1988 Jeep Comanche clutch hydraulic fluid ?

Thanks Mike but I don't think there is a front inspection plate, I will look and see tonight, if there is I would inspect all the parts and resurface the Pressure Plate or replace, but the way my clutch went out right after I contaminated the system with Dot 3 and because the truck had sit up for 2 years I bet I ruined the seals in the Slave/Master, let you know tomorrow. Thanks Mike 4 help Curtis

Dot 3 will work just fine. The system isn't a high temp system.

Did the clutch quit working? I thought it just had some noise when the pressure plate was depressed.

If you have the plate, it is like a 1/4 moon on the bottom front.

Mike

ct>

On Wed, 23 Mar 2005 14:11:58 UTC "ctops" wrote:

The inspection plate on mine is a full plate all the way up the back of the engine - acrually more of a dust cover - and it doesn't come off with the tranny in place.

My Puegeot went south on me - that's why I swapped - and I did the external slave swap since I was in there anyway. In the process of swapping, I had to pull the tc twice since I got the wrong input shaft the first time and the tc howled like a banshee. I also invested the $30 or so for a tranny platform for my hydraulic floor jack to re-install - the AX15 weighs at LOT more than the tiny little Pugeot. I actually unbolted the tc and pulled it first, then pulled the BA

Splitting the tc and tranny in place is not a real problem - the top two bolts are a PITA to reach but doable. The second time around, I used a long extension and went at them from the top side thru the shifter hole but I'm not sure that was any easier. Pull both drive shafts completely off - they get in the way every time you move otherwise and you have to drop one end of each anyway. You will definitely need a serious set of half inch sockets and extension - the two top bolts on the bell housing are the reverse torx type and a bitch to reach. You'll also need a long extension to get to the exhaust bolts up by the manifold - the exhaust pipe has to come off between the manifold and the cat as it crosses under the tranny. One of the hardest things for me was getting the @#$% pilot bushing out of the flywheel (as Mike said - replace it ALL while you're there). The rest is basically grunt work. I would also suggest you unbolt the rear tranny mount before you drop the cross member just to make sure you don't tear the rubber - those mounts are next to impossible to find - everybody wants to sell you the wrong one. Pull the shift tower off the tranny and you're all set. In spite of the cost, I would suggest replacing the line between the master and the bottom end. It sits right next to the exhaust and is probably responsible for at least some of your crud after sitting in tha theat for so long. AH! and pay attention to how the tc shift linkage mounts to the hump so that you don't waste a lot of time trying to get it back in the right way .

Mike, how hard is it to get the whole mess out thru the engine bay? Mine looked like there wasn't enough room to clear the tc as it came forward, altough I didn't actually try it.

I have split them all first so I left the tranny and t-case in there and just pulled the block. I find going through the transmission tunnel cover is a good way to get the bell housing bolts.

If you remove the grill and front cross brace and rad the whole thing might fit out that way, but my books don't say so, they say split them first so....

'Maybe' one of the Jeep 'mechanics' on this group might know if the whole works can be pulled together?

Mike

Mike, there is no 1/4 moon, it is one flat plate that fits right up next to the bellhousing/enging block, note: my Jeep is 2x4 short bed, 1 drive shaft , , now that I think about it the clutch was working it just seemed that it would not fully engage after I contaminated the system, I did a lot of bleeding and at one point got the " rattling" sound to stop, which makes me think that the throw-out is out , so to be safe tell me my parts list should be , 1, buy new master install bleed system try it , if that does it ride it, 2, if the clutch stills acts the same go ahead and pull the trans. Question, before on another clutch job I found that the pressure plate did not need replacing just the "Disk" and of course the T/O bearing, that's if the P/P's surface is not to worn or can't be resurfaced , Will mentioned getting pilot bushing out of flywheel , can the pressure plate be resurfaced ? according to my parts guy , the T/O bearing is part of the Slave assembly , don't worry wont buy any parts till everything is pulled and inspected , so what about Transmission front seal ? Should I replace? And also is it necessary to drop the cross member? will the Trans. come out with out dropping it? , Thanks guys Curtis

What method did you use to bleed it?

You did 'not' contaminate or otherwise compromise the system with DOT 3, it works perfect for clutches.

Because you had it with no noise once, I suspect it can be obtained again.

Mike

ct>

Yea me to but the fluid was dirty when I changed it , I have looked at the master the seals look good , and it looks new , the method I used was two people similar to the brakes just one pump holding the petal down to make sure the fluid reservoir stayed full , it's just seem like could not get the master to fully engage the Slave , will replace the master first I could test it but don't know how , hell I will just start from the top and work my way down. Curtis

I was just curious. I have to drop the tranny shortly to replace the throwout in mine - hopefully it will struggle along until the days get longer and warmer.

Hmmm... never even looked at getting to the top bell housing bolts from the top thru the tunnel. I'll have to look at that since you can't get a straight shot at them from below without a wobble or universal which makes slipping and buggering the head a concern. Still not like the old Ford where we cut holes in the firewall to get at the rear exhaust manifold bolts, tho .

If the master wasn't bench bled before it was bolted to the firewall, you might indeed have some air in there....

The pedal usually won't go in far enough to push all the air out like you can do with the thing in a vise.

I have heard of folks taking off the pedal link and then bench bleeding by hand pushing the link. You would have to have the Jeep at an angle, because the master needs to be perfectly level to bench bleed.

Mike

ct>

Well guys I installed the new master and found a real good way to bleed the system, I used I BIG 6 oz. Hypodermic Syringe from a dairy I use to work at and used a long piece of clear aquarium hose and pumped fluid back up till all the air was out, Slave worked fine, but still the rattle, must be Pressure-plate and/or Disk, will have a mechanic do the job,. Just too big to do lying on my back.

Curtis

Man it would have to be some kind of wicked rattle to get me to go in after it on an 88. I would sure be tempted to live with it until I needed clutch work.

A rattle on the throw out bearing or pilot bearing usually won't hurt anything.

Mike

ct>

Mike it sounds like the Disk is gone of the pressure plate is coming apart or flywheel is cracked, when you push all the down on the clutch it's quiet, it's just when you get half way through the release that it raises HELL, my Jeep a good truck I just found out about a buddy of my that opened up his own garage, he will do the hold job for about $300.00 labor. parts and all lets see PP/Disk= $180.00 my Slave/ TO bearing = $105.00 master $60.00, will need front Trans seal $12.00, got to have my ride go probation to do , just another bad thing about FL. everybody's in the system, thanks for the help. Curt

Is it like a loud barking kind of noise, rather than a typical bearing rattle sound? Any difference depending on if you're starting from a stop, or going through a regular up/down shift while rolling? what if you're hard on the throttle, vs, just nursing it.

if it's a loud barking noise and mostly when startiig from a stop, and worse when you're harder on the throttle, could be oil contamination on the disk.

Paul

ct> Mike it sounds like the Disk is gone of the pressure plate is coming

Well guys it's in the shop , will update after repair.

Curt

Well guy this is what happened, after everything was pulled the pressure plate was new and so was the disk I had them checked , the Slave looked new , the flywheel was just fine , so I had him just install the new Slave I ha d already installed the new master , and replaced the pilot bushing but it looked fine , , well that did it clutch works fine , I guess what happened was that when I tried to change the fluid it the system I ruined the seals in the Slave and it would not work correctly, it can't be rebuilt , my mechanic said it was a first for him , but I am finding out that jeeps are like that , I have the old Slave if someone wants it, just pay the shipping.

Curtis

I don't know what was wrong, but you couldn't have 'ruined' any seals using DOT 3 brake fluid.

If bleeding it 'made it' go bad, it was bad to start with. Nothing you could have done to wreck it more.

Thanks for the update.

Mike

ct>

I think that if I would have recompressed the old slave and reinstalled it, might have worked, remember it has those two straps that release when the Slave is first engaged, the problem is once you get air into the system unless you compress that Slave back all the way down like when it it's new you can't bleed it completely. Curtis

Well, it 'can' be a bugger but it will for sure bleed. Because you tried the bleed unsuccessfully to fix the noise issue, I suspect the slave was just plain bad. It happens, even new out of the box.

I really doubt you harmed anything.

Mike

ct>