My clutch pin on the linkage has been deteriorating for some time now and Ive been going through plastic bushings monthly so I decided to go ahead and spend $40 and get the ebay clutch joint. It came quickly and looked simple enough. Then I started working...
I assume this first item is a model year difference, the nut holding on the clutch arm is 18mm, not 11/16. Regardless, good luck getting any tool on it to back it off. It is very close to the firewall insulation, effectively blocking a socket wrench. I finally broke it free with a very long, offset box end wrench. Without some length you wont have enough leverage to get it loose. Once you do you then have the fun of prying the arm off. I had to use a prybar and work back and forth on each side to pull it evenly. It comes off hard. VERY hard.
Then the directions say to cut off the post and drive out the remnants from the arm. Let me tell you, you ain't drivin' nuthin' out of there. I had to drill it out. Then you cut off the eye from the clutch piston rod. That isnt so hard except that you have no room for a hack saw. I used a dremmel but it heats the rod so you have to cut some, wait some, cut some more. Then grind the end smooth. Here you have another problem. The receiving hole in the new joint is so tight you have to grind the post until it is very rounded or it will NOT go in. Even then it is tight and once on, it's not coming back off. Here is an important part not in the directions - put the joint on the piston rod FIRST or you dont have any room to get it on after you replace the swing arm and put it there. But, like I said, it is not coming off once on so do it only when you are fully ready.
Getting the swing arm back on is just as difficult as getting it off. Only now you have to make damn sure it is at the right angle or it will not push the piston far enough to fully engage the clutch and the truck wont even start. I got everything back on and tried to start and nothing happened. So now, after a LOT of swearing, I got to take it all off again. Only now, as what lead to my 911 post earlier, the swing arm is not lined up with the bolt on the joint and you have to figure out how to push the piston in enough to get the bolt through the swing arm. I had to use a 2 foot 1x1 jammed up under dash where I wouldnt break anything and get it all lined up. That part alone took 40 minutes. Pushing it by hand was laughably impossible.
Once it was all on it feels fine and the shifting isnt as hard as it was. This is the only fix to the worn post and eye that I have ever seen but it is certainly exceptionally difficult to get installed. It is worth the $40 I guess but my hands are now cut up and I have a raging headache.
I post this because the directions are deceptively simple and poorly written. I figure if someone decides to buy this part at least you can do it fully informed. Dont set aside an hour and think you will get done. If you can do it under 3 I will be duly impressed. Im glad its on.
I assume this first item is a model year difference, the nut holding on the clutch arm is 18mm, not 11/16. Regardless, good luck getting any tool on it to back it off. It is very close to the firewall insulation, effectively blocking a socket wrench. I finally broke it free with a very long, offset box end wrench. Without some length you wont have enough leverage to get it loose. Once you do you then have the fun of prying the arm off. I had to use a prybar and work back and forth on each side to pull it evenly. It comes off hard. VERY hard.
Then the directions say to cut off the post and drive out the remnants from the arm. Let me tell you, you ain't drivin' nuthin' out of there. I had to drill it out. Then you cut off the eye from the clutch piston rod. That isnt so hard except that you have no room for a hack saw. I used a dremmel but it heats the rod so you have to cut some, wait some, cut some more. Then grind the end smooth. Here you have another problem. The receiving hole in the new joint is so tight you have to grind the post until it is very rounded or it will NOT go in. Even then it is tight and once on, it's not coming back off. Here is an important part not in the directions - put the joint on the piston rod FIRST or you dont have any room to get it on after you replace the swing arm and put it there. But, like I said, it is not coming off once on so do it only when you are fully ready.
Getting the swing arm back on is just as difficult as getting it off. Only now you have to make damn sure it is at the right angle or it will not push the piston far enough to fully engage the clutch and the truck wont even start. I got everything back on and tried to start and nothing happened. So now, after a LOT of swearing, I got to take it all off again. Only now, as what lead to my 911 post earlier, the swing arm is not lined up with the bolt on the joint and you have to figure out how to push the piston in enough to get the bolt through the swing arm. I had to use a 2 foot 1x1 jammed up under dash where I wouldnt break anything and get it all lined up. That part alone took 40 minutes. Pushing it by hand was laughably impossible.
Once it was all on it feels fine and the shifting isnt as hard as it was. This is the only fix to the worn post and eye that I have ever seen but it is certainly exceptionally difficult to get installed. It is worth the $40 I guess but my hands are now cut up and I have a raging headache.
I post this because the directions are deceptively simple and poorly written. I figure if someone decides to buy this part at least you can do it fully informed. Dont set aside an hour and think you will get done. If you can do it under 3 I will be duly impressed. Im glad its on.
