You guys got any clutch linkage tips?

Pulling out my clutch cable in a few hours to replace it and hopefully get a real life working clutch. Then I'm gonna have my brother drag my old jeep to the end of my driveway and give me a good push in his GMC Jimmy. I'm dropping the clutch and I wanna see it start up. There it plenty of spark, so If it dosn't start, I need to rebuild the carb huh? I figure there could of been gas left in the carb which turned to wax over 15 years? Anyways, for the clutch, I've seen chain linkages with sprockets and all kinds of things, but chains have to line up perfectly and stuff, so I was just gonna replace it with a good old cable. Safe bet? What do you think? What do you guys run? Also, anything I should know before removing my old cable? Its snapped at the pedal, so thats all set. The other end on the clutch looks like there is just a clip you pull out with a set of needle nosed pliers, then the cable comes loose and you can remove it. Nothing is ever as simple as it seems tho, so just wondering if I could get some insight from someone who has done it.

 

And sorry guys, one more question. I havn't been able to get my jeep to turn over, thats why I am gonna try to pop the clutch. Its got spark, and it gives an occasional "broom" when I turn the key, like it wants to catch, but it just won't. I just remebered that when trouble shooting the ignition, I bypassed the ballast resistor by just tieing the two wires together. This wouldn't be the problem, right? It's my understanding that the ballast restistor just reduces voltage from 12V to 9V in order to keep stuff from burning up. I don't think bypassing the ballast resistor would interfere with just trying to turn over the engine for a few seconds.

 

Before you try to push start it, think of this....If it's not starting, there's a reason. If you can turn the engine with the key but it won't start, I'd find the reason first.

Have you tried a SMALL squirt of staring fluid? If it takes off with a small squirt, then you probably have a fuel problem. If it does what it has been doing, then probably electrical. A small squirt goes a long ways, and do not try to run the engine on the stuff for very long.

It's easy to get excited about driving the Jeep for the first time, but it is far better to be certain about some things than to jump right in. We've all been there, so you're in good company! Think it through, ask questions, try things, but don't brute force it. Hang in there, you'll get it soon.

 

on the clutch chain...it doesnt have to be aligned perfectly. stick it back there and eyeball it. when the pedal goes down, it pulls the chain, and the chain pulls the fork. no rocket science. the are relocatable incase you need to move it for something else. if i had to list the mods in order of best to worse, it would be a toss up between HEI and the AA clutch chain. maybe the chain alittle above the HEI, but not much. i had a notch in my rod and it would hang up when i let the clutch out. then when pressure over come the resistance, it would jump and spin the back tires. in 4x4 low, it would jerk my neck REAL bad. once i put the chain on, it was smooooooth.
i will never go back to cable. just my opinion.

 

Where do I squirt the starting fluid? In the carb? And can I buy the clutch chain at an autozone or do I have to order it from a jeep catalog?

 

Yes, in the carb. Remove the air cleaner, open up the choke a bit, spray a dose into the top of the carb, get out of the way R), and start 'er up.

The cable is a very simple install/uninstall, with those clips that anchor the housing in. Warning tho, a slightly misaligned clutch fork will snap/destroy a cable with one push. 4WD hardware or Krage has the cable; Advance Adapters has the chain conversion kit (prolly others).

 

the AA clutch chain is originally from advance adapters, but i think there are other distributors like herm the OD guy..he might be a dist for AA now. when i bought mine it was $99. i shelled it out then and would pay 2x as much now that i know how well it works.

 

Your only other option that I know of is the AA swinging pedal/hydraulic clutch conversion kit. It's spendy and the MC won't work with disc brakes but it's an awesome setup.

 

Novak has a hydraulic set up also. I used it with a Wrangler master. Also make sure your TB & pressure plate are set up correctly. Read this at offroad.com - http://bbs.off-road.com/ubbthreads/...rowout+bearing&topic=&Search=true#Post1419337.