What is involved in replacing a clutch?

Summary:

Jaden explains that the shop always installs a complete clutch kit rather than individual pieces. He lists what a kit includes: a new pressure plate, clutch disc, throwout bearing, and pilot bearing. He then addresses a design change on newer vehicles, where the slave cylinder is internal, mounted inside the bell housing of the transmission rather than externally. His firm recommendation is to replace an internal slave cylinder while the transmission is already out, because the labor required to go back in and replace it afterward is substantial. He notes that many current clutch kits designed for these applications already include the new internal slave cylinder. The underlying logic is that the access cost dominates the part cost, so anything inside the bell housing should be addressed during a job that already requires removing the transmission.

Answer:

So when you replace the clutch, you always do a clutch kit. The clutch kit comes with a new pressure plate, clutch disc, throwout bearing, and pilot bearing. Some of the newer ones have an internal slave cylinder, meaning that the slave cylinder is inside the bell housing of the transmission, and I always recommend replacing those while you're there, because it's a lot of work to go in there afterwards and replace it. But a lot of clutch kits nowadays that have internal slave cylinders will come with the new slave cylinder. That's the way we approach the whole job. If it's inside the bell housing and we already have the transmission out to get to the clutch, that's the time to deal with it. Going back in later to replace one part means doing all of that same work over again, and there's no reason to put a customer through that when the kit already has the part in the box.