clutch replacement issues

[decolores9]

2000 Ranger 2.5L 2WD 5-speed

Just replaced the clutch and slave, what a job! lol

1. There is a whitish gray piece of braided cloth material that appears to be a heat shield. It was near the exhaust manifold/cat pipe area. It may have been on the wiring to the O2 sensor or the rubber hose that mates into a pipe near there. Anyway, it more or less fell off when I took out the transmission. I tried to slide it back on, but it won't stay. The edges looked frayed and I am wonder if there is a piece missing, or mice nibbled it, or something. My questions are:
a. where does this piece really go?
b. How is it supposed to be retained?
c. Is it a problem to just leave it off?

2. On the test drive, I noticed a smell, sort of like a burning brake fluid or burning plastic smell. It seemed to diminish as I drove it more. I did spill some brake fluid around the clutch reservoir, but also put BreakFree and Kroil on the manifold to cat pipe bolts when trying to get this loose. My best guess is that it's the Kroil or brake fluid burning off, but are there other things I should be looking for? Could it be related to the currently missing heat shield.

3. The pilot bearing should be pushed in to the stop in the crankshaft, correct? The new one is the same size as the original, but it seems to be further into the recess than I remember the original one being. Should I have only pushed it in enough to be flush the flange, and left a recess at the back? If so, will pushing it into the stop cause a problem?

Thanks for your help!

 

[Campbell5149]

1) thats just a heat wrap on the o2 harness, no big deal just make sure youve got an air gap between the harness and exhaust.

2) you will smell the fluid burning off as a result of the exhaust heating up the spilled fluid. no biggie.

3) the pilot bearing should be flush with the crank. not recessed. you probably pushed it in too far. shouldnt be a huge deal as long as the pilot shaft slides into it some, it'll still serve its purpose

 

[decolores9]

1) thats just a heat wrap on the o2 harness, no big deal just make sure youve got an air gap between the harness and exhaust.

2) you will smell the fluid burning off as a result of the exhaust heating up the spilled fluid. no biggie.

3) the pilot bearing should be flush with the crank. not recessed. you probably pushed it in too far. shouldnt be a huge deal as long as the pilot shaft slides into it some, it'll still serve its purpose

Thanks for the help. I'll check to verify the air space, wait for the fluid to burn off, and live with the pilot bearing issue. I think it went in less than 1/8" deeper, so the shaft should still be mostly engaged in the bearing. Thanks, I really, really did not want to redo this job!

Thanks.

 

[Campbell5149]

no problem bud