Slave cylinder - (did search) now really confused!

My son has a 1988, 4.0, manual 5 speed.

He's was having trouble getting it into gear. The Master cylinder was a little low, filled it up and pumped it and it appeared to help.

Thinking we need to replace the slave, seeing some light weight oil dripping fromt the bell housing. Also thinking we should replace the master cylinder also.

I got two manuals, one from jeep the other Haynes. The Haynes manual said it was a hydrolic throw out bearing and the transmission needs to be dropped to change out the slave cylinder. The Jeep manuel said that all you have to do is disconnect the line, take out the two bolts and remove from the side of the bell housing.

I did a search, and it appears that their are two different types, one internal, one external. How do I tell which one we have. If the trans has to be dropped, it's beyond us, if it is the external and as easy as the jeep manual said, we could try and fix it.

Could some one please tell us how to tell, or what to look for?

Thanks

boomer1 said:

My son has a 1988, 4.0, manual 5 speed.

He's was having trouble getting it into gear. The Master cylinder was a little low, filled it up and pumped it and it appeared to help.

Thinking we need to replace the slave, seeing some light weight oil dripping fromt the bell housing. Also thinking we should replace the master cylinder also.

I got two manuals, one from jeep the other Haynes. The Haynes manual said it was a hydrolic throw out bearing and the transmission needs to be dropped to change out the slave cylinder. The Jeep manuel said that all you have to do is disconnect the line, take out the two bolts and remove from the side of the bell housing.

I did a search, and it appears that their are two different types, one internal, one external. How do I tell which one we have. If the trans has to be dropped, it's beyond us, if it is the external and as easy as the jeep manual said, we could try and fix it.

Could some one please tell us how to tell, or what to look for?

Thanks

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For your year, the Haynes manual is correct. The XJ did get an external slave cylinder - but that was starting sometime around 1995 or so.

The 1988 will also likely have the Peugeot transmission - which can be identified by a longwise "parting line" between case halves. Putting an AX-15 in its place is fairly easy - I just did it on my 88, in fact. You will need the transmission and transfer case - everything else is a direct swap (you do need to modify the transmission tunnel to clear the shifter, and use the rearward set of mounting holes for the transmission crossmember.)

It's actually a fairly simple job to do - just tedious and nerve-wracking as Hell. You can get a cheapie transmission jack to make jacking the thing in and out easier for you - the Peugeot weighs less that 100#, but it's awkward.

The only real reason I can see for not doing it yourself in the garage would be that you don't have a garage. Technically speaking, the job is quite simple to do (less involved than, say, replacing bottom-end bearings in your engine...)

Got under the jeep last night and noticed that the line going into the bell housing and the bleeder line coming out are really loose. If you grab them, they will move up nad down 2-3". Is this normal, could it be the cause of the leak. Just wondering if anyone else has seen this?

Kelley, thanks for the response, it looks like the transmission has to be dropped. With the cost of a shop, looks like we may have to tackle it our selves. Boy it seems like it's been one thing after another with our jeeps, but I guess that has to be expected. lol

AS 5-90 said, '88 5-speed is a Peugeot. Your Haynes manual is correct, the slave on the manual is internal, requireing you to drop the transfer case and the trans.
Don't know the miles on your current clutch, but if more than 60-70K-miles, I'd install a knew clutch and pilot bearing while you're in there; no need to pull it all apart again, if you can avoid it.
If you decide to install a new clutch, please inspect the flywheel clutch-surface carefully for cracks, and checking. Presence of either indicates a need to either replace the fly wheel (recommended), or have the flywheel resurfaced (mixed results--mine worked fine, but engages closer to the floor).
Also, I'd recommend you replace your clutch master cylinder. If it starts leaking at the rear (normal area to leak), it will drip hydraulic fluid onto the main distribution fuse block, inside the Jeep. Believe me, you don't want to deal with the problems that will cause!