And by clutch fluid I mean DOT 3 brake fluid.
Is this necessary? No. The clutch as a sealed system that seldom needs the fluid changed. In fact there's no mention of it in the FSM. Your master/slave cylinders are more likely to wear out before the fluid goes bad. It's interesting because typically you will find the master and the slave cylinder sold together as a sealed system with fluid already in it. That does not mean you can't change the individual parts though.
I however was on a fluid-changing frenzy when I did this so I figured I would try and tackle this fluid swap anyways.
There is technically a bleeder on the slave cylinder. This bleeder is also about as useful as the Italians were to their allies in WWII. In other words, pay no mind to it
You'll be manually removing fluid from the reservoir.
Step 1. On the left side of the transmission locate the slave cylinder and remove the two 13mm nuts holding it to the bell housing. This applies to all years and models with any manual transmission.
Be careful while removing it. The line is plastic and while mine wasn't brittle, it wouldn't be hard to break. Don't let it hang down, there are places you can set the slave when you're not holding it.
Step 2. Remove the cap from the clutch master cylinder. Make sure to remove the rubber boot from the reservoir if it is not attached to the cap. Clean thoroughly and set aside.
Step 3. Grab something like a turkey baster (DON'T let your wife catch you), an empty seal-able bottle, and suck all of the fluid out of the master cylinder. Dispose of said fluid into bottle. Here's a couple shots of my fluid, and while it was clean, it wasn't clear. I noticed some sediment in the bottom of the reservoir as well.
Step 4. Once you've removed as much fluid as possible, use something like a microfiber cloth or an old tshirt and thoroughly clean out the inside of the reservoir. I like old tshirts because they don't seem to leave fibers behind. Your reservoir should now look something like this.
Once clean, fill the reservoir to the fill line with fluid. Do not overfill, otherwise you'll pump brake fluid all over the place during this process. Ask me how I know.
Step 5. Go back down under the jeep and tilt your slave cylinder at a 45 degree angle, with the line facing up. Slowly pump the slave cylinder 20 times by hand. This in not hard to do.
If your reservoir is above the fill line, every time you push in on the slave, it will force fluid over the edge of the reservoir from being overfilled. So again, make sure you're only filling it to the line.
Repeat steps 3-5 three times. Every time you push in on the slave cylinder, it is forcing old fluid up and out of the line into the reservoir.
Step 6. At this point, since you've just finished pumping the slave cylinder for the last time, go ahead and reinstall it to the bell housing. Make sure that the piston sits in the designated groove on the clutch fork. Once you have the nuts started on the slave cylinder studs, use those to compress the piston as you tighten them. This will be much easier than trying to compress the slave cylinder by hand and trying to tighten the nuts at the same time.
Step 7. Empty the reservoir one final time, clean thoroughly, and fill with brake fluid to the fill mark. Your finished product will look like this both in the reservoir and in the line all the way to the slave cylinder.
Reinstall the rubber boot into the master cylinder cap, and reinstall the cap on the master cylinder. Take a test drive by making sure all fluid collected is properly disposed of at your local auto parts store. You should be done!
Step 8. And for the love of God, thoroughly clean and return that turkey baster before your wife finds out!
Is this necessary? No. The clutch as a sealed system that seldom needs the fluid changed. In fact there's no mention of it in the FSM. Your master/slave cylinders are more likely to wear out before the fluid goes bad. It's interesting because typically you will find the master and the slave cylinder sold together as a sealed system with fluid already in it. That does not mean you can't change the individual parts though.
I however was on a fluid-changing frenzy when I did this so I figured I would try and tackle this fluid swap anyways.
There is technically a bleeder on the slave cylinder. This bleeder is also about as useful as the Italians were to their allies in WWII. In other words, pay no mind to it
You'll be manually removing fluid from the reservoir.Step 1. On the left side of the transmission locate the slave cylinder and remove the two 13mm nuts holding it to the bell housing. This applies to all years and models with any manual transmission.
Be careful while removing it. The line is plastic and while mine wasn't brittle, it wouldn't be hard to break. Don't let it hang down, there are places you can set the slave when you're not holding it.
Step 2. Remove the cap from the clutch master cylinder. Make sure to remove the rubber boot from the reservoir if it is not attached to the cap. Clean thoroughly and set aside.
Step 3. Grab something like a turkey baster (DON'T let your wife catch you), an empty seal-able bottle, and suck all of the fluid out of the master cylinder. Dispose of said fluid into bottle. Here's a couple shots of my fluid, and while it was clean, it wasn't clear. I noticed some sediment in the bottom of the reservoir as well.
Step 4. Once you've removed as much fluid as possible, use something like a microfiber cloth or an old tshirt and thoroughly clean out the inside of the reservoir. I like old tshirts because they don't seem to leave fibers behind. Your reservoir should now look something like this.
Once clean, fill the reservoir to the fill line with fluid. Do not overfill, otherwise you'll pump brake fluid all over the place during this process. Ask me how I know.
Step 5. Go back down under the jeep and tilt your slave cylinder at a 45 degree angle, with the line facing up. Slowly pump the slave cylinder 20 times by hand. This in not hard to do.
If your reservoir is above the fill line, every time you push in on the slave, it will force fluid over the edge of the reservoir from being overfilled. So again, make sure you're only filling it to the line.
Repeat steps 3-5 three times. Every time you push in on the slave cylinder, it is forcing old fluid up and out of the line into the reservoir.
Step 6. At this point, since you've just finished pumping the slave cylinder for the last time, go ahead and reinstall it to the bell housing. Make sure that the piston sits in the designated groove on the clutch fork. Once you have the nuts started on the slave cylinder studs, use those to compress the piston as you tighten them. This will be much easier than trying to compress the slave cylinder by hand and trying to tighten the nuts at the same time.
Step 7. Empty the reservoir one final time, clean thoroughly, and fill with brake fluid to the fill mark. Your finished product will look like this both in the reservoir and in the line all the way to the slave cylinder.
Reinstall the rubber boot into the master cylinder cap, and reinstall the cap on the master cylinder. Take a test drive by making sure all fluid collected is properly disposed of at your local auto parts store. You should be done!
Step 8. And for the love of God, thoroughly clean and return that turkey baster before your wife finds out!
He’s still here!!