'97 flywheel, what clutch ?

[vbrad511]

I'm getting ready to do the clutch in my Ranger. 4.0, 4wd. I'm seeing a 6 bolt flywheel, and an 8 bolt flywheel. Which should my truck have? Any way to tell without tearing it down?
I'm also not sure which clutch to get...LUK, or SACHS.
Thoughts on these?

 

[adsm08]

97 should still be the 6-bolt. Officially the 8-bolt didn't start until 98.

I'd get the LUK clutch.

 

[RangerFabWorks]

Not to disrespect adsm08 at all. But The quality of LUK clutches has severely gone down hill over the last few years. I’ve been replacing more of them then any other clutch lately. I’ve used them on several cars. And they just don’t last. And always engage super high.

I’d recommend exedy. Check on rock auto. They usually sell a exedy clutch for not too much more then the luk or Sachs

If exedy is not an option. I’d choose Sachs personally.

 

[vbrad511]

I ended up with an Exedy. Install went just fine. I will say the pedal isn't near as stiff as the clutch I took out, but all seems just fine so far. Thanks all.

 

[RangerFabWorks]

glad it worked out for you. pedal will stiffen a tad after the break in period. give her some time. no power shifting for 500 miles

 

[adsm08]

Not to disrespect adsm08 at all. But The quality of LUK clutches has severely gone down hill over the last few years. I’ve been replacing more of them then any other clutch lately. I’ve used them on several cars. And they just don’t last. And always engage super high.

I’d recommend exedy. Check on rock auto. They usually sell a exedy clutch for not too much more then the luk or Sachs

If exedy is not an option. I’d choose Sachs personally.

No disrespect taken man. Except for the ceramic puck clutch I put in the Ranger after exploding my old one (quite literally) I have not bought a clutch in almost seven years, so if the decline started any time after that I would be unaware of it. And I'm not real happy with the ceramic one. It works fine, but took almost 500 miles to break in and get that "green clutch" shudder to go away, and now I have to choose between a luggy low RPM launch, or having the clutch scream like a banshee. It is getting replaced as soon as I have time to rebuild my transmission, which is 100% happening the next time it is out.

 

[RangerFabWorks]

I despise puck style clutches almost as much as volkswagens.

 

[vbrad511]

Thinking about it, I do have another question. The old throwout bearing had the imprint of the fingers from the pressure plate. They're pretty pronounced. Is that normal? Does the bearing normally ride the pressure plate full time? It looks like it'd bee there, with constant pressure for a long time. It all worked just fine, just got to slipping a bit, especially in higher gears. Guess I'm just used to the old-school Chevy's where the bearing didn't make contact until the pedal came down a bit.