8 1/2" or 9 1/4" clutch

Searched the forum and got zippo. :?
Just started having the ol shudder(sometimes violent) when driving off from a stop and figured it's time for a clutch. If I baby it it won't shudder. Never tore into it, worked great when I bought the cj five years ago and it just started to show problems. Can the trans mount cause the problem? I put in new motor mounts two years ago. I did go catfishing in a creek last year ,can you say stuck, with the jeep R) , and discovered water had been trapped in the bellhousing for about a week years of deer lease dirt and oil blocked the drain hole, maybe the flywheel surface is pitted.

The real question is! Can I upgrade to the later model 9.5"clutch without a flywheel change? Where's the best deal on a clutch kit? :hurrican: Oh yeah it's a '56 Cj5 with a :hurrican:

 

The 9 1/4" was a heavy duty swap listed in the service manual.

 

I went to the 9 1/4 clutch when I had my '60 CJ5 with the F134 and T90 - about a decade ago. The swap was really easy. The 9 1/4 clutch cover had a bigger bolt pattern, but a local machine shop fixed that for $25 (it was over 10 years ago - you'll probably pay a bit more now). I'd reccomend it to anyone that's replacing the clutch, especially if you've ported out the head and block becuase the mighty F134 can overwhelm the stock clutch fairly easily if you unclog it and make it breathe.

 

There's a thread about this from a few months ago - I didn't find it - maybe you can. Somebody had the F4 flywheel with a single bolt ring, and there was some discussion about later flywheels with double bolt rings.