DIY clutch/flywheel replacement 5sp/2.7l

I've been looking for a good writeup for DIY clutch replacement on the 5sp/2.7l but haven't found one. Anyone have a link to one? I'm trying to decide if I want to do it myself on my garage floor or just pay a mechanic to do it. I've replaced a clutch before, but it's been 30 years ago.

 

I believe for the most part it is "just work".

You need a safe means to get the truck high enough to work and I wouldn't attempt it without a transmission jack.

What I have discovered is that transmissions have gotten much heavier in the past 30 - 40 years or so.
My age has nothing to do with it...

 

If you've changed a clutch before then you should be okay. Just take your time. Take pictures when you don't think you need one, clean and sparingly lube the appropriate areas and, get a transmission jack or help. I'm not even 30 and I agree transmissions (even one's I've previously removed seem significantly heavier than when I was a teenager

 

Yeah, the last clutch I did was a 2wd 76 Chevy 3 speed with an inline 250. I could easily see and reach every bolt with room to spare. I'm sure this will be a bit different.

I did find the Aisin clutch kit and Luk flywheel for right under $300. Figure I'll just replace the flywheel as cheap as it is instead of resurfacing.

 

If your clutch wasn't down to the rivets and/or your flywheel isn't burnt, you could probably walk around it with a roloc disk to clean it up.

Luk is a great brand that I have and would use again though

 

Got the clutch and flywheel in today. Now I understand why this clutch is prone to early wear. Didn't realize just how tiny it is. Not much surface area.

 

How many miles on the clutch?

 

Your milage may vary with the luk clutches. The dealer installed one 90k ago and I had no issues with it.

I installed a new one when I had to do my throw out bearing and it slips wicked easy.

 

It’s fairly straightforward. Need to disassemble the center console, remove the shifter assembly. Then everything else is pretty much under. Compared to the clutch you did 30 years there’s going to be more wires and hoses. Gotta disconnect all that patiently and hold it out of the day.
Would be a good time to do your transmission fluid. When you remove the transfer case oil will come out the transmission. I benched my transmission in so I separated them to lighten, if you’re not doing that then no need.

I would get new fly wheel bolts personally. The threads in the crank go all the way through and the factory bolts have that goopy thread locker on them, and they are torque to yield. But this engine is so overbuilt that I wouldn’t be surprised if people reuse them with thread locker.

Torqueing the bolts was a challenge. It’s some value + 90 degrees. You have to really hold that crank. I don’t recall what my situation was since this was a while ago, whether I couldn’t find my breaker bar to put on the front of the crank or what, but you can mark the 12 o clock and 3 o clock and just impact the bolt ~90 degrees. ‍♂️