So I recently completed swapping my internal slave cylinder set up to an external slave cylinder set
up. There was some great information about this swap on the forum but I had to go to a lot of
different threads to collect all the information I needed. I hope that this write up will consolidate all that
for the next guy who wants to do this swap! Lots of pics to give some visualization also.
Parts:
Internal bearing retainer
![Image]()
Bearing retainer removed
![Image]()
External bearing retainer
![Image]()
Both side by side with Internal bearing retainer left and External bearing retainer right
![Image]()
The new internals that sit on the new bearing retainer. Left is the clutch fork, center is the throw out
bearing/clutch release bearing, top right is the plastic ball and nut that connects it to the bellhousing
and just to the left of that is the clip that holds the fork to the ball. This ball is made out of a dense
plastic, the rest of the parts are metal.
![Image]()
More side by sides
Bellhousing: Internal left, External right
![Image]()
Throw out bearing/Clutch release bearing: Internal left, External right
![Image]()
Slave cylinder: Internal left, External right
![Image]()
Here is a picture of the bellhousing internals once it is all ready to be put back in
![Image]()
So i recommend disconnecting the battery since you will need to disconnect the starter and a few
other electrical components. First is to disconnect your clutch line and the electrical connections and
vacuum lines that connect to the transmission and transfer case. You will need to take off the
driveshafts front and rear. You will disconnect and remove the starter and CPS. Also remove the
shifter covers from the interior and the shifter levers themselves.
You then need to drop the transmission and transfer case. They can be removed seperately or
together as one unit. I removed them seperately as I was resealing my transfer case while I was
under there. I recommend draining them of their fluids first. I used a transmission jack under the
tranny and then removed the skid plate. Unbolt all of the bolts holding the transmission to the engine.
there are 2 large bolts on the bottom, 3 small bolts on the front of the dust plate, and 4 main bolts that
actually bolt to the engine, of these 4 bolts there are 2 medium bolts near the top of the bellhousing
and one large bolt on either side. I chose to disconnect these while on the jack because it can be
difficult to unbolt these top 2 bolts due to clearance issues. So I lowered the transmission a few
inches and had better access.
Now you should be able to slide the tranny back and lower it down and slide it out from under the
Jeep. Now the easy part, take off that accordian style POS internal slave and throw it far far away!
Next unbolt the bellhousing, then the bearing retainer. Make sure the transmission and new external
bearing retainer is cleaned of old silicone/gasket material. Throw a bead of RTV on there and bolt
down the new retainer. Put on the new bellhousing, attach the throw out bearing to the shift fork and
the shift fork to the ball via the clip. Everything should slide back and forth smoothly. You're now
ready to throw the tranny back in. Putting it back in is basically the opposite of taking it out. The new
slave cylnder i saved for last since it hangs off the side I didn't want to knock it off while reinstalling
the tranny.
Once everything is reconnected you need to connect the old master to the new slave. Your old slave
line will not work. There are several options, they sell fully prebled kits with master and slave. I'm not
100 percent sure what this entales but they were more expensive so i opted for an alternative route. I
know some places online sell the 94-95 clutch line for around $30 or so. The method I chose was
given to me by bigredcherokee in his thread
http://www.jeepforum.com/forum/f12/...m/forum/f12/ax-15-internal-external-slave-cylinder-clutch-line-write-up-592098/.
I will not go into much detail here as you can click on his link and get a great deal of info on this clutch line.
And thanks to bigredcherokee for that write up. I recommend calling AA and oredering the kit to ensure you
get the correct master cyinder fitting for a YJ. So connect your master to your slave and bleed the system
and you should be ready to go.
Some tips.
There are usually dowel rods on the engine that help line the transmission back up.
My clutch had been replaed recently with the motor swap so I did not change the clutch out. From
what I have found the disk and pressure plate between the two types of slave set ups are the same
so there is no need to change your clutch and pressure plate HOWEVER if your components are old
you might as well change them while the transmission is down and out of the Jeep.
The last tip goes for your pilot bearing/bushing also. This one I learned the hard way but thats
another story. Just make sure you change it out with the correct diameter pilot bushing for you
application.
If I think of anything else I will edit or add it.
Hope this helps some of you out!
As always comments and questions are welcome!
:cheers2:
up. There was some great information about this swap on the forum but I had to go to a lot of
different threads to collect all the information I needed. I hope that this write up will consolidate all that
for the next guy who wants to do this swap! Lots of pics to give some visualization also.
Parts:
Internal bearing retainer
Bearing retainer removed
External bearing retainer
Both side by side with Internal bearing retainer left and External bearing retainer right
The new internals that sit on the new bearing retainer. Left is the clutch fork, center is the throw out
bearing/clutch release bearing, top right is the plastic ball and nut that connects it to the bellhousing
and just to the left of that is the clip that holds the fork to the ball. This ball is made out of a dense
plastic, the rest of the parts are metal.
More side by sides
Bellhousing: Internal left, External right
Throw out bearing/Clutch release bearing: Internal left, External right
Slave cylinder: Internal left, External right
Here is a picture of the bellhousing internals once it is all ready to be put back in
So i recommend disconnecting the battery since you will need to disconnect the starter and a few
other electrical components. First is to disconnect your clutch line and the electrical connections and
vacuum lines that connect to the transmission and transfer case. You will need to take off the
driveshafts front and rear. You will disconnect and remove the starter and CPS. Also remove the
shifter covers from the interior and the shifter levers themselves.
You then need to drop the transmission and transfer case. They can be removed seperately or
together as one unit. I removed them seperately as I was resealing my transfer case while I was
under there. I recommend draining them of their fluids first. I used a transmission jack under the
tranny and then removed the skid plate. Unbolt all of the bolts holding the transmission to the engine.
there are 2 large bolts on the bottom, 3 small bolts on the front of the dust plate, and 4 main bolts that
actually bolt to the engine, of these 4 bolts there are 2 medium bolts near the top of the bellhousing
and one large bolt on either side. I chose to disconnect these while on the jack because it can be
difficult to unbolt these top 2 bolts due to clearance issues. So I lowered the transmission a few
inches and had better access.
Now you should be able to slide the tranny back and lower it down and slide it out from under the
Jeep. Now the easy part, take off that accordian style POS internal slave and throw it far far away!
Next unbolt the bellhousing, then the bearing retainer. Make sure the transmission and new external
bearing retainer is cleaned of old silicone/gasket material. Throw a bead of RTV on there and bolt
down the new retainer. Put on the new bellhousing, attach the throw out bearing to the shift fork and
the shift fork to the ball via the clip. Everything should slide back and forth smoothly. You're now
ready to throw the tranny back in. Putting it back in is basically the opposite of taking it out. The new
slave cylnder i saved for last since it hangs off the side I didn't want to knock it off while reinstalling
the tranny.
Once everything is reconnected you need to connect the old master to the new slave. Your old slave
line will not work. There are several options, they sell fully prebled kits with master and slave. I'm not
100 percent sure what this entales but they were more expensive so i opted for an alternative route. I
know some places online sell the 94-95 clutch line for around $30 or so. The method I chose was
given to me by bigredcherokee in his thread
http://www.jeepforum.com/forum/f12/...m/forum/f12/ax-15-internal-external-slave-cylinder-clutch-line-write-up-592098/.
I will not go into much detail here as you can click on his link and get a great deal of info on this clutch line.
And thanks to bigredcherokee for that write up. I recommend calling AA and oredering the kit to ensure you
get the correct master cyinder fitting for a YJ. So connect your master to your slave and bleed the system
and you should be ready to go.
Some tips.
There are usually dowel rods on the engine that help line the transmission back up.
My clutch had been replaed recently with the motor swap so I did not change the clutch out. From
what I have found the disk and pressure plate between the two types of slave set ups are the same
so there is no need to change your clutch and pressure plate HOWEVER if your components are old
you might as well change them while the transmission is down and out of the Jeep.
The last tip goes for your pilot bearing/bushing also. This one I learned the hard way but thats
another story. Just make sure you change it out with the correct diameter pilot bushing for you
application.
If I think of anything else I will edit or add it.
Hope this helps some of you out!
As always comments and questions are welcome!
:cheers2:
