I figured I'd share my experience installing the JWT clutch/flywheel. It was done during the week of Thanksgiving. Steve, and others who have also done this, please feel free to give your input as well.

A few of us got in on a group buy and got a discounted rate. This was talked about in the following Threads:
Clutch Upgrade Thread
JWT Clutch/Flywheel Group Buy

After 20 hrs of work (not all on the clutch) it's done. I did the work all by myself (including dropping the tranny/TC) and I didn't rush anything. I also hit some of the components with a couple coats of POR-15 to combat the rust. If I was to do it again, it'd probably take me around 10 hrs.

NOTE: I was definitely glad that I have a body lift when it came time to do this work. It left me with a lot more room than I would have had otherwise.

The biggest PITA is the f'n exhaust. Ever since my Gibson got ripped off in a mud hole, I've been running the stock one. Needless to say, it didn't do well with the New England road salt, not to mention my X has been sitting for the last 3 months with a blown clutch. I spent about an hour trying to loosen all the bolts and then said f it and broke out the torches. 5 minutes later, my exhaust was laying on the ground. I recommend taking off ALL the exhaust including 3 of the cats (driver side primary can stay).

I had troubles getting my x-members to drop out due to the rash underneath from sliding on rocks. 5 lb. hammer helped me there. Driveshafts came out no problem as the dealer just had them out about 10 months ago to do the u-joints.

I then used a transmission jack and an ATV jack to lower the transmission and T/C as one unit. It's much easier to do the wiring harness on the transmission when it's leaning down. The breather hoses can be unhooked then, too.

The easiest part of this job was replacing the clutch. I was lucky and already had the Torx drive that I needed. It's the same one used to remove the bed on my Ranger. I picked up a set of them (6 in all) for $15 at the local hardware store about a month ago.

I was suprised at the multi-part flywheel that comes stock. It seems like there's more room for failure there. My stock flywheel and clutch cover are in good condition and cleaned up pretty well with emery cloth. I will be keeping them in case I blow another clutch. lol.

Putting everything back together was a breeze. When re-installing the exhaust, I torched out all of the studs and drilled them all out so that it was possible to bolt the entire exhaust together with standard stainless bolts, nuts, and washers. It'll be a heck of a lot easier to remove it next time

I am very happy with the performance of the new unit. The clutch is a little softer than I'm used to and will take some adjustment on my part. Time will tell how this setup will hand off-road abuse.

OK, got a lot of my pics, but not all of them. My memory card is corrupted. Luckily the IT guy here at work could help me out. The pics from after the install were not recoverable

Enjoy~

My poor, motionless, X, close to stock suspension height (for a dealer visit and inspection)


AC Shackles Removed:


Shifter Boot/Surround Removed:


Rusty and Muddy...


Old Clutch:








Other Images:







New Clutch:





For all that ordered the kit and didn't get the alignment tool (and plan on installing it yourselves), here is where I ordered one for only $10:

http://www.clutchtools.com/index.php?productID=39774

Thanks again to OregonX for pointing me in the right direction.

Overall, the clutch seems to be very good. You can definitely tell that there's a lighter flywheel as the engine revs and decelerates much quicker than before. This took some getting used-to, but I'm used to it now so it's all good

Bobby, nice write up. Still, a lot of work to go around to get it done, but you did it yourself. The right way,

Good work.

Great post, you got nice project there and it seems all at good work. I think I need to do this in my car too but I need to look at the Nissan parts for more more upgrades.