Clutch replacement

[Red88]

Got my tax return and now its time to replace that slipping clutch on my beloved truck. For what the shop wants to replace it I can buy a transmission jack and parts and have money in my pocket so that's what I'm gonna do next week. Haven't changed one since high school shop though and that's been nearly 40 years so any pointers would be very much appreciated. I can get sachs, echlin, or whatever autozone carrys locally or I can order something else. Any strong feelings on brand? Truck is rarely loaded and is my daily driver.

It's an 88 k-1500 w/stock 350 TBI and has a Getrag 5 speed transmission.

Thanks in advance guys, you're the best!

[dpilot83]

I just went through this on my 93. I assume you're going to make sure you have a throw out bearing and the alignment tool in your clutch kit. If it were me I would go to the Rock Auto website and buy an OEM clutch kit.

If your clutch has been slipping for awhile then it's certain you'll need to re-surface your flywheel or buy a new one. I highly recommend buying a new one. A lot of machine shops aren't as good as they should be about knowing the tolerances for how much can be safely removed. The one I took mine too didn't even remove all the heat affected material and after they were done they couldn't tell me how much they had removed. I ended up paying $40 for a cruddy re-surfacing job and another $80 for a new flywheel for peace of mind. If you order it now you'll only be out an additional $40 instead of an additional $80 like I was.

Finally, I recommend either four jack stands or four ramps to get your truck up higher to make the work easier. Hope it goes well for you.
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[Red88]

Thanks for the advice dpilot. The kits come with alignment tool and throw out bearing and I'll just add a new flywheel to the list. I'll be making a trip to harbor freight to pickup a transmission jack and a couple of jackstands so I can get all 4 corners up. Again, thanks!

[Hoods69BadBowTie]

Originally Posted by dpilot83

I just went through this on my 93. I assume you're going to make sure you have a throw out bearing and the alignment tool in your clutch kit. If it were me I would go to the Rock Auto website and buy an OEM clutch kit.

If your clutch has been slipping for awhile then it's certain you'll need to re-surface your flywheel or buy a new one. I highly recommend buying a new one. A lot of machine shops aren't as good as they should be about knowing the tolerances for how much can be safely removed. The one I took mine too didn't even remove all the heat affected material and after they were done they couldn't tell me how much they had removed. I ended up paying $40 for a cruddy re-surfacing job and another $80 for a new flywheel for peace of mind. If you order it now you'll only be out an additional $40 instead of an additional $80 like I was.

Finally, I recommend either four jack stands or four ramps to get your truck up higher to make the work easier. Hope it goes well for you.
Posted via Mobile Device

Yep its pretty sad I had the same kinda experience when I went to have a flywheel resurfaced and they did a half assed job. I told them to keep it and sell it to someone else I wasn't going to pay for what they did. I ended up buying a new one as well. X2 about getting the truck up higher as well makes the swap a lot easier then moving around with no room. Shouldn't be to bad of a job. Let us know if you run into any issues along the way.

[sdcfish]

So how did it go?