YJ Clutch

Will this clutch do the job?

Carl

I also remember reading about removing material from the flywheel to make it lighter and increase power. Any truth to this?

Carl

You should always consider resurfacing the flywheel when you do a clutch job, especially if you smoked the clutch badly (smoke pouring out) or it was chattering before it died. Inspect the wear surface, see if it has groves, surface checks, or one side deeper than the other. Typically they only take off .020" to .050" so there is very little change in the critical dimensions.

A good auto mach> Burned the poo out of my clutch in my 89 YJ today. It's a 2.5L on 33's with

Centerforce is good. Yes, you should always resurface the flywheel, IMO, just as you should generally do for your brake rotors. Your clutch will like it better with a fresh surface.

There is NO benefit to the overhyped Centerforce clutch for a low-revving engine like a Jeep engine. Its design is meant for high-RPM high-HP engines so it locks up firmer at high RPMs it won't slip from enormous HP engines.

For the $$$, it's REAL hard to beat either the OE clutch or one from Luk, who makes the OE clutch. Heck, after being smoked many times while rock crawling, my TJ's clutch is still going strong with 154K miles on it. If I don't swap in an automatic trannie when my clutch finally goes, I'll install either another OE or probably a Luk which is available pretty cheaply on the Internet.

Jerry

Carl Saiyed wrote:

I found a Luk clutch for $170 at

Centerforce makes other clutches besides the Dual Friction model...

The OE clutch should be fine. As far as resurfacing, take the minimum cut to clean the surface. A heavy cut, as to lightening it, will require re-balancing the flywheel. Besides, for a Jeep heavier is better.

I put a lightened flywheel in my VW Bug. I went to an outfit that drag raced Bugs, and was reputed to do it right. When I got done, I had a lightened flywheel, a crank with counterweights welded on it, and a pulley balanced to the whole thing. It was the smoothest running Bug I ever drove. Acceleration was pretty good too. Unfortunately, the wife hated it.

If you lighten the flywheel, the way Gene Berg told it, you have to balance the entire rotating mass of the engine. I am sure that the same applies to Jeeps or any piston engine.

Earle