Clutch replacement - questions for those who have done it themselves
12-27-2006, 08:05 AM
#1
Clutch replacement - questions for those who have done it themselves
Hey all,
I was looking that MOTORVATE's clutch replacement how-to. It seems that I'll need to remove both drive axles, cv boots, just to remove the tranny. I have never done this kind of work before but I'm curious as to how long it'll take me if I do decide to go this alone.
Here is his write-up to remove the tranny:
- Remove the battery, air filter, mass air flow (MAF) sensor and everything else up to the throttle body.
- Drain the gear oil from the transmission.
- Remove the starter, speedometer sensor, clutch slave cylinder, front exhaust, and crankshaft position sensor.
- Disconnect the gear position switch, and ground wire on the transmission.
- Remove the crankshaft position sensor, and BOTH drive axles.
- Support the front of the engine, and remove the front and rear motor mount as one piece.
- carefully remove the transmission mount.
- Remove all transmission bolts except for one at the top. Crawl under the car, remove the last bolt, and carefully lower the transmission on to your chest.
- follow steps for clutch removal and installation
What worries me is the removal of the drive axles. I have never taken one off but I'm curious, how long will all this will take I really only have evenings and I don't want to frack things up and make them worse by working on a cold car.
How long will all this take me?
I was looking that MOTORVATE's clutch replacement how-to. It seems that I'll need to remove both drive axles, cv boots, just to remove the tranny. I have never done this kind of work before but I'm curious as to how long it'll take me if I do decide to go this alone.
Here is his write-up to remove the tranny:
- Remove the battery, air filter, mass air flow (MAF) sensor and everything else up to the throttle body.
- Drain the gear oil from the transmission.
- Remove the starter, speedometer sensor, clutch slave cylinder, front exhaust, and crankshaft position sensor.
- Disconnect the gear position switch, and ground wire on the transmission.
- Remove the crankshaft position sensor, and BOTH drive axles.
- Support the front of the engine, and remove the front and rear motor mount as one piece.
- carefully remove the transmission mount.
- Remove all transmission bolts except for one at the top. Crawl under the car, remove the last bolt, and carefully lower the transmission on to your chest.
- follow steps for clutch removal and installation
What worries me is the removal of the drive axles. I have never taken one off but I'm curious, how long will all this will take I really only have evenings and I don't want to frack things up and make them worse by working on a cold car.
How long will all this take me?
12-27-2006, 10:09 AM
#4
Senior Member
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: Pullman, WA
Posts: 486
Yeah I did it for the first time with a guy helping me who had done other clutches before but not Nissan. It took us probably about 12 hours divided up over 4 nights. If we had done it in a solid day it probably would have been about 10. We also replaced the CV boots while the axles were out so that was another hour or so.
Really IMO the toughest part was disconnecting the exhaust as the bolts were all well rusted. Everything else went pretty smoothly. Make sure you have all your parts before hand, (especially GL-4 transmission oil 95% chance you won't find it in any store so it must be ordered online)
Really IMO the toughest part was disconnecting the exhaust as the bolts were all well rusted. Everything else went pretty smoothly. Make sure you have all your parts before hand, (especially GL-4 transmission oil 95% chance you won't find it in any store so it must be ordered online)
12-27-2006, 11:27 AM
#5
I've taken it on and off so many times that i could do this in 4 hours at this point. If you've never done it, i think its safe to say it will probably take you ten. It isnt that difficult, just takes time and just do everything in reverse of dissasembly. I've converted with a friend an auto to 5spd and that took us about 15-20hrs straight during a weekend and this is far easier.
There is no need to remove the two motor mounts, just the tranny mount. You can unscrew it after you take your battery out. I wouldn't even touch the two mounts on the cross member. If you want, you could loosen the crossmember to lower it a bit, but I didnt find it necessary. Just make sure you jack the car high enough and put it on jack stands. The first time I did it, I used a jack to lower the tranny, but honestly thats just a waste of time. Just lay underneath and drop the tranny on your chest. Its only a bit over 100 lbs, so if you can lift a plate on a bench press, you won't have a problem. Everything else you said before sounds right. Remove everything under hood (intake, etc), then wheels, axles. That bracket on the passenger side axle could be a pain but you could always unscrew the whole bracket. Drain the gear oil first, unless you want it to pour out when you take out the axles. Axles are not hart to get out, just sort of push in and yank them out. If the boots are torn on your axles, this would be a good time to take care of that (autzone?). Also, I did not touch my exhaust at all, but I do have an aftermarket ypipe, so maybe that gave me some extra room. Either way, have plenty of patience, good amount of extensions, a torque wrench, some of those extension pieces that will let you go at bolts on an angle and just take your time. Good luck.
There is no need to remove the two motor mounts, just the tranny mount. You can unscrew it after you take your battery out. I wouldn't even touch the two mounts on the cross member. If you want, you could loosen the crossmember to lower it a bit, but I didnt find it necessary. Just make sure you jack the car high enough and put it on jack stands. The first time I did it, I used a jack to lower the tranny, but honestly thats just a waste of time. Just lay underneath and drop the tranny on your chest. Its only a bit over 100 lbs, so if you can lift a plate on a bench press, you won't have a problem. Everything else you said before sounds right. Remove everything under hood (intake, etc), then wheels, axles. That bracket on the passenger side axle could be a pain but you could always unscrew the whole bracket. Drain the gear oil first, unless you want it to pour out when you take out the axles. Axles are not hart to get out, just sort of push in and yank them out. If the boots are torn on your axles, this would be a good time to take care of that (autzone?). Also, I did not touch my exhaust at all, but I do have an aftermarket ypipe, so maybe that gave me some extra room. Either way, have plenty of patience, good amount of extensions, a torque wrench, some of those extension pieces that will let you go at bolts on an angle and just take your time. Good luck.
12-27-2006, 12:55 PM
#9
Not sure, but if I were you I would do it myself and save 400 bucks or so of labor, as it isn't that hard. A shop should be able to do it in 4 hrs, though dont expect yourself to be able to, especially if you never did it before.
12-27-2006, 01:11 PM
#10
agreed on the 4hr job of disassembly. You could prob do it faster w/proper experience and tools. It's pretty much straightforward. When u take the bolts off that mate the tranny to the engine, remember where the bolts go (some are short, some long). It'll save hassle when u reinstall.
I didn't remove any exhaust part
I removed the crossbar, but left the mounts.
And yeah, u don't need a jack... You can either bench press it as stated above (i'm 130lbs and could do it) or go from above and grab the hole where the starter goes.
Jae
I didn't remove any exhaust part
I removed the crossbar, but left the mounts.
And yeah, u don't need a jack... You can either bench press it as stated above (i'm 130lbs and could do it) or go from above and grab the hole where the starter goes.
Jae
12-27-2006, 01:19 PM
#11
Uhh, yeah don't count on getting the tranny out safely using just muscle. It's hard to hold, pointy in some places, and your arms will be very bent (poor leverage). I know I'm weak, but it's just not worth breaking bones to find out you're as weak as me.
I used a bar across the engine bay and a ratcheting winch strap ($10) to support the tranny both in/out. Wrap the strap exactly around the seam in the tranny housings and it will balance on just the strap.
Replacing the axle boots is a PITA. Aside from saving an alignment, it's not a big deal to wait until later. Changing just the boots is messy, very messy, and there are more Fun Things and frustrations to learn when you get into them. When you decide the boots are getting too old, I recommend just getting a rebuilt axle for raxles.com.
Dave
I used a bar across the engine bay and a ratcheting winch strap ($10) to support the tranny both in/out. Wrap the strap exactly around the seam in the tranny housings and it will balance on just the strap.
Replacing the axle boots is a PITA. Aside from saving an alignment, it's not a big deal to wait until later. Changing just the boots is messy, very messy, and there are more Fun Things and frustrations to learn when you get into them. When you decide the boots are getting too old, I recommend just getting a rebuilt axle for raxles.com.
Dave
12-28-2006, 07:33 AM
#14
Honda Convert!
Join Date: Oct 2001
Location: Columbia, Maryland
Posts: 1,497
Originally Posted by Fork
Hey all,
I was looking that MOTORVATE's clutch replacement how-to. It seems that I'll need to remove both drive axles, cv boots, just to remove the tranny. I have never done this kind of work before but I'm curious as to how long it'll take me if I do decide to go this alone.
Here is his write-up to remove the tranny:
- Remove the battery, air filter, mass air flow (MAF) sensor and everything else up to the throttle body.
- Drain the gear oil from the transmission.
- Remove the starter, speedometer sensor, clutch slave cylinder, front exhaust, and crankshaft position sensor. You Dont ahve to remove the exhaust!! no need.
- Disconnect the gear position switch, and ground wire on the transmission.
- Remove the crankshaft position sensor, and BOTH drive axles. For the drive shafts/axles you will need a 36mm socket for the castle nuts on the outer end of the drive shafts, also the three bolts the hold the middle of the passenger side axle can be a pain, but I have found using a gear wrench has worked great since you dont have a lot of room to work. Best Idea would be to soak the bolts with some type of wd-40 or penetrating lube and that should help when you go to break them loose and really once that is all done all you have to do is yank on the shafts, dont pull from the cv, actually grab the shaft and give it a few hard pulls and they should pull right out, they are a little heavy so be careful not to drop them cause if you mess up the threads you are going to have to buy new onces cause you will never get the nut back on the end, and be careful on installing that you dont cross thread the nut either. Also use a rubber mallet to help force the cv back into place by holding the cv joint inline with the shaft and then gently tap the end and you should feel the clip set into place, you may hear a click but chances are you wont, to check to make sure it is seated properly from underneath the tranny look up where the axle goes into the tranny and make sure there are no gaps where the seal meets the tranny, also pull a little on the axle away from the tranny just to see if it feels locked in, if it falls out then you did not seat it all the way, the passenger side is much easier cause all you do is slap it in and put the three bolts in the support bracket and that will get it in there right.
- Support the front of the engine, and remove the front and rear motor mount as one piece.
- carefully remove the transmission mount.
- Remove all transmission bolts except for one at the top. Crawl under the car, remove the last bolt, and carefully lower the transmission on to your chest. This is ok but the tranny does weigh about 75 to 80 lbs and it may be too heavy for you,my suggestion is to put a rolling jack underneath it, and from the top remove the last bolt and then carefully pry the tranny away from the motor, sometimes it sticks so you may have to pry a little from the top and some from the bottom as well. Once you break it loose carefully pull it straight back towards the drivers fender and you will then clear the input shaft and be able to lower it down and out the side of the drivers fender well.
- follow steps for clutch removal and installation
What worries me is the removal of the drive axles. I have never taken one off but I'm curious, how long will all this will take I really only have evenings and I don't want to frack things up and make them worse by working on a cold car. You wont do anything to the parts if they are cold, just inspect the cv boot and make sure you dont rip, tear or break the boot in anyway!! Otherwise its time for replacement!
How long will all this take me?
I was looking that MOTORVATE's clutch replacement how-to. It seems that I'll need to remove both drive axles, cv boots, just to remove the tranny. I have never done this kind of work before but I'm curious as to how long it'll take me if I do decide to go this alone.
Here is his write-up to remove the tranny:
- Remove the battery, air filter, mass air flow (MAF) sensor and everything else up to the throttle body.
- Drain the gear oil from the transmission.
- Remove the starter, speedometer sensor, clutch slave cylinder, front exhaust, and crankshaft position sensor. You Dont ahve to remove the exhaust!! no need.
- Disconnect the gear position switch, and ground wire on the transmission.
- Remove the crankshaft position sensor, and BOTH drive axles. For the drive shafts/axles you will need a 36mm socket for the castle nuts on the outer end of the drive shafts, also the three bolts the hold the middle of the passenger side axle can be a pain, but I have found using a gear wrench has worked great since you dont have a lot of room to work. Best Idea would be to soak the bolts with some type of wd-40 or penetrating lube and that should help when you go to break them loose and really once that is all done all you have to do is yank on the shafts, dont pull from the cv, actually grab the shaft and give it a few hard pulls and they should pull right out, they are a little heavy so be careful not to drop them cause if you mess up the threads you are going to have to buy new onces cause you will never get the nut back on the end, and be careful on installing that you dont cross thread the nut either. Also use a rubber mallet to help force the cv back into place by holding the cv joint inline with the shaft and then gently tap the end and you should feel the clip set into place, you may hear a click but chances are you wont, to check to make sure it is seated properly from underneath the tranny look up where the axle goes into the tranny and make sure there are no gaps where the seal meets the tranny, also pull a little on the axle away from the tranny just to see if it feels locked in, if it falls out then you did not seat it all the way, the passenger side is much easier cause all you do is slap it in and put the three bolts in the support bracket and that will get it in there right.
- Support the front of the engine, and remove the front and rear motor mount as one piece.
- carefully remove the transmission mount.
- Remove all transmission bolts except for one at the top. Crawl under the car, remove the last bolt, and carefully lower the transmission on to your chest. This is ok but the tranny does weigh about 75 to 80 lbs and it may be too heavy for you,my suggestion is to put a rolling jack underneath it, and from the top remove the last bolt and then carefully pry the tranny away from the motor, sometimes it sticks so you may have to pry a little from the top and some from the bottom as well. Once you break it loose carefully pull it straight back towards the drivers fender and you will then clear the input shaft and be able to lower it down and out the side of the drivers fender well.
- follow steps for clutch removal and installation
What worries me is the removal of the drive axles. I have never taken one off but I'm curious, how long will all this will take I really only have evenings and I don't want to frack things up and make them worse by working on a cold car. You wont do anything to the parts if they are cold, just inspect the cv boot and make sure you dont rip, tear or break the boot in anyway!! Otherwise its time for replacement!
How long will all this take me?
12-28-2006, 07:46 AM
#15
Originally Posted by papasmurf
For complete removal of both cv's shouldnt take you any longer than 1 hour, if it does something has gone really wrong.
If it's your first time doing a job like this, and you don't have air tools or lots of fancy stuff, and these parts have never been disassembled before and are rusted fast, it's not going to take an hour.
Dave
12-28-2006, 07:58 AM
#16
Honda Convert!
Join Date: Oct 2001
Location: Columbia, Maryland
Posts: 1,497
Originally Posted by dgeesaman
Blanket statements like this really smell of ignorance.
If it's your first time doing a job like this, and you don't have air tools or lots of fancy stuff, and these parts have never been disassembled before and are rusted fast, it's not going to take an hour.
Dave
If it's your first time doing a job like this, and you don't have air tools or lots of fancy stuff, and these parts have never been disassembled before and are rusted fast, it's not going to take an hour.
Dave
Originally Posted by dgeesaman
Blanket statements like this really smell of ignorance.
And may I add Fork,
I am sorry for hijacking your thread to argue with ignorant people about something that is unnecessary. Had he not made his comment this would have been left alone and you could have just judged it yourself and gone on with the job, and let us know how long it took you.
12-28-2006, 09:16 AM
#17
Removing both axles is unneccessary, only the driver's side axle needs to be removed to pull the transmission out of the car.
The transmission weighs 109lbs and you will NOT be able to support it by yourself unless you are one of those scandanavian strong men you see pulling semi trucks on ESPN late at night. The awkward positioning of it and your arms makes it impossible - don't try it, you may end up crushing your head, chest, arm, or at least dropping the transmission which is less than ideal.
Papasmurf how's Nightrider doing? Has he beaten any R1s with his bolt on 15 second auto max recently?
The transmission weighs 109lbs and you will NOT be able to support it by yourself unless you are one of those scandanavian strong men you see pulling semi trucks on ESPN late at night. The awkward positioning of it and your arms makes it impossible - don't try it, you may end up crushing your head, chest, arm, or at least dropping the transmission which is less than ideal.
Papasmurf how's Nightrider doing? Has he beaten any R1s with his bolt on 15 second auto max recently?
12-28-2006, 10:11 AM
#18
Honda Convert!
Join Date: Oct 2001
Location: Columbia, Maryland
Posts: 1,497
Originally Posted by Nealoc187
Removing both axles is unneccessary, only the driver's side axle needs to be removed to pull the transmission out of the car.
The transmission weighs 109lbs and you will NOT be able to support it by yourself unless you are one of those scandanavian strong men you see pulling semi trucks on ESPN late at night. The awkward positioning of it and your arms makes it impossible - don't try it, you may end up crushing your head, chest, arm, or at least dropping the transmission which is less than ideal.
Papasmurf how's Nightrider doing? Has he beaten any R1s with his bolt on 15 second auto max recently?
The transmission weighs 109lbs and you will NOT be able to support it by yourself unless you are one of those scandanavian strong men you see pulling semi trucks on ESPN late at night. The awkward positioning of it and your arms makes it impossible - don't try it, you may end up crushing your head, chest, arm, or at least dropping the transmission which is less than ideal.
Papasmurf how's Nightrider doing? Has he beaten any R1s with his bolt on 15 second auto max recently?
Anyway you always make good points and have a great bit of knowledge and I will admit when I am wrong or have not included something in my post, and your right. Doing it by hand is not a great idea. I have actually done the drop it on my chest but I wouldnt advise it for most. But you are right you dont have to pull the other axle but I find it is easier to get it out of the way and one less thing to try to align while your putting the tranny back in. Anyway, how are things, hopefully all is good with you and the fam... how was your christmas. Anyway I will catch you later.Back to work...ha thats funny...
12-28-2006, 01:49 PM
#19
Originally Posted by papasmurf
It may take you longer than an hour, if it does then you have obviously run into some difficult bolts or some other form of issues with removal. Does that make you feel better, since you feel my perivous statement smelled of ignorance.
It's not a job that a first-timer should attempt 90minutes before they need to use the car to get to work. If you've done this before, already have the right tools on hand, and know the routine it's a one-hour job, tops.
Dave
12-28-2006, 01:58 PM
#20
Honda Convert!
Join Date: Oct 2001
Location: Columbia, Maryland
Posts: 1,497
Originally Posted by dgeesaman
Yep, that's pretty much my point. Thanks.
It's not a job that a first-timer should attempt 90minutes before they need to use the car to get to work. If you've done this before, already have the right tools on hand, and know the routine it's a one-hour job, tops.
Dave
It's not a job that a first-timer should attempt 90minutes before they need to use the car to get to work. If you've done this before, already have the right tools on hand, and know the routine it's a one-hour job, tops.
Dave
Bruce
12-28-2006, 10:41 PM
#24
Originally Posted by Nealoc187
Removing both axles is unneccessary, only the driver's side axle needs to be removed to pull the transmission out of the car.
Jae
12-28-2006, 10:43 PM
#25
Originally Posted by shiftnatredline
so were all of you guys using hand tools and it took that long?? i work in a shop so i have access to all the airtools and stuff.. think it'd still take 4-6hours to get out/in with air?
Jae
12-29-2006, 02:37 PM
#27
Originally Posted by used parts
make sure you take a wizz wheel or sandpaper and clean up the mating surface between engine and trans while you are there. This is supposedly why lotsa of people having starting problems.
The above should not be overlooked!
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