Should I replace my flywheel?

On my '89 I have the tranny out to replace some gears, and I figured I'll change the clutch while I'm at it. I've heard that I should replace the flywheel whenever the clutch is changed. How important is this? My budget is low so I don't want to change the flywheel unless it's really a good idea to do so.

You don't need a new flywheel you should however have it resurfaced. About $40 at your friendly local machine shop.

You don't need a new flywheel you should however have it resurfaced. About $40 at your friendly local machine shop.

Yep. I got mine done for like $35 at Napa.

i'm not even resurfacing mine, just takin the sharp edges off with a die grinder and a rollock(sp?) surfacer. by the way, do all 2.3 motors use the same flywheel? if so i may have wasted a half hour's worth of effort today =\

Resurfacing is definately the cheaper way to go but if you're hard on clutches, I was going thru 2 a year, the flywheel will only take so many resurface jobs. I talked to a guy from Ram awhile back about the short clutch life I was experiencing. Even though I was getting the flywheel (Ram) resurfaced everytime, each new clutch didn't last as long as the previous one. He couldn't give me a minimum thickness but told me that even though there is material there, they should only be resurfaced 3-4 times and then replaced. Mine had been done maybe 8 times.

I thought I should get it resurfaced but then the only shop that i could find that would do it recommended that it shouldn't be done because it would wear the flywheel too thin. I guess I'll do some more callin around.

Well like some1 said if a flywheel is old enough and had it done enough times it should be traded for a new one.

Thanks everyone. I got it done at Pep Boys for $35.