I am willing to take pics as I go and post them on this web site with you guys helping me along the way telling me how to do stuff! What is the worst part, im thinking the drive axles are going to be a the hardest part. Also the engine mounting bar should be tough. I was wondering should I just pay a shop 700 dollars for labor and parts or do it myself? Any suggestions?

The most I have done on this car is completley removed the intake manifold to get the headers on! So how would that work compare to the clutch! Since I assume to think I do a lot of stuff but once it come to tranny involved i hold that a sacred area where i dont get involved!

Whats the worst that can happen if I do it?

 

go read a "how to" thread.

 

Do it yourself if you have the tools and proper equipement. Worst case is your car wont move, but if you take you time, and make sure you do everything right shouldnt be a problem.

I dont know but axle removal, is very easy to me.

I havent change my clutch yet so I cant really comment of how difficult it is, but from my reading, it doesnt seem like there will be anything that is really hard to do, or get stuck at some place.

 

I'm running the 4th clutch on my car in 2 years already. The clutch job isn't hard, but it's no cake walk either.

I find it best to do it at a autoshop when they have the racks and a tranny case holder when you release the casing. That tranny is pretty heavy, I couldn't have held it up with only one hand. The procedures aren't complicated. You'd have to be really careful of the alignment and also buy yourself a couple cans of brake cleaner sprays to spray off dirt in the tranny case. Most importantly, spray clean your clutch and flywheel's grinding surfaces. A dirty clutch job ususally ends up with a slipping or chattering clutch after all. I did mine at the shop with a friend mechanic. After that, I only pay people to do it because I thought it was a bttch.

 

From what i know the tranny needs to come out...if your capable of doing that your home free, that should be the hardest part. Also if you do it yourself or have someone do it, then change your rear engine seal while your there, aswell as bushing and motor mounts.

 

I agree with the rear main seal, especially if it hasnt been changed in a long time. . . better swap it out while your in there and save a lot of headache. I know all about it.


Depending on the kind of jack yo have, and tramission adapter may be available for you, so you could support and lower the tranny.

 

I have the dealer book and it looks like a lot of parts have to come out with the drive shafts and looks like a real pain! Also proper alignment afterwards is a thing to remember. and to the other guy that said to replace the engine seal and bushings and something else, i told them that and they said oh when we take a look at it we will see if it needs to be replaced wtf. because when they take a look they dont have the part on hand to replace it since parts have to be ordered. im just deciding right now what i hate more the service department or the job. Since a shop has pros and all the tools plus experience and they said like 5-8 hours of work i was like this is gonna take me and my damn tools like week at the least. lol

 

about supports i will think of something, if i do it

 

also do you guys think stock oem clutch is good? I dont plan on putting any forced induction systems on it (includes intake) so all i have is exhaust! which shouldnt be putting out that much power. I was wondering about the 5 gen clutch, will it fit? and will the service rep shut me down on that request because they do everything stock.

 

Rear main seal is not that big off a deal. I have a DEK in my garage I'll take a pic of the rear main seal, 3 bolts (10mm) and its off, getting the seal on will be a little tricky but the seal is small.


5ht gen clutch > *

 

oh and that oil seal **** i will tell them to replace since i had an ls400 with a bad one which i got rid of for this car, so i want them to chnage the oil seal, but they have to drop the pan which sucks ***** since i changed the oil like a month ago and only put on like 250 miles since i done it. with a mobil 1 filter and synthetic oil. I have badddd **** luck.

 

I would change the seal,bushing, and mounts even if there not bad or anything like that. I haven't been a member of the org for a long time but since i've been here i learned something very important...DO IT ONCE, DO IT RIGHT!!!
The 5th gen clutch is good because i believe it's made by exedy, it's 170 for disc and presure plate and like another 30 for Throw-out-bearing so basically 200 for the entire setup.

I'm in the process of doing this aswell, but my seal is leaking so i figured i'll just change everything around since my tranny is gonna be out. I'll be putting a new OEM seal, and bushings. My clutch is gonna be the Spec Stage 2 from the GD which comes with everything you need for install. I'm not to sure about one thing which is the mounts...i'm looking into that atm to see what's good. I think i read somewhere abour urethane but idk. I will also resurface my flywheel at this time.

I will also do a full Tranny flush and put in new amsoil gl-4 75w90 weight with a new SS clutch line.I'm also changing all the belts(a/c, power steering, serpent) This should be the perfect setup. But you should do everything since it's gonna be right there... My Mechanic is charging me 400 to do everything....SWEESEST DEAL EVER!!!! basically clutch install is free he quoted me 350 for the seal and i said lets do the clutch too and he's like ok same price..LOL

 

5th gen is a good setup because one its stronger, grips better, bolts right up no modficitaion, and will probably last longer than the 4th gen (but thats mainly on the driver), but it can handle more power (an arguable more abuse) than the 4th gen clutch.

 

Just bring a clean pan and jug and have them save the oil, then refill it. I don't see anything wrong with that.

 

thanks for the idea with the oil saving jug lol. i was just kidding about the oil, but i might just try that. also 99se5speed the clutch he quoted me for is around 200-220 dollars for the kit im thinking that might be it. Ill call them up tommorow and ask about the clutch in detail! Since I would rather have a 5th gen clutch since its stronger. I was just wondering shouldnt it just automaticly update since its better and the same fit, one might think they would stop making the old ones! maybe they did i will find out tommorow. And for the record and thanks to all you guys Im going to give it to the dealership since i don't have the time to work on it now and i havent driven a rental in a while

 

How would rate this job compared to y-pipe swap? harder?easier?

 

You probably know about this site but i'll still post it. OEM warehouse parts discounted...

http://www.trademotion.com/partlocat...49&catalogid=0

 

it's not really a hard job, just fairly time-consuming depending on what kind of tools you have. if you have a tranny jack the hardest part is taken care of; the tranny is 110 lbs. give or take so i wouldn't try it without one. then you just take out the flywheel, pp, and clutch disc, as well as the tob, and reinstall and balance everything. then everything else gets reinstalled and you're done. if you don't run into any major problems (i did!) you could get it done in two decent days of work with 2 people working on it, even if it's your first time, which i think isn't too bad. i replaced my tranny and clutch about a year ago so you can shoot me a pm if you have any specific questions. definitely pick up a haynes or fsm before you try anything though, just to make sure you don't screw anything up too badly!

 

thanx but im going to bring it up to the dealer! I think I might have some serious issues come up, they did with my exhaust job. So Im going to have to take a pass on this project! I have two maxima's now one white one black, one is a 99 and the other a 96. The white one needs the knock sensor replaced and the egr tube cleaned out so im going to go do that now. And not feel so bad for not participating in the clutch job on my 99 black max.

 

That's probably a wise choice. Good luck, hope the stealer doesn't try to screw you too hard!

Just a thought: you might see if you can talk to any of the techs privately to see if they do work on the side for less than the dealer... I've heard that many do, although some may not want to do a clutch swap without all the tools and lifts at the dealer.

 

What do you mean by "balance everything". 2 days? 2 people? I thought it could be done within 3-4 hours

 

I just replaced mine two weeks ago.

First thing make sure you have all the parts you will need and a good lithium based grease. Also, I suggest looking at the shop manual so as to understand how it all fits together. Most importantly is to plan the process.

I don't drop the center crossmember (have to support engine if you do) as some suggest. However, you must pull both axels-the passenger side has an axel bracket taht is not to hard to get to. I had to come up with a number of wrench/socket extension combinations to reach certain bolts. By far the hardest part for me was lining up the tranny and pushing it all back together. I also had difficulty with reinserting the driverside axel - there is a ring clip on that I had to take off, file, reform and reposition. By far the best "tool" I used was one of those square wooden furnature dollys with wheels - used this to support the tranny while jacking the car up and down to align the engine and tranny for final assembly. Since the wheels are off you can get the car really low to line up the tranny sitting on the dolly - who needs a tranny jack!

 

I would have them replace the rear main seal behind the flywheel while they are in there. The part is cheap and the labor is already done. Mine was leaking and I'm glad I did it - it only added about 15 minutes to the clutch job.

 

I agree replace the seal!

 

i heard that the seal is such a delicate pos, that if its not leaking, don't touch it. From what I've read here, that doesn't seem to be the case. So since I'm doing my clutch next week, do you guys recommend I replace the seal, since it has over 122K on it. Also what is the part # for the seal.
p.s. any more input on saving the gear oil since it only has 6K miles on it or get all new.

 

If your seal is not leaking DO NOT FOOL WITH IT!!! In order to actually replace the rear main the right way, the bottom end must be removed too. That means y pipe and cross member gotta come out also. Simply bolting on the rear main retainer and then squeezing the c shaped lower main in below it with a tool is the half @ssed way and will lead to mainy problems. I did it the half @ssed way and got EXTREMELY lucky. No leaks. My friend Eric and Zack were not. Zack never had a leak but does now, and Eric had a leak but has a much worse one now.

 

I remember the thread when you changed yours i30ds(rear main seal). Broke a bolt, hard as everything to get it. . . what fun

 

Oh I know... I thanked God that everything turned out OK and I was able to get that snapped bastard bolt out! I laugh now, but I was really p!ssed then!

 

FOUR clutches in TWO years?? Please tell me you race your car.

 

umm the rear main seal i am replacing, also about it leaking im going to use the 1 year 12 thousand mile warranty then if it starts to leak so i could care less if it does, but i bought the part which is like 50 bucks and will have them install it! Im two and a half hours away and don't feel like playing any games with them, just wish me luck to get up there at 3am tommorow morning. Since when I come back I got to go to school, then back there to pick up my car! lol dont ask me how my intake manifold cleaning went on my white max. all i can say is that a lot of smoke and a pretty big fire ball! lol

 

the clutch and pressure plate have to be aligned together before reinstalling the transmission. align, balance, same difference.

a clutch job can be done that quickly if you work very quickly, very professionally, and know exactly what you're doing. if you've never changed a clutch before, chances are you'll be doing none of those; as it is, i never work very fast, regardless of if i know exactly what i'm doing. add to that the probability of unforeseen problems, and it's absolutely ridiculous to tell alpinegt that he could change his clutch in a couple hours.

 

you mean stick that alignment tool in and tight the bolts and take if off and stick the tranny back on?

 

what??? why would you replace motor/tranny mounts and bushings if they arent ripped or worn? its a waste of money IMO

 

Agreed on the motor mounts....I replaced my stock front and rear mounts because I wanted ES poly mounts, but when I pulled the stock ones out they looked PERFECT, not visibly worn at all and they were six years old.