Since I have my engine out (see other posts), I might as well see if the clutch is worn enough to replace. The car has 165K miles on it.

Is there a spec on how thick the friction material was when new, and at what thickness it should be replaced?

The clutch was working fine up to this point, no slipping, but since everything is apart it's a piece of cake to replace it now instead of next year when I may have problems and then have to pull everything apart again.

Steve

 

I'd replace the clutch and flywheel at that mileage

 

Sounds like a good idea.

Rock Auto has clutch kits (friction disc, pressure plate, bearing) from $170 to $350. Flywheels are from $60-$90. None of these are the "high-performance" super-expensive parts that I don't need (stock 2.4L engine).

Any suggestions? Are the cheaper ones good enough? It's a lot of work to get to the clutch, so I don't want to do the job again because I bought a cheap part that failed quickly!

Steve

 

I couldn't find any thickness spec, but you can get to it easily now.

The "book" says to use a Mighty-Vac to bleed the slave cylinder.

Be sure to check eBay, I saw one with everything except the pilot bearing and flywheel for $150

 

I pulled the clutch apart to see how it looks.

The friction disc is not worn out yet, but I will replace it because it looks like it has maybe 30K miles left on it.

The pressure plate looks good, the fingers are all even and not bent.

The pressure plate clutch contact surface and the flywheel surface are good. They are smooth with no grooving or overheating. There are only a few tiny pits in them.

The slave cylinder/bearing is not leaking and I didn't notice any (bearing) noises last time I drove it.

I am thinking of replacing the friction disc ($30 Rock Auto), but not the pressure plate or flywheel. Money is tight right now and I am sure there will be other things I notice as I go along.

I am not sure about the slave cylinder/bearing assembly. It costs about $80 at rock Auto. How long do these usually last? Is there any test I can do on the old one?

Thanks
Steve

 

I have always thought the expense if a new T.O. bearing was good insurance, same with hidden hydraulics.

My bet is that if you replace the pressure plate you would feel the difference in the pedal.

I would have the plate and flywheel checked at a machine shop for "flatness", if not replaced or resurfaced.

 

Back in the day, if a customer asked me to replace the disc without a new pressure, I would refuse the job.
At the least, you should replace both. And as Don stated, you should have the flywheel checked.

 

I second this. Don't spend big bucks, but check them. Digging back into this next year could be avoided.

 

Well, I'm going to buy the LUK clutch kit from Rock Auto. It includes the friction disc, pressure plate, slave cylinder/bearing, and an alignment tool for about $162.

Steve