My clutch is worn out, can I replace it at home?

The answer to the above question is yes.  You can definitely replace your worn out clutch on your vehicle at home.  The process is a little time consuming, but with the right patience it will help save you a costly bill.

In order to repair your clutch, we must first understand what is involved in your clutch system.  First this article will discuss how to replace and reinstall a clutch on a rear wheel drive vehicle, the principles and procedures are similar on front wheel drive, but they are still different.  Next this article will be describing how to replace a worn out clutch due to high mileage.  If you have had clutch failure besides high mileage wear and tear then you will need to locate the problem and fix that before reinstalling your new parts.  Last this article will discuss how to replace your clutch disc, pressure plate, throw out bearing, and resurface or replace your flywheel.  The procedure will be using a cable style clutch instead of a hydraulic clutch for the instructions.  If you have a hydraulic clutch consult your service manual for more detailed instructions.

The Procedure           

1. You will need to park your vehicle in a location where it will be able to sit for a day or two.  I would recommend inside your garage in case it rains.
2. Next before jacking your vehicle up you will want to get inside the driver’s seat.  You will want to remove the shift knob, boot, and the plastic that holds this in place.
3. Now you will hopefully be able to get under your vehicle without it being jacked up, but if not then jack up and place on stands.  If you can though I would recommend taking an impact wrench with the proper impact socket and removing the bolts holding the drive shaft onto the rear end.  If you do not have an impact then this 1/2″ Heavy Duty Impact Wrench and this 13 Pc. Impact Socket Set will work for standard sized bolts.  I recommend removing these bolts with the wheels on the ground so that the driveshaft does not want to spin.
4. Once you have the drive shaft removed set it aside and out of the way.  You will want to take a jack and jack the front and the back of the vehicle as high as you can and place them on jack stands.  The higher you can get your vehicle jacked up and placed on jack stands the easier the task will be.  If you need a jack and jack stands, this 2 1/2 Ton Service Jack and 2 sets of these 3 ton Jack Stands will work wonders.
5. Now you will want to locate your transmission cross member.  This should be located towards the middle of your transmission.  You will want to remove the bolts on the cross member using the proper socket and ratchet.  If you do not have the proper socket and ratchet, this 47 Pc. 3/8″ Dr. 6pt Socket Set should work.
6. Once you have the cross member bolts removed set them aside.  You will then want to take your 2 1/2 Ton Service Jack and place a wood block on it, or you can use a transmission jack if you have one.  If you do not have a transmission jack and would like one, this Transmission Jack by ATD is a good one to have.  Either take your regular jack with a block of wood or your transmission jack and place it under the middle of the transmission.
7. Get a friend to help you.  Have them hold the jack and transmission while you remove the bolts holding the transmission onto the bell housing.  Once you have the bolts removed you will want to slowly slide the input shaft out of the clutch and lower the jack.  Then place the transmission off to the side making sure it is level, or it will leak transmission fluid.
8. After moving the transmission out of the way you will want to remove the side cover on your bell housing and remove the clutch cable.
9. Now the next part is the most difficult part of the entire procedure.  You will need to remove the bell housing bolts.  The ones up top are difficult to get at, and you will need to get Extensions and a Universal Joint.  You can start by removing the lower easier access bolts.  Then move onto the tougher ones, you may need to use a couple extensions and move your ratchet around to figure out how to get the bolts out.  I found that the combination of the extensions and a universal joint work well.  Just take your time and if you get frustrated take a break.
10. After removing all of the bolts from the bell housing you can remove the housing and set this aside.  Inside your housing are the clutch fork and the throw out bearing.  You will want to remove the old bearing and replace it with a new one.  Make sure to follow the procedures in the clutch kit on installing the bearing.
11. You will then see the pressure plate, the clutch disc, and the flywheel.  You will want to start by removing the bolts on the pressure plate, do so in a star shaped pattern to allow even removal.  Set the old pressure plate and clutch disc aside.
12. Now you will want to take a marker and mark your location on your flywheel.  I would mark the teeth on the outside with the block so you have a mark to reinstall it correctly on.  This may through the engine out of balance if you do not.
13. To remove your flywheel after you have marked it you will want to take the impact wrench and socket and remove the nut holding it on.
14. You will then need to get the correct puller to remove the flywheel.  This puller will work for most vehicles, the ATD Tools 3041 .  Use the puller to remove the flywheel.
15. You will then want to either get your flywheel resurfaced, or replace it, depending on your application and the condition of your flywheel.
16. Now you will want to reinstall your flywheel.  Make sure to align the alignment marks you made earlier.
17. Install the nut making sure to properly torque the bolt using a torque wrench.  If you do not have a torque wrench this 1/2″ Dr. 25-250 ft/lb. will work.
18. You will then want to install your clutch disc.  Make sure to put the alignment tool in after sliding the disc on.  This will prevent the disc from moving when installing the pressure plate.
19. Take your new pressure plate and install that in place with the alignment tool still in.  Tighten down the bolts in a star shaped pattern.  Make sure to torque the bolts to the proper level.
20. Now take your bell housing with your clutch fork and new throw out bearing installed inside and bolt back on.  Remember to tighten the bolts down and torque them.
21. Again you will want to ask for your friends help.  First you will want to put some grease on your input shaft of the transmission.  You will then want to put your transmission on the jack and lift it up to the level of the where the input shaft should slide in.  Remove the alignment tool.  Now slide your transmissions input shaft in making sure to get the shifter lever inside the vehicle.
22. Make sure to have your transmission even with the holes on the bell housing.  Then install the bolts, being careful to not damage the threads.  Properly torque the bolts
23. Next reinstall the transmission cross member and properly torque down those bolts.
24. Then you will want to take and grease the splines on your driveshaft that goes into the transmission output.  Then slide your driveshaft in place.  Then tighten the bolts down on the rear end securing the driveshaft.  If you can torque them with the wheels up feel free to do so, if not you will want to lower the vehicle and torque the bolts.  If you have to lower the vehicle wait till after the next step.
25. Before lowering your vehicle you will want to drain your old transmission fluid.  You will need a drain pan such as this Lisle 4.5 Gallon Drain Pan to catch the fluid.  Then you will want to locate the proper transmission fluid and the amount.  Putting the wrong amount and type of transmission fluid in will cause severe damage to the transmission.  Reinstall your drain plug before filling with transmission fluid.  Install the proper amount of fluid.
26. Reinstall your clutch cable, and properly adjust it to match the specifications stated in the service manual.
27. Now lower your vehicle to the ground.  Torque the driveshaft bolts if need be.
28. Finally take your vehicle out and test your new clutch.  You will want to break your new clutch in.  To do so put a load on the vehicle by driving in a high gear at low speeds, or by driving uphill.  Just read what that clutch says to do to break it in.  Now think about the money that you just saved.

Written by: Cody Mammenga an NDSCS Student

Tags: clutch, clutch replacement, extensions, flywheel, manual transmission, pressur plate, removing clutch, removing flywheel, removing pressure plate, replacing clutch, replacing flywheel, replacing pressure plate, replacing throw out bearing, shifting, sockets, swivels, throw out bearing, Tools

This entry was posted on Monday, October 26th, 2009 at 3:57 pm and is filed under Frequently asked questions. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.