97XJ, Clutch, does this sound right?

[HH-Bham]

Son's 97XJ, 4.0, Manual transmission, 3" lift, 31s, 19x,xxx miles. Clutch was very worn and then went out. Pedal goes right to floor, makes clicking noise, engine won't start. Clutch master and slave seem ok. We were guessing something with throwout bearing and fork.


His mother is willing to pay to have shop do it. (I had planned on it.)



Shop says needs new clutch, and flywheel and "safety switch." And wants 1,800 (including new battery).


I just went by the shop. Car is in the lot and I look under it. I see a cut wire hanging off back of transfer case (no plug) and that they have not pulled the transmission.


How do they know it needs a flywheel if they haven't dropped the transmission? Am I right to be suspicious?

[trippled]

That price is pretty high for a clutch. I would expect more like 1200-1300. Some places will machine flywheels but on some applications you really need a shim to help keep the pedal feel. Some shops prefer to just replace it.

If it was mine I'd just replace it and be done with it. Keep in mind, shops have to warranty their work for a period of time (or most do). Doing a job with mostly ok parts runs them the risk of doing stuff for free. Making sure the entire job is done right helps ensure you don't have to see each other too soon. Do you have an actual run down of their estimate?

[Ivan]

I had my 5spd replaced 6 years ago at a local Transmission Shop, after losing a transmission seal and subsequently the oil...it was an epic fail. I had the clutch replaced and the flywheel resurfaced, as long as it was all torn apart.

Here's what I paid...

Replacement 5spd trans......$1200
Luk Clutch.....$285
Trans oil.....$26
Flywheel resurface.....$45
Labor......$650

The labor was even slightly higher because the shop had to deal with an aftermarket transmission skid plate, Drop Brackets, etc

Your price does sound a bit high.....

[Anak]

Originally Posted by trippled

That price is pretty high for a clutch. I would expect more like 1200-1300. Some places will machine flywheels but on some applications you really need a shim to help keep the pedal feel. Some shops prefer to just replace it.

If it was mine I'd just replace it and be done with it. Keep in mind, shops have to warranty their work for a period of time (or most do). Doing a job with mostly ok parts runs them the risk of doing stuff for free. Making sure the entire job is done right helps ensure you don't have to see each other too soon. Do you have an actual run down of their estimate?

+1

I can't speak to the price as I haven't ever paid a shop to do such a job, but the scope of the job seems reasonable.

The other detail I would inquire about is the throwout bearing they plan to use. If they are using a clutch kit the bearing that comes with it is junk. Find out if they are getting a Timken or SKF bearing for this job. If not, ask them about getting one. The failure of the bearing in the clutch kit will not occur during any warranty period on their work, but it will pose a problem some years down the line. And then you are back to pulling the transmission. Like this:

[HH-Bham]

Thanks everyone. Very helpful. Especially to know that new flywheel is reasonable (I did not know about that).



Seems the shop is $500-600 high. In addition to clutch job, there is battery (guessing about $150) and whatever wire/plug is hanging off transfer case (guessing $50-100), and I'll give the $50 for washing out all the mud caked underneath there that my son hasn't cleaned.


A little high, but in the realm of reason so I'm going to let it go as my son and ex-wife are ok with it and I'm not paying.

Find out if they are getting a Timken or SKF bearing for this job. If not, ask them about getting one.

I had seen the earlier thread and had my son inquire about the bearing. All he got back was that they use quality stuff and give a one year warranty.


Where can I source a Timken or SKF bearing? In my searches the maker of the bearing is not identified on the throwout bearings I find.

[Anak]

Rock Auto.

See if this link works:

https://www.rockauto.com/en/catalog/...e+bearing,1968

If the link doesn't work, just click through their application: Jeep-1997-Cherokee-manual transmission-clutch release bearing.

Timken is $37, SKF is $49.

Either one is good.

The problem with the bearings used in the clutch kits is that they have a plastic component that will break down over time. It hardly shows when you look at the bearing, but it is there and it leads to an early failure. And not a failure that gives you much warning either.

Yes, I am sure they use quality components. Every component is a quality component. Some are good quality and some are excrement quality, but hey, they are all quality.

I don't doubt that the cheap bearing will last a year. The one in my Jeep went over 5 years. But I don't want to be dropping my transmission any more than I have to.

[HH-Bham]

Anak, thanks. The one that came with the clutch kit had a plastic main body. Didn't have time to order from Rock (glad to learn of them though) and had to go to dealership and pay 2X. Hope Mopar unit is ok. It is metal body anyway.

[Anak]

You are quite welcome.

A metal body is the important detail. I expect you will be just fine with the one from the dealership.

If you have the one from the clutch kit and can take a couple of pictures of it I would appreciate that. I have only had access to the one that came apart on me. I would like to see what they look like when new.

[HH-Bham]

Trying to post picture. If you don't see one, go to my album here on . I gotta run out the door and don't have time to figure this out.

https://www.naxja.org/forum/album.ph...pictureid=3982