Walkthrough for a clutch changeout ?

[mccorry]

Can anyone point me to one... or does anyone care to put together a write up on how to do it? I'll start... but I don't know all the steps...

 

1.) Disconnect battery

2.) Raise and support vehicle

3.) Remove I/C.

4.) Remove starter

5.) Remove Clutch cylinder

6.) Remove rear drive shaft

7.) Remove rear tranny mount

8.) Remove bellhousing bolts

9.) Slide transmission towards the back of the car and down

10.) Remove front drive shafts from the transmission while dropping transmission. (How?)

11.) etc.....

 

 

Anyone care to expand on this and fill in the steps?

[gmorris]

I think you'll want to put the cv removal in right after the rear driveshaft. The last thing you want to worry about while dropping the tranny is pulling the shafts at the same time. In order to fully remove the shafts it helps to break the lower ball joint loose so you can swing the hub/rotor out and pull the shaft easier without dmaging the side seals. The shafts just pull out but you may need to use a pry bar on the side of the tranny to break them loose. It also helps to remove the pitch stopper and allow the motor to tilt back a bit so you can pull the input shaft out. When I did mine I also had the uppipe/turbo and downpipe out which made acess way easier to break the housing loose. I would for sure pull the DP at least. The vacation pics have a pretty good rundown on the process.

 

Breaking the bell housing loose from the back of the motor is harder than you think. There are alignment dowels that tend to seize slightly so you may need to use a big screwdriver or chisel to tap in between and get them started.

 

You will need either a high lifting floor jack (depending how high you support the car and higher is better) or rent a transmission jack. You will also definately need at least one more person because the tranny is heavy and awkward.

 

Once the tranny is out it is easy...just remove and replace the parts. Getting the tranny back in requires a lot of muscling it around to get it aligned and sliding into place but it will go if you're patient.

 

All in all it isn't that bad of a job for 2 people...quite easily done in an afternoon and evening.

[mccorry]

Great info... thanks for posting up gmorris! Are there any special tools that are required?

 

I am starting to prepare for a clutch swap in the next few months. No slipping of my clutch yet, but my engagement point has come up quite high on the pedal.

[gmorris]

No special tools really except for the clutch alignmnet tool that usually comes with a kit and maybe the tranny jack. I guess a puller to break the lower ball joint bolt loose is needed as well. Don't forget to mark the camber bolts before you remove them...have to unbolt the strut to swing the hub out.

 

Just don't forget to put the pilot bearing into the flywheel before you put it in like I did:icon_wink

 

The flywheel install instructions I got with it said not to re-use the flywheel bolts...it was late and I did but you may want to look into it a bit more and buy new bolts. They aren't torqued down that hard so I can't see them being stretched but:icon_conf

[GTTuner]

I wouldn't worry about the flywheel bolts, just look at the threaded area and make sure their not stretched.

 

Use thread locker on them, the red locite thread locker.

 

Some Subie guys actually prefer pulling the engine and leave the trans in. They claim its less work. I can't see trying to align an input shaft into a clutch that is hanging from an engine hoist.

 

As for an alignment tool, you can eyeball the center of the disk to the center of the press plate and get by. I do it all the time.

 

Good luck, and no swear words:icon_bigg

[gmorris]

I've also heard that if you pull the rad you can slide the engine far enough ahead to swap the clutch without dropping the tranny...might work but I didn't find dropping the tranny that hard.

[rc0032]

Great thread...Move to walkthrough?

[Jon in CT]

There's an article at http://Endwrench.com (published by Subaru) that descripes a 1995 Legacy clutch replacement.

 

http://endwrench.com/images/pdfs/Drivetrain.pdf

 

Let us know how much of it was applicable to your car.

[mccorry]

Great thread...Move to walkthrough?

 

Yeah... I'll move it.....

[GTTuner]

I've also heard that if you pull the rad you can slide the engine far enough ahead to swap the clutch without dropping the tranny...might work but I didn't find dropping the tranny that hard.

 

Exactly what this tech's method is. He doesn't completly remove the motor, but it comes foward off the mounts and stays the car. You probably need to move th A/C condensor too. If so, youd need to evacuate and recharge after.

[jsalicru]

Can anyone point me to one... or does anyone care to put together a write up on how to do it? I'll start... but I don't know all the steps...

 

1.) Disconnect battery

2.) Raise and support vehicle

3.) Remove I/C.

4.) Remove starter

5.) Remove Clutch cylinder

6.) Remove rear drive shaft

7.) Remove rear tranny mount

8.) Remove bellhousing bolts

9.) Slide transmission towards the back of the car and down

10.) Remove front drive shafts from the transmission while dropping transmission. (How?)

11.) etc.....

 

 

Anyone care to expand on this and fill in the steps?

 

 

Uh... first of all, I wouldn't attempt this install without staring at the Tech manual. Its important to get to know what you are working with.. not to mention that once you look at it.. this thread isn't even necesary... You need to know torque specs for everything and there are way too many bolts to talk about in here..

 

With that being said... I would probably do it like so:

 

1. Battery
   
2. IC
   
3. Starter
   
4. Dog Bone mount.
   
5. Clutch cylinder
   
6. If like STi, unclip the throw-out bearing from pressure plate via the clutch arm opening with a long screw driver.
   
7. Disconnect all the necesary harness plugs that plug to the tranny or flow with the tranny.
   
8. Remove downpipe+ unplug rear 02.. at this step you transition to working under the car.
   
9. Drain transmission
   
10. Remove axels
    
11. Remove driveshaft
    
12. Prepare to support tranny
    
13. While supporting tranny, undo bell housing bolts, and tranny mount bolts
    
14. Bring tranny down.
    

 

NOTE: When taking the tranny out, go the extra mile and be **prepared** to replace rear main seal. If there any signs of leakage, its EXTREMELY simple to replace it now.

 

Anyways, you get the idea...

 

HINT: if when putting the tranny back in place it doesn't want to go in very easily, try lifting the front of the motor slightly... it should really help things get at the right angle.

[mccorry]

After I had my first clutch replaced at 20,000Kms I noticed that the engagement point was quite low to the floor. By about 30,000Kms it has come up quite high and stayed like that for almost 30,000Kms more and doesn't slip at all. I think it has more to do with the hydraulic system than clutch wear.

 

Interesting... so .. should I try to bleed the clutch cylinder? My clutch doesn't "lock" in until almost the top... mayb3 1/2"-1" from the top. No slipping whatsoever.

[mccorry]

I'd be interested in what the dealer says...sebberry.

 

So a high engagement point isn't a positive indicator of a worn clutch.... I learn something new every day....

[Faudi]

When I first test drove my 05 GT, the clutch seemed to engage slighlty higher than the others on the lot. I didn't really think anything of it untill I sold my best friend the same GT in blue a week later, I had to pick his up at another dealership(about an hour away from mine) I noticed that his clutch engaged much quicker/lower than mine. So I drove all of the manual GT we had on the lot. Some engage high, some low. The techs told me it has to do with the hydraulic clutch.

[mccorry]

That makes me feel better. My clutch will spin the tires... so I was curious why my pedal was so high...

[ilh]

If there is a 3 inch or so difference in the pedal travel to engagement point from when the car was new, that is a lot of friction material burned up.

Umm....it isn't 1:1 due to mechanical advantage of the hydraulic system.

[mccorry]

Anyone know how much (1/4", etc) material thickness our clutch faces have...?

[ilh]

The vacation pix say 0.13in on page CL-2. There is something there about the rivets with respect to the surface that likely has more to do about wear limits than the 0.13in.

[itzed]

Anyone know how much (1/4", etc) material thickness our clutch faces have...?

 

I'm new to Subaru, but no clutch I've seen has more than about 1/4" of surface material.

[mccorry]

no

[AWDxBOOST]

take out the front axles first before removing the tranny. thats my .02, but other than that you pretty much got it

[350 WHP Legacy]

Did Anyone Remove the engine to remove the cltuch?

[meier motor sports]

i wonder if it would be easyer to pull the motor and do the clutch with the tranny still in the car. i pulled one motor on a wrx and no trannys. but its just a thought.

 

ps. didnt read the entire thread before posting this (didnt see the last guys post.)

[itzed]

i wonder if it would be easyer to pull the motor and do the clutch with the tranny still in the car.

 

I highly doubt it. I'd remove a tranny before an engine almost any day.

[meier motor sports]

i supose jsut droping the tranny would be easyer. i mean either way you have to undo the bell housing bolts. with the tranny the entire turbo back can be removed as an assembly with help the driveshafts and axel are easy to remove. jsut a few electricel conections. the engine woudl require lots of electricle conections, fuel lines, coolant hoses and other missilanious stuff.