug in on the rear of the t-case on the other side of the front output shaft and lower if i remember correctly)

[sharpxmen]

here you go, found it

http://4bangerjp.com/forums/index.php/topic,7092.msg52337.html#msg52337

didn't read it again, hope i didn't miss anything when i wrote it.

[Sine Deviance]

Awesome, thanks sharpxmen!

EDIT: I just thought of one more question. After I drain the fluids I'm going to put some Redline MT-90 in the transmission, but what do I put in the t-case?

[smashcoast]

Yeah getting to the bolts to unbolt and rebolt the trans from the engine is a pain in the ass. I got a LUX clutch kit that came with evreything,Clutch tool included!

It took us about 3hrs which included lunch.

Getting the fly wheel to lineup was a pain in the ass, and it took only 2 times to get the tranny to line back up.

[aw12345]

Dextron atf

[dwtaylorpdx]

I have the Centerforce Dual friction , second rig I've owned with one. Love it, only clutch I'd use.

Ya I even think its worth the extra 200 bucks.... Almost impossible to overheat!

Dave

[Sine Deviance]

Dextron atf

ATF in a t-case? Really?