93-05 Ford Ranger Clutch 3

 This is the last page for the job titled " How to replace the clutch set on 1993-2005 Ford Ranger 2wd pick-ups",  if you landed in this page while surfing the web and you would like to see this job from the start click here.

                        Previous page  

 Once the transmission has been removed, the next step is to remove the bolts that hold the clutch pressure plate to the flywheel, loosen these bolts gradually and evenly, once they are all loose, remove the lower bolts first, hold the pressure plate against the flywheel with one hand and remove the remaining bolts with the other hand, using one hand in each side remove the clutch and pressure plate at the same time.

 In this particular truck the clutch slave cylinder ( seen in picture ) doesn't have any leaks and it works fine, the owner chose to leave it alone, however, this is the perfect time to replace the clutch slave cylinder/release bearing as an unit due to the amount of work involved to get to it, if you chose to replace the clutch release bearing only, remove the retaining ring as shown in the image.

 Once the metal ring has been removed, pull the clutch release bearing out.

 Remove the spring from the old clutch release bearing and install it on the new one, the new release bearing should ha a small coat of grease on the inside where it slides in and out as the clutch is operated, if it didn't come pre-lubricated apply a light coat of synthetic grease or equivalent prior to install it on the clutch slave cylinder, install the new retaining ring provided with the clutch set. 

 Apply a very light coat of synthetic grease to the splines on the transmission input shaft as shown in the image, to make sure that you didn't apply too much grease that could ruin the clutch disc,go over the splines with a shop  towel to wipe the exess grease off.

 It is absolutely necessary to have the flywheel machined prior to installing a new clutch because as the clutch disc wears out, it makes small grooves on the flywheel that would cause the new disc to fail sooner than normal, sometimes the flywheels develop small cracks due to heat, or they can be glazed due to excessive friction.

Remove the bolts that hold the flywheel to the crankshaft, you may have to use a pry-bar between the teeth on the flywheel and the engine block to keep it from turning as you loosen the bolts.

 Using a pilot bearing removal tool, remove the clutch pilot bearing as shown in the image. 

Once the pilot bearing has been removed proceed to remove the flywheel, if it is stuck to the crankshaft use two of the bolts you just removed to thread them in to the extra holes on the flywheel for easy removal, as you thread the bolts in evenly the flywheel will come out. Make sure that you are holding the flywheel with one hand at all times to avoid dropping it on the ground.

 Install the new clutch pilot bearing on the crankshaft using a socket the same diameter as the outer edge of the bearing, hold the socket with one hand as you tap it with a hammer with the other hand.

 In this particular truck the owner chose to install a new fly-wheel assembly instead of having his old one re-surfaced by a machine shop.

The bolts need to be tightened in a criss-cross pattern to avoid warping the crankshaft flange, tighten the bolts in two steps, first tighten them to 34 Ft-lbs, and second and last step tighten them to 54-64 Ft-lbs ( 3.0 L engines ).

 Clean the flywheel with brake cleaner to eliminate any contaminants that could cause the clutch disc to slip and cause premature damage. 

 Make sure that you install the clutch disc facing the correct way, the flat surface faces the flywheel and the part that has all the springs faces the clutch pressure plate as shown in the image.

 Clean the surface that makes contact with the clutch disc on the pressure plate with brake cleaner prior to installation.

 The pressure plate needs to be tightened in several steps in a criss cross pattern to prevent distorting the cover, after all the bolts are snug tighten them to 24 Ft-lbs ( 3.0 L engine )

IMPORTANT NOTE: On 1997 and later models, the OEM clutch pressure plate has an adjustment ring that needs to be adjusted before installation, the new clutch set you purchased should come with instructions about how to adjust it properly, if it didn't come with instructions you can use these steps as a general guideline:

1- Place the flywheel and the new clutch pressure plate on a suitable press to all the fingers on the pressure plate down.

2- Rotate the adjusting ring integrated within the pressure plate to the extreme counterclockwise position until the springs on the adjuster ring are fully compressed.

3- Hold the adjuster ring in position while releasing the tension on the pressure plate fingers slowly, the clutch pressure plate is now adjusted and ready for installation.

Install the remaining items in the reverse order they were removed, unless a new clutch slave cylinder was installed there shouldn't be a need to bleed the system.

- The easiest way to add new oil to the transmission is to do it through the shifter cavity before this part is installed back on the transmission, remove the plug located on the side of the transmission that indicates the correct fluid level, add new oil from the top of the transmission and once it starts to come out of the fluid level plug cavity proceed to install the plug back on the transmission. ( This particular transmission requires MERCON automatic transmission fluid)

 Finish installing the remaining components and lower the truck to the ground, and take it for a test drive, if everything was done correctly the clutch should work properly without any problems.