LUVTruck.com

I got a quote for replacing the clutch on my 79 LUV (series 9). It was $680.00 (or so) and more if they had to resurface the flywheel. Not being a rich man I think I will do this myself. Does anyone know of a Youtube tutorial specific to my truck? Also, how does one know if the flywheel needs to be resurfaced?
Ken

Can't help on the You Tube deal but as far as the flywheel resurface I personally always do it. Understand that when I did it at the dealerships it was a warranty deal and the MFGR demanded us to do it, even for customer pay jobs. Same goes in the heavy equipment, we always did it. Now with that said I have known other shops and friends that did not resurface them, the majority of the time no issues with the clutch. If you don't see major hot spots, groves or cracks you could get away without it. Around here it's not much to have a machine shop resurface them. I would recommend a shop manual to help guide you along. I think $680 is a fair price for a shop to do the work, did that include parts?

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Certified pilots, looking down on people since 1903.

A factory service manual along with tips from site members and you should be fine. Or skip the factory service manual altogether.

Is yours a cable operated clutch, or hydraulic?

Jack

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'83 Isuzu P'up Diesel LS - Original Owner
JoeIsuzu@IsuzuPup.com
IsuzuPup.com

Get your flywheel here (80.00 to 90.00 bucks)
http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_odkw=CH ... L&_sacat=0

Get your Clutch Kit here (138.00)
http://www.buyautoparts.com/buynow/1979 ... fgod3XcAgw
or here (64.00 to 93.00)
http://www.rockauto.com/catalog/x,carco ... 8c5t01j4h7

CLYMER CHEVY LUV 1972-1981 SHOP MANUAL A145 (12.00)
http://www.ebay.com/itm/ws/eBayISAPI.dl ... rid=229466

There you go.
Under 250.00 and you did it yourself!

Mike

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I would definitely have your flywheel resurfaced. when i put a clutch in my blazer i almost didnt do it and decided to go ahead just in case. the machinest let me watch as he ground it and it took a lot to get it clean. it looked really true and good but when he started grinding it all the imperfections/variations started to show. it only cost me $35. well worth the few bucks to be done right. it shouldnt be that hard to replace and if you have an extra pair of hands when it comes time to stab the trans then itll make it that much easier. if your good with tools it should only take a couple hours to get it done. it cant be any harder than my 4x4 s10 blazer which had 4 crossmembers in the way, bell housing bolts against the firewall, skid plates, driveshafts, and a really sucky hard to get to y pipe. it was 10 pounds of crap in a 5 pound bag. a 2wd luv should be a walk in the park.

another thing you should do is get the truck as high up in the air as safely possible because you need as much room as possible to work with trans and to have a better working position. it sucks to be on your back trying to reach across a jack to wrestle a transmission opposed to sitting upright.

Mine is a cable operated clutch. I found a clutch kit for about $115.00 online @ JC Whitney. I have never done a clutch before and just needed a play-by-play as to how to do it. Although it is probably a fair price quote from the mechanic that includes parts, it is too much for this kid. Any advance advice would be heeded. Thanks so much for the replies. Ken

you should youtube some s10 or similar small rwd vehicles so that you will be familiar with how the clutch works and to learn the terminology. i havent had to put a clutch in a luv yet so i cant give a accurate step by step. clutches as pretty simple and straight forward. once youve done one you can do just about any. the only real difference between one to the next are torquing and adjustment procedures

A '79 4x4 LUV is an odd duck, it uses the same 8" clutch & matching flywheel as the 2wd models, '80-up 4x4s use a 8.5" clutch & matching flywheel (same one used on 1.9L engines), so if you decide to buy a new flywheel go ahead & get the '80-up 4x4 model & matching clutch.
If you decide to keep your old one resurfacing the flywheel should be around $50. If it is not scored you can break the glaze with a random orbital sander without removing it.
Replace the pilot bearing, just in case.
The big problem with changing the clutch is the non-removable tranny crossmember gets in the way of the t-case when you rotate the tranny as you pull it back UNLESS you take the t-case outer half off first. Even then you have to hoist the rear of the tranny above the crossmember until the input drops free of the engine, then pull the tranny forwards & down until it's on the ground, then reverse the process to reinstall. I can bench press a 2wd tranny in & out, but a 4wd is too heavy, especially with the t-case attached, so plan on getting a helper or a tranny jack or both.
A Chilton's should give enough info to explain the job, but there is a Series 9 FSM on e-bay for $22 right now- be smart & buy it quick!

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'78 Chevy LUV,1.9,4sp,headers,31's,SAS Dana 30,Dana 20,SOA rear w/Aussie Locker, rough body, bought new 12/4/78.
'87 Trooper,2.3,5sp,headers,31's,ball joint flip & spacer,Aussie Locker rear,Superwinch hubs,brush guard w/5.5K winch,more to come.

it took me 7 hours from start to finish on my clutch swap.took my time.write down what bolt goes to what spot.make a drawing of the bolt pattern of the trans and set the bolts in drawn spots.take pics befor hand so you remember what goes to what spot.i did it all by my self.

do not do the eBay thing for the flywheel.i tried for 3 weeks to buy a new/even used one and it turned out after trying half the dealers none of them actually had one in stock.found this all out after Paypal purchase.took a fair amount of time for me to get my money back.

best of luck on finding a flywheel.

I used a square piece of cardboard and just punched holes to store the bolts in, at approximately the same positions they came from. It doesn't have to be perfect, just IN ORDER, starting at the two starter bolts and going around.

Jack

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'83 Isuzu P'up Diesel LS - Original Owner
JoeIsuzu@IsuzuPup.com
IsuzuPup.com

I have don't this countless times, it's cheap and works.

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Certified pilots, looking down on people since 1903.

Is there any torque specs I need to follow? Biggest worry is on the flywheel bolts. Thanks, Ken

69 ft-lbs, hole & bolt clean & dry, threadlocker on the first thread.

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'78 Chevy LUV,1.9,4sp,headers,31's,SAS Dana 30,Dana 20,SOA rear w/Aussie Locker, rough body, bought new 12/4/78.
'87 Trooper,2.3,5sp,headers,31's,ball joint flip & spacer,Aussie Locker rear,Superwinch hubs,brush guard w/5.5K winch,more to come.

Thanks Luv Masta!

This is an online chat with BuyAutoParts.com. They meet or beat any price from competitors. I was pleasantly surprised and wanted to post this on LUVTRUCK.COM

BuyAutoParts
[Javier] Hello, my name is Javier. Welcome to BuyAutoParts.com
[Ken] Hi Javier. I have found a clutch kit at JC Whitney for $114.06. This is less than the same kit your site sells for $128.70. Can you beat that price?
[Javier] Let me check, what is our part number?
[Ken] 52-40305EY
[Javier] Also what is the year make and model so I can look it up on JC Whitneys site?
[Ken] 1979 Chevy LUV Base model.
[Ken] SKU #: JCW-VLE52002203 Mfr #: 52002203
[Javier] I can do $110 for the clutch kit
[Ken] Sweet. I'll take it. I'll also post your reply on LUVTRUCK.com.
[Javier] OK great. Would you like a sales rep to contact you to get that ordered up?
[Ken] This is my first purchase on your site. If that is how it works that would be great.
[Javier] Yes we would have to take the order over the phone since I cant adjust the price to reflect that discount online. Or you can call us at 866-449-7278. Whichever you prefer.

[Javier] Ok Ken ive got Addison calling you. He knows about the deal I gave you and will take care of you. Thank you for letting us earn your business tonight.
[Ken] Thanks Javier! Just ordered.

Wow, a human on the other end of the phone, or was this all online? Looks like this company wants to take care of its customers.

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Certified pilots, looking down on people since 1903.

Might be a dumb question. Is it necessary to disconnect the drive shaft in order to get the transmission into a position to replace the clutch and throw out bearing?
Thanks for any replies.

You will need to unbolt the trans and slide it back enough to get the clutch disc and throw out brearing off the end of the trans input shaft. So the driveshaft will have to be off along with the transmission mounting bolts. You can pull the stick shift off from inside the cab, I think it has 2 small bolts and lifts straight up. Then you should be able to slide the trans back on a floorjack.

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Three Amigos

I took the drive train apart just aft of the spindle bearing. The transmission is free of the drive train and engine, but I am having difficulty getting it to drop. (working on my back). Any suggestions?

I don't know what the "spindle bearing" is, but you're saying the input shaft is completely out of the clutch disc? Is the rear end what's holding it from dropping? If so, did you remove the rear mounting bracket under the tailshaft?

Jack

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'83 Isuzu P'up Diesel LS - Original Owner
JoeIsuzu@IsuzuPup.com
IsuzuPup.com