Oh interesting. I have no idea what that shop did. They also forgot to put some bracket bolts back onto the bell housing when the re-installed everything.
I actually notched the bracket on top, instead of cutting the stud. Just swung it into position and tightened it down. I have video of it. I really just need to put all this into my build thread already. Lmfao
Damn I wish I was that smart. I have nothing nice to say about that bracket. I’d cut the stud and the bracket lol( yes I realize pointless to do both) here’s the only picture I took of the project. Obviously before any work started since you could see the concrete still haha.
I actually notched the bracket on top, instead of cutting the stud. Just swung it into position and tightened it down. I have video of it. I really just need to put all this into my build thread already. Lmfao
I ended up buying 12 ton jackstands, a bigger trans jack, and a 42" 3/8" drive extention after the job, lmaoDamn I wish I was that smart. I have nothing nice to say about that bracket. I’d cut the stud and the bracket lol( yes I realize pointless to do both) here’s the only picture I took of the project. Obviously before any work started since you could see the concrete still haha.
I still have mine on the shelf, I'll take a look at the lube as well.I couldn’t remember so I had to go back and look. Mine was as rather dry when I took it apart. Around 31k at that point I believe.
I left my transfer case and cables all attached. I had a steel plate I drilled a hole in the middle and bolted it on that Daytona superduty jack and used that. I highly don’t recommend this. It did the job without any issues , but me trying to save a few bucks will cause me to do some dumb things. I’ll be buying a transmission jack if I ever have to take a transmission out of anything again. My wife saw it and some point and was mad I wouldn’t spend the money on one lol.
interesting and glad to read the jeeps back up. Been silently reading through the 30+ pages of the thinking that it seems like all the problems every ones having is on after market clutches. Every concerning to hear how much dust is being collected ( my thought was maybe the aftermarket is using much softer disc materials on the clutch causing extra dust.) . But after reading about the wrong grease this makes much more sense causing build up. either way as much as it sucks glad you stuck through it and shared it with all us manual drivers. I will make sure to add this to my notes when i swap out the stock clutch when it wears out. cant wait to get back on the trials with you and the rest of the groupOk all I finally have some good news to report. After several weeks of corresponding with @Actman to troubleshoot we were finally able to find a time for me to get my Jeep up to ACT in Lancaster, CA. Here is what we discovered. I forgot to take pictures so I'll describe everything the best I can.
- The issue with my clutch was the grease as Dirk suspected. The transmission shop told me they used the purple grease that comes from the kit but after opening it up it was clear that the grease on my splines was red and had a tacky, sticky and almost sap like feel. They used some sort of bearing grease that mixed with the clutch disc dust and formed this goop that was causing the clutch to drag. It looks like it just took several months and 10k miles for this symptoms to start happening.
- It is still unclear where and when the leak of my hydraulics falls into all of this. I 100% did have a leak at the hydraulic line connection to the master. So once that was discovered and remedied my problem with the spline grease manifested itself again. I don't believe there was ever anything wrong with my original slave and master cylinders that have since been replaced.
- My clutch was removed and bench tested. It all tested fine. There was no issue with the actual clutch parts. The wear on my clutch disc was also very minimal for having at this point about 14k miles on it.
- The croaking sound was coming from inside the bell housing.
It was not from the hydraulic parts NOR the clutch itself (as the bench test proved). It seems to be caused by the ball that the clutch fork pivots on. There was some uneven wear at the end of the ball and the paint had worn away at almost a point inside the clutch fork pocket. They cleaned this all out and we'll see if the croaking comes back but for now I have not heard that particular sound again (I drove about 60 miles back home).
- The drive home from Lancaster was shift issue free! Jeep is driving/shifting normal again.
It was such a huge relief after 3 months and over 2k spent to finally find out what was going on. A huge thanks to ACT, Dirk and his whole crew. I got to spend the whole day at their facility and they are just a great company with great people who just love clutches and want to make vehicles (including Jeeps) shift better.
Dirk and I talked a lot about what a difference the ACT makes in compared to the stock clutch when wheeling. I can't wait to get my Jeep back on the trails!
Did a test drive and the shifting into the gears is much more "notcher" at the shifter. Did not have any issues shifting difficulties as before. At least in my case the reverse vacuum helped tremendously. Will update if any changes.
That's great news. So happy for you to finally have this in the rear view mirror. Enjoy.Ok all I finally have some good news to report. After several weeks of corresponding with @Actman to troubleshoot we were finally able to find a time for me to get my Jeep up to ACT in Lancaster, CA. Here is what we discovered. I forgot to take pictures so I'll describe everything the best I can.
- The issue with my clutch was the grease as Dirk suspected. The transmission shop told me they used the purple grease that comes from the kit but after opening it up it was clear that the grease on my splines was red and had a tacky, sticky and almost sap like feel. They used some sort of bearing grease that mixed with the clutch disc dust and formed this goop that was causing the clutch to drag. It looks like it just took several months and 10k miles for this symptoms to start happening.
- It is still unclear where and when the leak of my hydraulics falls into all of this. I 100% did have a leak at the hydraulic line connection to the master. So once that was discovered and remedied my problem with the spline grease manifested itself again. I don't believe there was ever anything wrong with my original slave and master cylinders that have since been replaced.
- My clutch was removed and bench tested. It all tested fine. There was no issue with the actual clutch parts. The wear on my clutch disc was also very minimal for having at this point about 14k miles on it.
- The croaking sound was coming from inside the bell housing.
It was not from the hydraulic parts NOR the clutch itself (as the bench test proved). It seems to be caused by the ball that the clutch fork pivots on. There was some uneven wear at the end of the ball and the paint had worn away at almost a point inside the clutch fork pocket. They cleaned this all out and we'll see if the croaking comes back but for now I have not heard that particular sound again (I drove about 60 miles back home).
- The drive home from Lancaster was shift issue free! Jeep is driving/shifting normal again.
It was such a huge relief after 3 months and over 2k spent to finally find out what was going on. A huge thanks to ACT, Dirk and his whole crew. I got to spend the whole day at their facility and they are just a great company with great people who just love clutches and want to make vehicles (including Jeeps) shift better.
Dirk and I talked a lot about what a difference the ACT makes in compared to the stock clutch when wheeling. I can't wait to get my Jeep back on the trails!
I’ve read of people getting more slop from play in the track bar bolt bracket holes… like the bolt is too small. Maybe that is a factor.
If I recall correctly, yes there was a noise when I depressed the clutch but not very loud. I still continue to have a noise but much quieter.
