|
|
| Clutch & Flywheel |
 |
|
Ok, I'm going to make a serious disclaimer here, because this time, it's truly needed. This project was completed with the great help of Sam and Jay from STC-FL. I tried to help as much as I could, but honestly, they worked so fast and so efficiently that I couldn't follow it all. Especially taking apart the bottom, there were bolts taken out that I just have no idea where they were. So, if you're gonna try and do this without professional help, at the very least get someone who has done it a few times before to help you out. It's just a big, confusing, lots-o-nuts-and-bolts type project, bitches. Anyway, that said, I'm gonna give the best description I can, and if it sucks, well....fuck you. First step, unscrew the bolt I'm pointing at in the picture and be ready for a cascade of tranny fluid. Drain it until there's no more left in there.
|
Once it's all bled out, open up the hood and basically take everything out. Remove the battery, battery holder, intake system, EGR, shifter cables, driver's side dogbone mount, etc. Now is the time to unscrew the grounds (here is the other one) and also twist and pull out on the slave cylinder to remove it (here you can see the hole that is left when the slave is pulled out). Where is all this shit? You shouldn't be asking this question...that's why I said to get someone good to help you out. Oh, and get an FSM if you can, just to be safe. Now, disconnect the spark plug wires from the coil packs as well as the sensor for the coils, located on their underside. Also, take the downpipe off of the header or manifold or whatever you have. You can't get to some of the tranny bolts if it's kept connected.
|
Now, remove the wheels and unscrew that mount thing that is near the frame and inline with the axle, I think, as shown in the picture to the right. The next step is to remove the axles from the transmission. I don't have much to say that will help you here, except get a big prybar. You can see here what it looks like when it's out of the driver's side. There is also some kind of brace on the bottom end of the transmission that you need to unscrew. It's essentially a rectangular piece of metal, and I think it has four bolts. When that is removed, you may have to brace the tranny to keep in it place. We used a big floor jack with a piece of wood on it to support the transmission.
|
This part isn't so hard. Unscrew all the bolts holding the transmission case together and move the driver's side half out of the way, as shown to the right. Then, just unscrew all the bolts you see that hold the pressure plate to the friction plate and the flywheel to the transmission. Everything should come out pretty easily. You can see Jay separating the new clutch from the new flywheel here.
|
Now for some comments on clutches and shit...you can see to the right my old clutch. It was on for a bit over 100k miles, and saw some hard driving and drag racing. You can see the wear on the "fingers", as well as how some of them are bent somewhat out of shape. In addition, if you look at the friction plate, note the depth of the slots running out of the friction surface. Deep is good. Not deep is bad. Also, check the metal part of the friction plate for any blue spots. Those are places where it heated up a bit too much during hard launches or burnouts (if you're either very stupid or have a Quaife).
|
Anyway, bascially just put everything back into the tranny in reverse order. Be sure to THOROUGHLY clean the flywheel with brake cleaner and try not to get any fingerprints or oils on there, as it can fuck up the holding power of the clutch. Also, remember to line everything up with the clutch alignment tool before you put it all back together. My output shaft (I think it is) wouldn't go back through the clutch, so Sam had to file the little ridges on the outside into better, sharper edges, instead othe the worn, flatter edges they'd gotten over time. Then, with a lot of pushing and shit, it all went back together. After putting the top end back together, we tried to get the car in gear, and it was very unhappy, so Sam went in and greased up the shifter cables (I think, at least...I was in the driver's seat, wrestling with the shifter), improving the shifting somewhat. My cables are fucked anyway, though, so whatever. A final note...don't hit the throttle hard to rev really high for about at least 500 miles or so. You have to let it all break in. My clutch wasn't brand new, so the break-in period wasn't as long. I have heard, though, that with brand new clutches, one needs to break it in for a WHILE, like up to 1000 miles. I dunno. I'd say go 1000 to be safe. Just be easy on it. Drive like a granny. You know you can do it. Your insurance is too high as it is. Give it a rest for a month or so. You'll live. If some cunt in a Honda wants to rev at you, just get out of the car and break his jaw instead of racing him for the time being. It's much more fun like that, anyway. Have fun, bitches.
|
|
|
|
|
|
