Clutch Recall (2/23/23): Clutch Pressure Plate May Overheat -- Affecting 70,000 Manual Jeep Wranglers and Gladiators

[Cutterone]

I'm also interested in learning more. Some sort of video would be helpful. My JL is my first manual car and all I know is from internet searches ACT seems to have a longstanding good reputation in the usual clutch car (Honda, Subaru, etc.) crowd, but I know nothing about shopping for aftermarket clutches and I would be interested in a comparison between Centerforce and ACT to understand the different approaches. I like that the ACT clutch doesn't replace the hydraulics. I wonder why Centerforce needs to replace the hydraulics.

Because the hydraulics were thought to be a weak spot in the grenading trannys. They came with the CF2 I have installed, so far so good...

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[BuyHold]

Because the hydraulics were thought to be a weak spot in the grenading trannys. They came with the CF2 I have installed, so far so good...

Cutterone, I have read several of your posts regarding your CFII and am curious about your current thoughts about it. Seems like you are pleased with it but surprised, perhaps displeased, by how firm the pedal was relative to OEM?

Curious what you think about it now? How is engagement feel? How about ability to modulate it? What do you think about the heavy flywheel? Did it change anything regarding stallability at low RPMs? Please share. There are many comments on here about the CF DF but fewer on CFII. Presumably CFII is a lighter clutch but still way more substantial than OEM regarding pedal effort, and holding power etc. Would like to hear your perspective.

 

[Cutterone]

Cutterone, I have read several of your posts regarding your CFII and am curious about your current thoughts about it. Seems like you are pleased with it but surprised, perhaps displeased, by how firm the pedal was relative to OEM?

Curious what you think about it now? How is engagement feel? How about ability to modulate it? What do you think about the heavy flywheel? Did it change anything regarding stallability at low RPMs? Please share. There are many comments on here about the CF DF but fewer on CFII. Presumably CFII is a lighter clutch but still way more substantial than OEM regarding pedal effort, and holding power etc. Would like to hear your perspective.

I'm happy now that its broken in. At first is was super tough and grabbed right off the floor. After a week or 2 it loosened up and has a nice pedal effort, more firm than OEM but nice feel, higher engagement than I remember the OEM being. Modulation is a bit trickier, as another stated its a performance clutch with almost twice the clamping/holding force of the OEM so it doesn't like being feathered too much, it likes to be off or on if that makes sense. It seems the heavier flywheel does help out with lower RPM smoothness, but I don't think its a radical change, I'd have to drive the OEM and CF2 back to back to really remember the difference. I wasn't unhappy with the OEM setup, just with 2 kids in the Jeep I didn't want to constantly worry about their safety so I just went ahead and made the swap, I tend to keep my Jeeps long term, 10 or more years so it was worth it if it holds up anyway! I feel the biggest issue is the shitty 3.45 gears and the weird gear spacing in the 6sp. I'd love to regear to 4.56 but as of now I'm happy and have other more pressing financial concerns to attend to!

 

[OldGuyNewJeep]

I'm happy now that its broken in. At first is was super tough and grabbed right off the floor. After a week or 2 it loosened up and has a nice pedal effort, more firm than OEM but nice feel, higher engagement than I remember the OEM being. Modulation is a bit trickier, as another stated its a performance clutch with almost twice the clamping/holding force of the OEM so it doesn't like being feathered too much, it likes to be off or on if that makes sense. It seems the heavier flywheel does help out with lower RPM smoothness, but I don't think its a radical change, I'd have to drive the OEM and CF2 back to back to really remember the difference. I wasn't unhappy with the OEM setup, just with 2 kids in the Jeep I didn't want to constantly worry about their safety so I just went ahead and made the swap, I tend to keep my Jeeps long term, 10 or more years so it was worth it if it holds up anyway! I feel the biggest issue is the shitty 3.45 gears and the weird gear spacing in the 6sp. I'd love to regear to 4.56 but as of now I'm happy and have other more pressing financial concerns to attend to!

Great info. This is what we need to hear about the offering from @Actman (I do like his comment that "the best way to describe our clutch is that you won't think about our clutch.")

What I, and I suspect many, don't want is to install a "performance" clutch and then ruin our daily driving experience. If the pedal is too firm, or if engages on/off like you've just described the CFII, or if it introduces rev hang at lower RPMs (and I suspect it might being so heavy), then it'd be a pass for me.

The only reason many of us would even consider an aftermarket clutch would be to mitigate the risk of pressure plate failure. I wouldn't want to trade that peace of mind for a subpar on-road experience. Drives like a JK (or worse, a dump truck) is not a positive to me. JL manual is sooo much smoother than JK.

 

[Actman]

Great info. This is what we need to hear about the offering from @Actman (I do like his comment that "the best way to describe our clutch is that you won't think about our clutch.")

What I, and I suspect many, don't want is to install a "performance" clutch and then ruin our daily driving experience. If the pedal is too firm, or if engages on/off like you've just described the CFII, or if it introduces rev hang at lower RPMs (and I suspect it might being so heavy), then it'd be a pass for me.

The only reason many of us would even consider an aftermarket clutch would be to mitigate the risk of pressure plate failure. I wouldn't want to trade that peace of mind for a subpar on-road experience. Drives like a JK (or worse, a dump truck) is not a positive to me. JL manual is sooo much smoother than JK.

Being a street clutch (organic friction material, spring center disc), you will find our clutch drives very predictably. I agree with you about the JK not being all that great, primarily because of the transmission. The JL Aisin transmission shifts so much better and being cable, the shifter doesn't bounce around like the JK.

 

[Toycrusher]

Great info. This is what we need to hear about the offering from @Actman (I do like his comment that "the best way to describe our clutch is that you won't think about our clutch.")

What I, and I suspect many, don't want is to install a "performance" clutch and then ruin our daily driving experience. If the pedal is too firm, or if engages on/off like you've just described the CFII, or if it introduces rev hang at lower RPMs (and I suspect it might being so heavy), then it'd be a pass for me.

The only reason many of us would even consider an aftermarket clutch would be to mitigate the risk of pressure plate failure. I wouldn't want to trade that peace of mind for a subpar on-road experience. Drives like a JK (or worse, a dump truck) is not a positive to me. JL manual is sooo much smoother than JK.

I have something like 25k miles on a CF dual friction. You don't realize you've adapted to the stiffer pedal until you hop into something else. I would describe it as providing feedback rather than being stiff. Since you can feel the exact engagement point, it's much easier to launch with your desired level of aggression/smoothness as opposed to the wild guess of the (mine anyway) stock clutch.
I would imagine this ACT clutch would provide similar benefits over stock. As for rev hang, every ounce of additional weight makes it worse. Of course, it's only there in the first place because it's programmed into the stock engine tuning. Livernois reportedly has a tune to remove it, but I've not yet found enough spare change in my sofa cushions to order it for myself.

 

[Cutterone]

Great info. This is what we need to hear about the offering from @Actman (I do like his comment that "the best way to describe our clutch is that you won't think about our clutch.")

What I, and I suspect many, don't want is to install a "performance" clutch and then ruin our daily driving experience. If the pedal is too firm, or if engages on/off like you've just described the CFII, or if it introduces rev hang at lower RPMs (and I suspect it might being so heavy), then it'd be a pass for me.

The only reason many of us would even consider an aftermarket clutch would be to mitigate the risk of pressure plate failure. I wouldn't want to trade that peace of mind for a subpar on-road experience. Drives like a JK (or worse, a dump truck) is not a positive to me. JL manual is sooo much smoother than JK.

Yeah look at all options, at the time it was either 1 of the 2 CF clutches or south bend, which I was told was closer to the OEM so I went with the CF. I've got about 5k miles on her and it feels normal now, by no means too firm. And there is a small engagement area, just noticeably smaller than the OEM. Its overbuilt for my mostly stock Sahara but I hope that translates to life of the Jeep durability. I too am intrigued by the ACT clutch, looking forward to opinions once the get out into the wild...

 

[IanNubbit]

I thought the only reason FCA went with this light weight disaster, was to keep the manuals the same as the autos in regard to fuel consumption .

Not fuel economy, mainly looking at a Start/Stop issue with heavier components

 

[Canjeeper]

Not fuel economy, mainly looking at a Start/Stop issue with heavier components

Is stop /start not fuel economy related ?

 

[Actman]

Not fuel economy, mainly looking at a Start/Stop issue with heavier components

Inertia isn't really a factor at those slow rpms and the drag from the engine's compression is far greater than the weight of the flywheel.

 

[OldGuyNewJeep]

Is stop /start not fuel economy related ?

Not really. It’s to reduce emissions.

 

[J.Ferreira]

Kinda why I ordered my 2 door when I did thinking that both manuals and 2 doors are on the way out unfortunately

Yepppp.
Exactly the reason mine is built the way it is.

 

[J.Ferreira]

A few questions:

1. Any idea as to why Jeep switched the flywheel between the JK and JL? Is there a design reason since it's the same 3.6?

2. I don't quite grasp the idea of it failing going down the interstate without touching the clutch, what causes the final bit of heat/pressure to cause it to fail/explode? Is it a case that the damage is done already and it just happens to fail at higher speeds?

30/66,000 is still a very small percentage, and even if 100x that number have had issues and replaced it, still under 5%. I have a '21 JLUR 6 speed that was bought after the first 2 recalls, I'm also probably one of a few that have had the clutch overheated, disengage message in the first 2 months I had it.

What were you doing when you got that message?
I still haven't gotten one in a month and a half.

 

[J.Ferreira]

When I bought my '21 after a 20+ year break from Wranglers (my previous two were MT's), I really wanted to buy a MT. In my opinion a Wrangler, like a Corvette, should only have a MT. After reading a number of lengthy threads on this forum about clutch issues, I went to test drive a MT for myself. I was really surprised at the light feel and low clutch engagement for a Jeep but, hey, I hadn't driven one in 20 years, so I assumed the clutch design had evolved and was "improved" over that 20 year span. On the test drive, I got used to the clutch pedal feel pretty quickly but it just didn't seem right. My final thoughts walking away from the test drive was that the majority of clutch problems were the result of a hardware design issue(s), and not something FCA could adequately fix with software patches so I purchased a Sport Alt. w/AT instead. Unfortunately, it appears now that FCA
has reached a threshold where they have no choice but to admit it's a design defect and proactively provide a real, long-term solution (vs. continue to fix on fail)....how extensive and what hardware will be involved remains to be seen but I hope it finally resolves the issue for all currant and future MT owners.

I read all the things you did as well, and still ordered the manual.
It was a non-starter for me. There was no world where I bought an automagic. lol

 

[Luxy60]

I read all the things you did as well, and still ordered the manual.
It was a non-starter for me. There was no world where I bought an automagic. lol

If it were just me driving the Jeep I probably would have taken my chances with the expectation/ hope FCA would eventually roll-out a real fix.

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