clutch question

[xxshanexcorexx]

how hard is it to put in a new clutch and flywheel?

people keep telling me its a huge pain in teh ass and what not but its a hell of a lot cheaper if you do it yourself

[flyingtoaster]

The hard part is removing the axles. It's easy once you have those out of the way, but be careful not to break or overtighten anything. Make sure you can be without a car for up to a week.

[idriveanACCORD]

its so much easier and less time consuming, if you find a certified shop/mechanic to do it.. take out the old fashioned yellow pages, and call around.. i got mine done for 350 labor alone..compared to 400-500 most places including Honda haha

so if you can, save up.. or if you really wanted to do it yourself, that's cool too

[johnblackcivic]

it really not too bad of an ordeal... some things that will save some time... jack for the tranny, and a concrete garage floor. I changed mine in my friends gravel driveway. and that was a pain in the ass.. with a concrete floor, and a jack, once the bell housing is ready to come of just jack it up and slide it out... once you replace the clutch just slide it back in...as opposed to trying to pick the fucker up and manuever it into place. An impact wrench will help you out too... the most important thing you need is a torque wrench!!! Go out and get yourself the Haynes maunal.. its like 14 bucks from autozone and its the damn bible of working on your car. It has everything you need to replace your shit.. but make sure you tighten everything thing up to specification... i had a friend under tighten the pressure plate on his clutch...thats a good way to lose a lot of money...and pay attention to Flying Toaster up there... be careful with the axels... dont tug too hard... just fiddle with them... the will come out...worse case sceneiro wedge a flathead in between the tranny and tap it with a hammer...( thats how i got them out.) be careful, get a Hayne's maunal and a friend, and make it a good project... its a pretty good DIY project to start out with... just be careful and research before you start it...also, organize all the bolts you take off... Good Luck... hope i helped a little

[kommon_sense]

Its not bad, but don't attempt it if you are not mechanically inclined. I was able to get the axles out and tranny dropped in 1hr. It took a neighbor and a lot of curse words to get it all back together. Lining the tranny back up to go back in place is a real pain because its heavy and its just plain awkward. So be sure to have someone on hand.

Also *BE AWARE* that the clutch pressure plate bolts and flywheel bolts are *12 point*. So be sure to have the correct sockets on hand. So go ahead and buy a deep 12mm, 14mm, and 17mm 12pt socket.

I followed a howto that I found somewhere on the web.

[chthonian]

Originally Posted by flyingtoaster

Make sure you can be without a car for up to a week.

This job shouldn't take anywhere near that long... I did my clutch, flywheel, solid mounts and GearSpeed tranny in the dirt with no air tools in about 6 hours. And this was before I was a certified tech, when I was just a shade tree.

The biggest thing is, stay organized. Label everything when you take it off if you have to, keep your bolts together, or even put them back in the holes after you're done disassembling brackets or whatever.

[flyingtoaster]

Originally Posted by chthonian

This job shouldn't take anywhere near that long... I did my clutch, flywheel, solid mounts and GearSpeed tranny in the dirt with no air tools in about 6 hours. And this was before I was a certified tech, when I was just a shade tree.

The biggest thing is, stay organized. Label everything when you take it off if you have to, keep your bolts together, or even put them back in the holes after you're done disassembling brackets or whatever.

I had never done anything beyond changing the oil, nor had I watched anybody work on a car before. It took me about 4 days.

[Villan256]

someone said its hard to do the axles on a civic>? ........nooo its not man the axles on a civic are simple to get out, atleast the drivers side, the passenger isnt much harder.

[92civic_hatch]

have you removed lots of axles, villan? because some are easier than others.

[kommon_sense]

Axles tend to come out super easy. insert prybar, push, and its out. Maybe you had a poorly machined aftermarket/replacement axle?

[Villan256]

Exactly what i was going to say Kommon sense, you just break down the brakes get them off, get off the wheel bearing assy. nut off the end of the axle, i think three bolts on the top and bottom the upper and lower control arm bolts, tie rod end nut. then move it off the axle which is in the middle, then prybar and pop it out its pretty easy. a trick to putting them back in is that little piece of metal on the end that goes in the trans. put a little bit of bearing grease on that little metal ring and it will keep in lined in position then line up the splines and pop it in. a little finesse is all it takes.

[flyingtoaster]

It would be easier if I were to do the clutch again, but I did not have the proper pry bar. I needed to figure out much of the process on my own, including how to remove the axles. Often, I found myself reaching into places behind the engine to remove a bolt, and I could only turn the socket wrench one click at a time. Putting the same bolt back on was no easier. Further, there was no easy way to separate the block from the transmission with such limited space. Granted, this was on a larger B18 engine.

[chthonian]

The axles on mine just popped out. Just a firm tug by the base of the CV (right at the tranny) and it popped out. By far the hardest part of this job, is getting the transmission back on the motor. That's gonna take either a table lift or a buddy with a strong back. The rest is just a lot of wrenching and keeping track of where things go. It's really straightforward. Make sure you have a manual, Haynes and Chilton have never steered me wrong.

Oh, and to save yourself from having to bleed the clutch, when you unbolt the slave cylinder from the engine, throw a little tape on the plunger. It fell out when I pulled mine. The tape should stop that.

If you need any pointers while you're doing it, just let me know. I'll be happy to walk you through any tough spots.

[clayton]

Originally Posted by flyingtoaster

The hard part is removing the axles. It's easy once you have those out of the way, but be careful not to break or overtighten anything. Make sure you can be without a car for up to a week.

what in case you break something and have to order it?