Replacing a clutch

[loudoun]

I am getting ready to replace the clutch in my Series 1 car.   I have all the items assembled, but have never attempted this before. Any advice? Thanks!

[Mark Maras]

 Wire brush and spray all the exhaust bolts with penetrating oil first. The exhaust is the worst part of the trans. removal, IMO. Also, if you're using jack stands and the trans. is coming out from under the car, be sure the car is high enough to clear the bell housing. Be sure you change the pilot bearing in the flywheel. You can use a bearing puller or use bread, a socket and extension and a hammer. I went with the bread option on an 81 RX7 recently when the bearing puller failed. Works great.

[Pop's Z]

Mark, not to get all nit-picky, but the pilot bearing is actually in the crankshaft. Just did that when I replaced the main seal.

Cheers, Mike

[jfa.series1]

Be sure to compare the pressure plate in your new kit to the one coming out of the car.  Specifically, measure the distance from the mounting surface to the "fingers" that engage with the throwout bearing.  I ran into this issue years ago only AFTER I had it all back together and discovered the clutch would not operate correctly.  Yes, the kit was correctly identified for my car - all stock and original tranny.  The same situation occurred recently with a buddy doing a clutch job on his 260Z with a 280ZX 5-speed swap.  He covered the question in advance with his supplier but the kit still had the same issue.

[Dave WM]

get the cheap trans jack (scissor) from harbor freight, works great. Hope you dont break the down pipe bolts, agree the exhaust is the hardest part, getting it up high on jack stands is a good idea too, IIRC I set it up to get about 30" clear space, prob dont need quite that much but more is better. If leaking oil replace rear main (it will be obvious with the cover plate off), also look for leakage at the rear bearing cap parting line, if you have a leak its possible that could be the reason. If you see leakage there you will need to pull the pan, prob best to put the trans back on and deal with that later when you dont have to support the engine. BIGGEST hint, get some longesh bolts same as the bell housing bolts, cut off the heads (you want 3-4" long), cut a slot in the end, screw them into the engine when ready to re install. they act like long dowel pins make is easy to line up the engine and hold trans while wiggling it in.  After is slides home, unscrew the long bolts, use the slots for a screw driver if needed. You don't have to pull the center console, you can get at the c clip and remove and replaced with the trans in place. Just pull it and the pin and push the shifter up out of the way. Its tight but doable with out any real trouble.

 

Edited December 30, 2017 by Dave WM

[Dave WM]

here is video about the pins