Clutches are a fairly important part in what makes a car so move. Normally i wouldn't attempt to work on such part, out of fear that i would c*ck it up, and might cost more to put right.

However i'm feeling really bored and brave, so i was wondering.....

How hard is it to replace a clutch ?

once I would have said easy,but, the last clutch I did was on an Alfa, front engine rear gearbox( trans-axle)
I rebuilt the box and fitting the box and clutch was normally straigh forward but this time the clutch wouldnt mate with the bellhousing, then it got dark, then it started to rain and as I lay in the rivulets of water that were running under the car with my cat crouched next to me and an inspection lamp raising steam from my damp overall a tear came to my eyes..yes six foot two..years of hard living and battleing through the nations construction sites and I (nearly) cried.

You didnt want me to answer did you mate....otherwise simple.(and that was an Alfa)

How about a Coupe ?

I've worked on brakes, suspension, exhausts...ect....

But not tried anything like a clutch ?

I've got all the tools, but would i be able to replace it, or shall i take it to a garage ?

Hi

I've done 3 clutches before but all on VW's. It was fairly easy but I needed to remove the hub nut and pull out the ball joint and pull the suspension strut out slightly on one side (passenger), remove and disconnect the drive shafts from the box itself (although you might not need to do this on the coupe). On the VW's there are 6 hexi nuts attaching the drive shaft to the gearbox drive flanges but on the coupe I don't think its that easy! If you pull the shaft out I'm more than sure oil will pour out so be careful! If thats the case your looking at draining the gearbox oil and pulling them out. Alternatively you can remove the hub nuts and lower ball joint on either suspension strut and pull the shafts clear but that will be a major chew on!

Once you've done that you (might) need to drain the coolant - I did on the VW cos there was a metal pipe in the way. You need to support the engine with a jack or similar, and jack the car up on one side otherwise you won't have enough room to remove the gearbox from underneath.
You'll need to remove the bolts attaching the gearbox to the engine block and disconnect the reverse light switch and speedo cable / sensor depending on what you've got as I believe there are two types, gearshift connectors and clutch actuator.


You'll also need to find a way of taking the weight of the gearbox when you pull it out. And on this score the gearbox needs to pulled out horizontally to prevent damage to the input shaft splines - DO NOT LET IT BALANCE ON THE INPUT SHAFT! I fashioned a large round piece of wood with a rope attached to the box and the wood resting on the wings of the car (use towels to prevent nacking your paintwork). My brother got underneath to manouver the box while I took the weight (gearbox's are quite heavy and its a two man job to remove it - don't try it on your otherwise you'll end up in causualty!).

I think thats it for removing the box but I might have left a few steps out! Once removed you need to remove the nuts attaching the clutch to the engine. Now you would probably want to change the oil seal here whilst the box is out cos if it leaks you'll end up having to fit a whole new clutch again. You might also want to replace the clutch release bearing as these go as well (i would strongly advise you do). To fit the clutch you will probably need to use a clutch centralising tool - this makes sure that the input shaft on the gearbox can through the clutch when re-fitting. If the clutch isn't centralised it will be almost impossible to re-fit the gearbox!. You can make your own or buy one from most motor factors for about a fiver. You just fit it through the centre hole in the clutch whilst tightening the nuts up. Once thats all done re-fitting is a reversal of removal.

It is important that you correctly torque the nuts up properly, especially the clutch so use the webtech site to get the specs for this.

Hope I haven't put you off! Give it a go - I'm doing mine in the summer so I'll post a DIY with pics when i do.

Rosco,
sorry for the ramble, it just came back to me...

hopefully someone has done a clutch and can be more specific, I have'nt on a coupe so could'nt presume to know the idiosynchroses of this job

Mjnewton
when you throw a socket ,surely it hits your kneecap?The first elec ignition I fitted gave me such a surprise I put a power bulge in the bonnet

Glynn...hopefully someone will read Aytonkids contribution and point out where the coupe differs.

Ah sod this.....i'm going to the garage