bad luck

[justright92xj]

just 2 weeks ago i installed a pacesetter header, port and polished the head, and installed new valve seals on my 92 4.ol manual trans. my tags expired last friday, so today i was waiting in line for emissions for 45 minutes. when i finally got up to the front of the line, i pushed in the clutch to pull up to the test center, and the pedal went straight to the floor. tried again 3 times, same thing. i popped the hood and what do you know, a fire! great suprise huh? after a mad dash for a fire extinguisher, we finally got the fire put out. having it towed back to my work (i'm a mechanic) turns out that the new header needs more than two inches of clearence from the clutch line. it blew a hole and shot fluid right onto the header. so now i'm trying to find a new clutch hose. sucks huh? so beware when installing headers on a manual trans xj.

 

[Rev Den]

Hmmmm....that happened to me BEFORE the header went on. Turns out the worn-out doghnut allowed the hot exhaust to blast the line.

Fun huh? No fire on mine...just LOTS of smoke.

Rev

 

[Cjmartz2k]

Yeah, your vehicle catching on fire during an inspection usaully tends to make it not pass. Sorry to hear that it happened to you, but damn that's freaking funny!!! :viking:

 

[Dr. Dyno]

i pushed in the clutch to pull up to the test center, and the pedal went straight to the floor. tried again 3 times, same thing. i popped the hood and what do you know, a fire! great suprise huh? after a mad dash for a fire extinguisher, we finally got the fire put out. having it towed back to my work (i'm a mechanic) turns out that the new header needs more than two inches of clearence from the clutch line. it blew a hole and shot fluid right onto the header. so now i'm trying to find a new clutch hose. sucks huh? so beware when installing headers on a manual trans xj.

The same thing happened to me about seven months ago but with no fire. I was just left with no clutch so I switched the engine off, put the gear lever into 2nd, started the engine again while quickly releasing the handbrake and I was off, driving the few remaining miles home in 2nd gear.
The plastic clutch hydraulic hose was too close to my header and the corner had melted away. No fear though. Since plastic and extreme heat don't go very well together, I chopped away almost a foot of the old clutch hose and replaced it with stainless steel brake line. I found the right size brake line to fit very snugly inside the plastic hydraulic line at each cut end, put hose clamps at both ends, tightened them up, and smeared some epoxy paste over the joints for good measure. In doing so, I bent the brake line so it was further away from the header. It's been fine ever since and hasn't leaked.
Chalk up the problem to the excellent factory design of the original hose , so I'll consider my modification as an upgrade.

 

[justright92xj]

i don't know the exact pressure specs on the clutch system, but i was afraid to splice the line like that in fear or a hose blowing off. i think i'ts pretty high pressure, and my wife drives the xj with my kids some times. don't know if it's worth the chance for me, but a new line is almost $90 from jeep.

 

[75SV1]

Yuo might look at Advanced Adapters. They do have a conversion kit that I think has a braided SS hose.
Tom

 

[Dr. Dyno]

Yes, indeed they do, and this page gives all the details:

http://www.advanceadapters.com/catalog/028.html

 

[Dr. Dyno]

i don't know the exact pressure specs on the clutch system, but i was afraid to splice the line like that in fear or a hose blowing off.

I understand your fear but I've driven nearly 9000 miles since I did my "bandaid" fix and it's stayed perfectly sealed so far (knock on wood). I pushed the steel hose at least 1" inside the plastic hose at each end and it's very tightly clamped in place.
I also have a '92 XJ with an internal slave and I'd like to convert it to an external slave system later on. The idea that 75SV1 came up with was excellent and the page that I found has the part numbers that I'll need to make a permanent fix.

 

[87manche]

Napa had the clutch line for my AX-15 for about $25. It's been fine on mine for 5 months now. They will have to order it though, I had to wait overnight for the part. don't have the box anymore, but they DO have it.

 

[justright92xj]

i've called napa and pep boys and both of them said they have no listing for it-dealer part. i called AA, but their only option is changing out the bell housing and converting to an external slave then use the SS line, but that is way more work and money than i want, plus i have no reason to do that. looks like i may be stuck with getting a factory replacement or clamping a ss hose on the fitting like dr dyno did

 

[75SV1]

To bad the AA option wouldn't work for the internal slave. I have heard a few people who have modified the internal slave tranny to external. I did give and internal slave tranny to someone who was going to do this. The bearing retainer needs to be swapped out for an external one, also the bellhousing. Bellhousings go for about $50-70. I don't know what the bearing retainer goes for. I did have to buy the clutch fork from the dealership $20 for an NV3550 swap. Its the same part. Aftermarket was $30. Also, misc. stuff like clutch fork pivot ball and retainer spring. Also, a clutch throwout bearing ($50 or so) and the clutch stuff etc. I don't know what the bearing retainer cost. Sometimes the dealership is reasonable, usually not though.
Tom

 

[justright92xj]

i just had an idea. what if i get the AA hose for the external slave, and just cut the slave fitting off and clamp just that end? then i would only have one end to worry about because the other end has the jeep master cylinder fitting. i just need to find out if the hose is the right size.

 

[75SV1]

You could see if you have an industrial hose supplier in your area. AeroQuip is a good name in that kind of stuff. See if they can make up a hose with your fittings. Also, ask some of the performance automotive places. They might know someone.
Tom

 

[87manche]

I call BS on the NAPA guys. i ordered one.
Here's the listing for a 1990 Comanche with the Aisin Trans, this is the same hose I got for my 87 with an internal slave AX-15.
I don't know if you've got the sealed assembly, but I think that's only for the external slave ones.
http://www.napaonline.com/masterpag...e=UP&PartNumber=38938&Description=Clutch+Hose

Item#: UP 38938
Price: $18.49
Length:15 1/4"
Edit, and their site is stupid, you've gotta use IE.

 

[justright92xj]

aparently in 91 the went from a threaded fitting at the m/c to an push in/o-ring/roll pin design. so that's where to problem lies

 

[87manche]

ok, so here's my suggestion, it came from another user on the comanche board.
Buy the Comanche Hose, cut off the fitting, cut the hard line you've got now, use a compression fitting to mate the two steel lines together.
Pete's been running like that for a while I think, he did it when he went external slave and spliced his existing line into the sealed slave assembly.

 

[justright92xj]

ok so on friday i took a piece of briaded ss line i had laying around that just happened to be the right size. i put my old ends on it and clamped them, put it on the car and drove it all weekend. i drove probably about 70 miles. it did fine, but leaks a little bit. i filled it up once sat evening, then it was low again this morning, had to rev match to get to work. haven't pulled it into the shop yet to see where it leaks from, but i think i'm just going to have to buy a stock one. i found one on moparmaster.com for $66. so that sounds like a deal. thanks for your input and suggestions.