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  #1  
Old 09-18-2010, 08:04 AM
capnfred capnfred is offline
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Talking Clutch replacement 96 xlt 4WD

It was requested by 2001FordRanger that I do a writeup on my clutch job .. so here goes..if anyone has any comments or ideas how it could be done better easier or faster please feel free.

I recently replaced the clutch, throw-out bearing and pilot bearing on my 96 Ranger XLT Automatic 4WD. The pilot bearing had been making some noise for some time, and I knew the job was a PIA so I had been putting it off til the weather moderated some, but my truck had a different idea... one day the clutch stopped engaging. Did some research decided on using the clutch kit from Perfection, it included everything I needed in a matched set. I also used a transmission jack, which made the job much easier. Here is the step by step process I used. Note: before I started this I powerwashed the transmission and associated area.

1. Drove truck up on ramps.
2. Disconnected the ground on the battery
3. Removed the skidplate under the Transmission
4. Unplugged the various connectors on the transmission and the X-fer case
5. Removed the drive shafts, need a torx for the front driveshaft and a 12pt socket for the rear drive shafts. Note: match mark the drive flanges on the transmission, xfer case and differentials with the flanges on the drive shafts as these are balanced as a unit
6. removed the five bolts connecting the X-fer case to the transmission
7. Support the X-fer case with a jack and gently move it to the rear, disengaging the drive spline from the transmission. Lower and remove the X-fer case.
8. Took a break.... it was a hot summer day... had a box fan blowing on me the whole time...
9. From inside the truck I removed the shift lever, lots of screws but not difficult. Once the dust covers are off there are three screws that hold the shift lever into the top of the transmission. Had to lift the carpet to expose some of the screws that held the access plate to the tunnel.
10. Removed the starter motor
11. Remove the dust cover over the lower bell housing
12. unplugged the O2 sensors
13. removed the Y-pipe (lots of PB blaster and time)
14. Took another break (lots of Iced Tea)
15. now for the fun part....
16. Removed the hydraulic line from the slave cyl. Either use the tool that came with the clutch kit, or just using two small flat blade screwdrivers push the white plastic sleeve towards the bell housing while simultaneously pulling the connector from the slave cyl.
17. Placed transmission jack under the transmission
18. Removed the bolts holding the rear transmission mount to the frame
19. Remove the bolts holding the rear transmission mount to the trans.
20. Once the rear mount has been removed from the truck I lowered the engine transmission combination so I could access the connectors on the top of the transmission.
21. Removed the Six bolts attaching the transmission to the engine once I found the ground strap attached to the rear of the left side of the engine (drivers side ). The two top bolts required extensions and a universal socket....

Note: the various manuals said to put a block of wood or jack under the engine, but I discovered that once the weight of the transmission is off the engine, due to the location of the front engine mounts the engine is pretty balanced... but I did leave the jack there anyway.
22. Slide the transmission to the rear disengaging the input shaft from the clutch disc. As you slide the trans. Rearward slowly lower the transmission til it is completely out of the truck....
23. Whew! Took another break...
24. removed the clutch pressure plate, and disc.
25. Removed the flywheel
26. removed the old pilot bearing.... I had to cut mine out with a dremel cuf off wheel.... all that was left of mine was the outer race..
27. Cleaned everything with engine cleaner while it was out...
28. Removed the two bolts holding the slave cyl to the transmission, install the new slave cyl.
Note: while I had the flywheel off I also replaced the rear seal on the engine.
29. Installed the new pilot bearing, replaced the flywheel,
30. Using the supplied tool installed the pressure plate to the flywheel...
31. took a break
32. with one jack under the engine and one under the transmission slid the trans. Forward til the input shaft of the trans. Slid into the clutch disc. This sounds easy but with only one person it took a lot of trial and error til I got it right.... (do not force anything, do not use bolts to pull it in.... once the angle is correct, by that I mean the engine and transmission are aligned in both the x and y axis... it will slide rite in.....if you are off a bit it will not.... also with the trans. In gear you can turn the front shaft a bit to align the splines.... also I removed the large rubber dust cover so I could see the relationship between the engine and trans. I also found that by carefully raising and lowering the trans. I could get it in past all the interfering sheet metal on the body... I did bend one offending flange out of the way...
33. Put in one bolt to hold the engine and transmission together and called it a day.
34. Replaced all the stuff removed in the above steps..... LOL wish it was that easy...
35. Reinstalled the starter, and dust cover..
36. tried to install the y-pipe,,,, could not figure out how to get it back in place....tried all kinds of ideas... did lots of research on the net... read about raising the body from the frame...and finally removed the cross member below the engine... this involved grinding out some large rivets... and unbolting some large bolts.. but it was relatively easy...I replaced the rivets with grade eight hardware (nyloc nuts and washers)....finally installed the y-pipe.
37. Replaced the X-fer case, drive shafts, connected all the goodies...bolted the rear engine mount to the trans. And to the truck, removed the jack from under the engine... and took a break.
38. Replaced the skid plate
39. Connected the clutch hydraulic pipe to the slave cyl... gravity bled the system....
40. Reconnected the ground cable to the rear of the engine
41. Connected the O2 sensors, the ground on the battery and backed the truck down the ramps and out of the driveway...
42. Cleaned all the tools, driveway and put everything away....
43. Drove the truck,,,,, wonderful feeling.
44. Had a drink
45. Done!

Lots of steps,,, but it was worth it!
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  #2  
Old 09-18-2010, 09:16 AM
DrIftKi7Vg DrIftKi7Vg is offline
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Default Re: Clutch replacement 96 xlt 4WD

Should have put pictures up. That would have made this write up even better. Nice write up though
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  #3  
Old 09-18-2010, 09:33 AM
capnfred capnfred is offline
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Default Re: Clutch replacement 96 xlt 4WD

no pics,,,, was busy getting it done.....sorry....
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Old 09-18-2010, 01:42 PM
4evermodding 4evermodding is offline
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Default Re: Clutch replacement 96 xlt 4WD

Nice I like it, and thanks for the writeup, pics are always nice, but hell this is the first writeup for a ranger and I am satisfied with that thanks!
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Old 09-19-2010, 05:10 AM
capnfred capnfred is offline
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Default Re: Clutch replacement 96 xlt 4WD

I'm kinda hoping someone else will comment on some areas, there has to be a better way to get the y-pipe back on.... that was the most frustrating thing...there has to be a "right" way to do it.. so if you have done this before please put up a reply
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  #6  
Old 09-19-2010, 06:21 AM
Fx4wannabe01 Fx4wannabe01 is offline
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Default Re: Clutch replacement 96 xlt 4WD

I got some notes to add to it from the practically dozen times I've dropped RBV trannys...mostly mine. lol. Nice write-up though....I see you're a tea drinker like myself. lol.

  • I like to pull up the carpet/vinyl to remove the trans hump inspection cover after I remove the shifter off the trans. I don't really have a reason other than it's a great spot to have the drop light at to see if you missed any bell housing bolts.
  • Y pipe removal is NOT required for 3.0 trucks, but is required for 4.0 trucks, both the OHV and the SOHC.
  • In regards to stubborn Y-pipe hardware, if it's not the exhaust manifold side, don't worry. You can snap those Y-pipe to cat-pipe bolts and pound out the studs and use 3/8" bolts, lock washers, and nuts. Don't forget that gasket(weather spend $10 at ford or make one with a roll of gasket material). Going this way also makes installation of the Y pipe easier because you don't have 3 more studs to mess with.
  • Exhaust manifold side, be careful. You don't wanna snap those studs in half. Use heat(propane or MAPP gas torch) or TC11 or PBblaster and take your time not to snap. They'll be noisy if they've been on there forever. Upon install, brush on some anti-seize on the studs. This is likely eliminate any snapping issues that may arise the next time that pipe is needed to be dropped.
  • Getting the Y-pipe in isn't too bad. But what's the pain is getting those flanges lined up right with the exhaust manifold studs. On the 4.0 SOHC, the head and bellhousing are fighting for room with the flanges. You gotta go up on the Y-pipe, check your flanges for correct orientation, go up more on the Y-pipe, check flanges again, then eventually the manifold and y-pipe cups are against each other and the flanges are lined up right. Soon as I see threads, I start the nuts. Then bolt the cat-pipe up then go back and fully tighten the manifold nuts.
  • Tightening/loosening those exhaust manifold to y-pipe nuts......extensions and universals are your best friends in the world!!
  • Newer trucks(01+ for sure, possibly older) require an E12 socket to remove the flywheel for resurfacing or replacement. E12 is an External Torx socket....it's a female version of the common torx bit screwdrivers. If you work on more of the engine like I've done in the past, it's worth the investment in a set of External Torx sockets
  • Having a helping hand is GREAT for installing the trans. I got pretty good at doing it myself but this last time, I called for help. I was pooped. lol.
  • If you do have a helping hand on tightening bolts or even if you don't, go back a week later or so and confirm all bolts are still tight.
  • Synthetic ATF in your M5od trans really helps the smoothness of the shifts. Ever since my first drop during year 1 of ownership, I've kept it Synthetic and immediately noticed when I was too broke for synthetic and went for dino oil on the last trans drop.


Something to note: This is all based on my experience with 98+ a-arm trucks. I've no experience with I-beam '97 and older trucks. It is possible my notes on the Y-pipe are different on I-beamers.

Hope I helped!
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Last edited by Fx4wannabe01; 09-19-2010 at 06:25 AM.
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  #7  
Old 09-20-2010, 05:41 AM
capnfred capnfred is offline
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Default Re: Clutch replacement 96 xlt 4WD

I tried to leave the Y-pipe on, but could not get the trans past it...even had the tranny out of the clutch.....no matter how much wiggling and moving I could not get it back in..so I resorted to sugery.... like I said it sounds drastic, but in retrospect it was not all that difficult... the hardest part was getting the torque rod back on the cross member. took a bit of prying and pushing,, but it sure made getting the y-pipe back on....the other thing that I learned the hard way was a little braided ground cable from the back of the cyl. head to the firewall that prevented the engine and transmisision from being lowered enough to get the top bolts out of bell housing....once I figured that out I could lower the combo enough to get at those bolts. Thanks for the comments
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Old 02-10-2013, 07:47 AM
4x4ranger99 4x4ranger99 is offline
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Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by capnfred View Post
I tried to leave the Y-pipe on, but could not get the trans past it...even had the tranny out of the clutch.....no matter how much wiggling and moving I could not get it back in..so I resorted to sugery.... like I said it sounds drastic, but in retrospect it was not all that difficult... the hardest part was getting the torque rod back on the cross member. took a bit of prying and pushing,, but it sure made getting the y-pipe back on....the other thing that I learned the hard way was a little braided ground cable from the back of the cyl. head to the firewall that prevented the engine and transmisision from being lowered enough to get the top bolts out of bell housing....once I figured that out I could lower the combo enough to get at those bolts. Thanks for the comments
I got my trans out without taking the y-pipe off but it's a major pain. You have to rotate it so that the transfer case is pointing downward and then slide it back and then down. Taking the y pipe off after that was easy but putting it back in after the tranny was difficult. I wish there was a better way!
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  #9  
Old 02-10-2013, 03:32 PM
Prages Prages is offline
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Default Re: Clutch replacement 96 xlt 4WD

When I replaced my clutch a few years ago by pulling the transmission, I loosened the Y pipe at the exhaust manifolds, but didn't have to pull it completely out.

I just replaced it again a couple of months ago, but I was replacing the engine, so I had the engine all the way out this time, and the transmission stayed in the truck.
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  #10  
Old 03-24-2017, 09:51 AM
wasatchmtnbike wasatchmtnbike is offline
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Default Re: Clutch replacement 96 xlt 4WD

I did my 96 xl ext cab 4x4 w/ 3.0 last weekend. A couple of things that might be of help to others. I printed out CapnFred's list and kept it with me, it helped out a lot. I jacked up all 4 and put it on stands so I had room to move underneath, made it almost fun! I made my own jack adapter for my 3 ton out of 2x6 and 2x4s, I'll post a picture if I can, worked great. A 3 ton floor jack was the only thing that would reach high enough, found a craftsman at a yard sale for $35. To temporarily hold the tranmission and xfer case I used a ratcheting tie down strap from one side of the frame to the other and underneath the xfer case, this allowed more room to work underneath until I was ready to unbolt the transmission, worked well. Separated the xfer case from the transmission and brought it down on my chest and rolled it to the side, not bad. I really tried without removing the Y-pipe, couldn't make it work, I unbolted under the manifold and after the two cat converters. Came out pretty easily, wouldn't try it without swivel socket adapters and extensions to reach the bolts under the manifold. Unbolting the transmission from the engine wasn't bad at all, for the top two bolts I cleared a bit of space from above on the back side of the motor to give me room to work and laid a heavy old blanket on top of the engine so I could lay on top of the engine, the only tool that I found that would work in doing it from on top was a gearwrench ratcheting flex-head combo wrench. Worked great, had both bolts out in about 5 minutes. (Well worth the investment. Got mine from NAPA on sale a few years ago.) My pilot bearing was totally gone!!! No wonders I had problems! Had my sons help me get the transmission to connect, one son was slightly moving the crankshaft pulley from the front and my other son helped me wiggle it in. The Y-pipe was a pain until I raised the transmission about 1 inch higher then it went in just fine. Good luck! It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be.

Last edited by wasatchmtnbike; 04-07-2017 at 10:44 AM. Reason: update
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