Driveway Clutch job tips
This is not a DIY but more of a supplement to other ‘incomplete’ DIY or just another guys perspective.
It is 100% doable. I had several people tell me no way or I was going to be miserable and its not that bad.
Time:
With another mechanically inclined buddy it took me 20 hours. Bear in mind I went at a reasonable pace, took food breaks, was working on my back, and I am OCD about my car so I triple checked every single bolt.
Absolutely Need:
-Another person, preferably skilled
-You will definitely need some tall jackstands. The standard jackstands you see in the back will be fine but they will be maxed out… so I do not recommend that. Get the big ones I have for at least the front. (**The negative rake will actually make it easier to uninstall and install trans. )Those are 24 inch stands and I was nowhere near that and was comfortable enough to do this. Athough, 6 inches higher would have been ideal.
-Make sure you have all your tools. Obviously your torx and e torx, range of ratchets, connectors, extensions, breaker bar, sockets, deep sockets, wrenches, etc. This common stuff should be standard for a transmission job.
Uncommon Stuff:
-An impact gun would make bolt removal easy but is absolutely not necessary. I bought what was supposed to be a heavy duty 300ft/lb ryobi and it did absolutely nothing. A breaker bar will go a long way and will give you a better feel of the bolts.
-T60 (its needed for the flywheel bolts.
-E18 – needed for the long aluminum trans bolts (my replacements from ECS were T16 not sure why)
-22mm wrench for 02 sensor – No, you do not need an o2 ‘special tool’
-Extra long extension. I prefer one long one (1-2 ft) then multiple small ones. All with knobbly ends (the one where each end gives you about 10-20 deg wiggle) – this is needed to reach around from the back of the transmission to the top bolts that connect the trans to the block.
-Zipties
-brake cleaner for flywheel and pressure plate
-Buy new long replacement bellhousing bolts (x5 +1 medium one)
-Buy flywheel bolts (x8)
-Buy new pressure plate bolts (x6)’
All of mine seemed like new and I believe I could have easily reused them but why bother. Trust me you will not want to do this again, unless you have to. Do it right the first time. The bolts were not very expensive.
On to the job:
******Follow the HPF n54 clutch youtube video. It is basically 95% complete. Watch it twice before you start and have it guide you. The guys explain it very well and make the job very easy.
Before removal take pictures of the way the undercarriage cover brackets, and transmission wiring/02 sensor brackets are installed. Take a picture of the slave cylinder. Seems simple but after a long job the last thing you want is spending extra time figuring exactly what position those couple things go in.
Hiccups/Process:
- The HPF video is a little confusing because he adds in talk about bolts you do not remove. To keep it simple: The very top of the trans will have 2 bolts you must remove. One is an e12 located just slightly left of dead center. The second is an e14, located just about dead center. The e12 is easiest to remove with a super long extension coming from the back of the trans. The e14 I did both ways, with a swivel ratchet and coming from the back of trans with super long extension. I spent hours fidgeting with these before I had a buddy suggest a long extension.
-Place a block of wood between oil pan and sway bar. Since my front was lifted higher than the rear the engine did not tilt as forward as expected right away, but when left overnight it was sitting tight on that 2x4 block. (don’t over think it) just any size 2x4 that will keep the oil pan spaced from any other metal.
- Place a jack ½ inch under the trans during removal – after you tilt is counterclockwise be prepared to wiggle – a lot.
- You DO NOT need a special flywheel locking tool so you can loose/torque pressure plate and flywheel bolts. Simply grab the crankshaft at the front of the engine with a deep socket and fit a slender breaker bar and have your buddy hold it in place while you take the bots off and on.
-Don’t forget Loctite (red is recommended) – just 1 drop
- I only have 28k miles so I kept the original throwout bearing (this one only because after market was plastic) and pilot bearing (I read its quite difficult to get out…once again I only have 28 miles, not worried about these bearings.) If you have more than 50k I would suggest you replace both. Find a DIY for the pilot bearing. (It might require a bearing puller/dremmel.)
-***If your engine tilts forward after you unbolt the trans and remove it, you will have to use another block of wood (as the first one is stuck) and find another spot and slowly jack it up and tilt it back to the original position. There should be a max of 3-4 inches between top of sway bar and oil pan at this point (this should be sweet spot to get trans back in) there should be no need to go over 5.”
-No need to remove guibo – you’re just giving yourself extra work.
-One of the shifter assembly clips gave me a hard time for well over 30 minutes. Take your time. Pop the back part back of the shifter assembly into the groove; it should make putting the clips in the front much easier.
Here’s a bunch of pics!
Good luck fellas.
-Hokejka
CLUTCH/FLYWHEEL review (Spec 2+ and factory SMFW)
Clutch:
The pedal feel is much improved. I felt as if the stock pedal feel was way too soft and was nto linear. It seemed even softer in the section the clutch actually grabbed. IMO this is much better and feel is much more linear and overall a little stiffer. I do not like a very easy/soft clutch, (its hard to control). The people complaining about the spec being 'too stiff' or 'hurting their leg' are being ridiculous. It is not stiff in anyway. Drive a jeep. My girl drives 6mt jeep full time and has never complained about the clutch and its at least 2x as stiff as the spec. I am very happy with it.
-mile 30 - grabbiness is just about stock.
Flywheel
- revs climb higher faster. Rev matching is perfect. Flywheel is perfect for my style of shifting/driving. Was not happy with stock DMFW.
- my car sounds like a tractor with the A/C on. With A/C offf chatters a tiny bit. I can imagine where people would get annoyed with this one. It does not bother me. If I could chose I would rather it be quiet but knowing what performance and reliability benefits I get from a SMFW I am completely content. I might raise the idle to 900rpm. That seems to be the sweet spot to eliminate chatter during idle. While revving the chatter is intermittent to about 1500-1700rpm and then goes away. Once again chatter is a tiny price to pay for the fact that I can hold 600lb/ft of torque reliably.
FIRST POST: Looks like I will be changing my clutch and flywheel in the driveway. I can't find a lift. I refuse to let anyone else do it for me, let alone $$$ when I am very capable of doing a lot myself.
I don't foresee the need for any special tools?
Beside getting the car as high as possible. Any advice?