DIY Clutch Replacement

[gravitylover]

^^Very well done

[Hags86]

Thanks the OP, this helped a lot.

I found that I needed to remove less stuff. For me at least

- removing the boot and pin from the shifter selector was easier from below the car.
- starter motor does not need to be removed from car (electrical connections can stay - just push it out of the way.
- only 4 bolts need to be removed from the rear cradle ( 4 outside bolts attaching the cradle to the transmission tunnel).
- I only removed the front pipe from the exhaust and the front half of driveshaft.

Took me about three hours working on stands (no hoist) working by myself (I already had the car on stands and the undertray off and did not include time to re-install undertray). I needed a buddy to help re-install the transmission but did the rest myself. I'd say 4 hours including getting it up on stands and removing/replacing the undertray.

[ermax]

So I did my TOB this weekend. Here are some notes from my experience.

I read the service manual, the DIY from the OP of this thread and followed this video:
[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZhjIXU5GRcc"]How I pull an FRS/BRZ/GT86 Transmission in 20 mins! - YouTube[/ame]

I mostly followed the video but with these differences.

1: You don't see him disconnecting the main harness, speed sensor or reverse sensor, and a few others. I mean, maybe he is so fast you can't even see him do it. My guess is he started the project before rolling the video. Who knows.

2: This guy uses a socket to plug up the hole where the prop shaft normally goes to prevent oil from coming out. I pulled the prop out just enough to get a mic in there to measure the diameter (1.5in). Then I found the perfect sized socket to plug the hole. But at some point the socket slid out and I ended up with oil all over the place anyways. If I did this all over again I would drain the oil. Like I said, I am a cheap ass. Hahaha

3: You will see him remove a cotter pin and then disconnect the shift linkage. You will notice there is no rubber boot. This is probably because he had already destroyed this boot while doing this job a previous time. This boot was REALLY hard to remove. I took the interiour apart thinking I could release this boot from above. It's not possible. You simply have to pull the living crap out of it to get it to stretch over the linkage. It's even harder to get that boot back on. I ended up tearing it while putting it back on. Next time I have to drop the tranny I will just cut that boot off and throw it in the trash.

4: You will see him get out a big pry bar and pry on something near the linkage on both sides of the tranny. You don't need that big pry bar. Simply get a flat head and use your hand to tap on the end of the handle to rotate these tabs up. There is one on each side ot the tranny. Once the tabs are up you can slide the pins out of the linkage. At this point the tranny is completely free of the linkage.

Here is a picture of these tabs from the manual:


5: This is the biggest time saver of them all. This guy doesn't jack the front of the engine. If you don't jack the front of the engine it will tilt forward causing it to bind on the two lower studs making it impossible to slide the tranny off. My guess is the car he is working on has stiffer engine mounts or bushing inserts that prevented it from rocking forward. Trust me, you are going to waste a TON of time if you try to skip this step. The service manual tells you to remove the ex manifold so you can place a jack under the engine. I didn't want to replace ex manifold gaskets and this guy in the video gives you false hope that you can just slide the thing right off. Don't fall for this trap. I was able to use a 2x4 between a floor jack and the water pump (not on the actual pulley). I didn't like doing this but I wasn't actually jacking the engine. You simply want to prevent it from tipping forward.

It took me about 5 hours to do this job. From jacking the car to dropping the car back down. This doesn't include putting fluid back in. I did this the next day and didn't time it. Knowing what I know now I think I could do this job in 2 hours. If I jacked the front of the engine I suspect I could have lowered the tranny with my jack rather than man handle it so the tranny would have stayed level and the socket probably wouldn't have slide out dumping oil all over the place. So that would have saved even more time. Knowing what I know now I would say this is by far the easiest tranny job I have ever done.

Edit: One other thing. I cut a 1x6 just long enough to span the center section of the tranny. I put this between my floor jack and the tranny. It was surprisingly stable.

Edit2: OMG, I just watched his video again and he did actually jack the front of the engine on the header. I watched the video in full a few days before doing the job and then the day of I simply skipped around the video and totally missed where he jacked the front. Hahaha. So really this video is a very good overview. A little clarification that cutting that boot off is the way to go and a little more detail on the pins on the sides of the tranny and you're good to go.

[D-rek07]

Thank you for reuploading the pictures. I did changed my clutch this weekend. I printed these instructions out along with all the required torque values. It made this job a breeze.

[Byron8805]

I wanna thank Supermassive for writing a great DIY that I followed nearly to the letter, catsspat for the torque specs, and rev3la7ion for reposting the photos. You all made this job much easier than it would have been trying to just follow the service manual. I took an embarrassingly long time to do this job but I went very slow and tried to ensure I didn’t screw up any steps. I have other vehicles so finishing the job in time to commute was not an issue for me. I have a few pointers that applied to my job that may help others in trying to accomplish this:


For limited BRZ's or anyone with the push button they will need to pull off the passenger kick panel and push the usb port out from behind to be able to get enough purchase on the coin slot panel to remove it.


The driveshaft to differential bolts are torqued on there something fierce, be prepared to figure out how to get those off without freaking out.


The plate where the differential meets the driveshaft was rusty and made it quite difficult to get the driveshaft off, had to give the drive shaft knuckles several solid taps with the hammer (upward) to get it loose.


I would recommend, rather than trying to disconnect the driveshaft from the differential completely before removing the driveshaft cradle bolts, that you tap the knuckles on the driveshaft->Differential connection until you can see that the driveshaft “plate” is loose from the differential. Then carefully disconnect the driveshaft cradle bolts. Also note the red paint on the diff used to indicate the appropriate way to reattach the driveshaft when it comes time to reinstall.


When removing the transmission I waited until I had the transmission jack supporting the transmission before I removed the rear transmission cradle. I removed the four bolts connecting the cradle to the car and the two nuts/washers connecting the cradle to the transmission bushing.



Also, something that I (stupidly) struggled with for about an hour while removing the transmission was that there’s one step missing in the instructions. When removing the trans you need to remember to unbolt the rear transmission bushing! I was under there yanking and prying on the damn thing, cursing, until I realized my folly. It slid out easily after I removed the two bolts. Funny thing to forget as installing a polyurethane rear bushing was part of this job for me.


When reinstalling the transmission it seemed best to me to reinstall the four bolts of the cradle first, and loosely tighten the two nuts/washers. Then, carefully, lower the transmission jack with the two nuts loose enough that the transmission can “center” itself in the cradle before you crank down on the nuts to their proper torque. My thinking on this was to attempt to keep the transmission as perfectly aligned as possible.


When reinstalling the driveshaft I found that it would not spin! Just about shat a brick, had a mental breakdown, and visions of pulling the trans down all over again to figure out if something was binding up. Turns out the trans had somehow popped into third gear during the removal. I climbed in the car and reinstalled the shifter enough to check what gear it was in and, sure enough, when I shifted to neutral the driveshaft spun just fine.


I disconnected my shifter (not necessary), but when reinstalling I found a suggestion on another post about installing the reverse lockout plate so that it is barely touching the shifter as you shift from 1st to 2nd. Works for me. I’ve also had some shifter rattle that’s gotten appreciably worse since I bought the car and I’d read in another thread that the thin washer securing the shift linkage can be the culprit here. Some people have replaced it with a thicker washer, but try as I might I couldn’t get the pin back in with a hardware store washer. I ended up electrical taping the stock washer on both sides and xacto knifing out the original washer shape. We will see how it holds up and whether it helps with the rattle.


If you are mechanically inclined and have the tools I would definitely recommend attempting this job, but be prepared to set aside some time if you’ve never replaced a clutch before and you’re trying to make sure everything’s perfect.

[Gen3MR2]

Great write up on how to do this.

I'm mechanically inclined, but its always nice to see how it's done before I start tearing things apart.

I just used it to get my trans out and ready to put the new clutch in when it gets here.

[reeves]

Just reading through the steps makes things seem easier. A couple of things I wasn't sure about though...

- There is a small blue bearing in the old flywheel that needs to be pressed out and installed into the new flywheel.

Do you need to buy a new one, or can you just use the old pilot bearing?

- Install the clutch disk using the supplied alignment tool

Is it a huge problem to get the clutch/cover aligned without this alignment tool?

[reeves]

Does anyone know how to torque the bolts back on the flywheel/pressure plate without spinning them?

[ermax]

Originally Posted by reeves

Does anyone know how to torque the bolts back on the flywheel/pressure plate without spinning them?

You need a tool to hold the crank pulley. I made my own using to steal from an old bed frame. You are only doing the flywheel bolts so the torque will be really low so you may be able to get away with removing your drive belt and then get creative with wrapping the belt in a way that it will hold your crank.

for example this video:
[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JnkcnqF_S3c[/ame]

But something like this would be the correct way:
https://www.amazon.com/CTA-Tools-761...70_&dpSrc=srch

[reeves]

Originally Posted by ermax

But something like this would be the correct way:
https://www.amazon.com/CTA-Tools-761...70_&dpSrc=srch

Thanks for the link.. I don't mind buying the right tools for the job. I've already spent a few hundred for tools on this job already, might as well go for it.

[reeves]

Everything went well for my (2nd) clutch change attempt, but I got stuck on one bolt. Couldn't thread this bolt in all the way, I hope it won't be a problem. I got the other 7 bolts all the way in @ 37 ft-lbs.

Once the torque wrench hit 37 with this bolt, I just left it as is. Figured the other 7 will more than hold the tranny securely on.

[eddieflyinv]

I could be wrong seeing as I took that apart when I had my engine out like a year or 2 ago, but I believe there were 2 bolts that were longer and went in the bottom two holes **edit - I was wrong, lol refreshed my memory with a parts diagram and I must have been confused with a different car i had apart, my guess is theres either something in that hole or youre putting one of your starter bolts where it doesnt belong,
Personally I wouldnt be comfortable with any of them out of place whether the other 7 are holding or not.

Originally Posted by reeves

Everything went well for my (2nd) clutch change attempt, but I got stuck on one bolt. Couldn't thread this bolt in all the way, I hope it won't be a problem. I got the other 7 bolts all the way in @ 37 ft-lbs.

Once the torque wrench hit 37 with this bolt, I just left it as is. Figured the other 7 will more than hold the tranny securely on.

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[reeves]

Originally Posted by eddieflyinv

I could be wrong seeing as I took that apart when I had my engine out like a year or 2 ago, but I believe there were 2 bolts that were longer and went in the bottom two holes **edit - I was wrong, lol refreshed my memory with a parts diagram and I must have been confused with a different car i had apart, my guess is theres either something in that hole or youre putting one of your starter bolts where it doesnt belong,
Personally I wouldnt be comfortable with any of them out of place whether the other 7 are holding or not.

I bought all new OEM bolts from here, based off of this diagram.. It only showed one bolt, hope it was right lol
Seems like it's all the same bolts but I need to get all my old bolts back out to compare.

Well regardless, that bolt is holding the tranny on at the same 37 lb-ft as the others so I'm not too worried as long as I don't take it back out haha. I'll check on it next time I do an oil change, but I won't be messing with it for another 70-100K miles if I don't have too.

[eddieflyinv]

Lol same site I used as my refresher,
Not saying your transmission will fall off because of just that 1 bolt doing nothing, i really dont know what that would do at all, im just kind of OCD about stuff and things aha
But yeah, easy enough to just pull a starter one and that one and compare lengths next time you're down there

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