so yah, In my 5 years of automotive school I only did one full clutch and that was on a truck so it was kinda cake with teachers aid(Ford ranger). I read a little bit on here throughout the years on how some of you guys did one but I never found a good writeup. Anyone want to give me some tips and were to start? I wanna try to do this in 2 days on my uncles Snap-on lift. It goes over my head, but there is a pad in the middle. Would that be an issue?

I heard the tranni is only 109lbs so 2 guys can hold it and drop it. I know the basics on how to take one out but I am still worried and don't wanna mess anything up. I also want too see what could go wrong and what I could improve while being under there.

Thinking of doing this by the end of the july or august. Thanks ppl

Pictures are highly appreciated. =]

 

Since you obviously have at least a clue on the basics andf can obviously handle tools you should have not problem.

Especially with a lift.

Air tools are also a great benefit in this case also.

I remember that there is a link to an external website that documents a clutch replacement. I'll look for it.

 

Agreed, it's your typical FWD tranny.

Drain fluid
Remove axles
Disconnect all harness
Disconnect shift linkage
Drop the tranny

 

http://www.vqpower.com/v2/articles.php?article_id=158
http://www.motorvate.ca/mvp.php/801

It's a relatively simple job.

As they say, it's 'all nuts and bolts'. As long as you've got some hand tools and some jackstands, it shouldn't be an issue.

 

just prop the motor up, drop the sub-frame, then its easy going, and make sure the radiator support isnt rotted out. and this job could be done without a lift, as long as you have a floor jack

 

Its really not a bad job, I was able to do mine with some help from another .org member and it turned out to be rather time consuming, but an easy job nonetheless.

 

A32s don't have a subframe, and there's no reason to support the engine or drop the crossmember.

 

yep, Got my own air tools and a compressor.

Thanks PMohr.

yah, I heard that I didn't have to drop the crossmember, And why would you? That holds the engine. lol And the trans is on the side of that. The only thing that sucks is having to remove the axles again with the balljoints. (I don't have a balljoint tool) So I need to rent one.

And I don't have a trans lift.

I want to buy Exhedy. Do they have that in store somewhere? And I ovb want too do the Gen 5 clutch. If I go too nissan will someone give me an issue that doesn't know about the Clutch being swappable like this?

 

Oh and is there any .org members that want to hang out for the day? I will buy you a beer and lunch! hehe.

 

........

 

And the point of this was...?

No need to remove the balljoints.

If you're going OE 5th gen, just call Dave B. He'll probably be the cheapest you'll get it from, anyway.

 

Thank you!

A few things to note here from personal experience.

1. No need for a trans jack or lift of any sort.
2. Removing the axles is really easy, as long as you have a 36mm, 17mm and a 19mm (and some extensions and 14mm for the pass side), it's cake.
3. The trans is not that heavy, I just lifted it from off my chest, under the car and had my g/f start a couple of bolts to hold it. It will rest on the clutch housing pins, but don't trust only those to hold it with you under it! The hardest part IMO is sliding the IPS into the clutch and getting it lined up.
4. See my sig - write up for a list of tools / details for the job. You can just skip all the 'rebuilding' of the trans part.
5. I went with an 5th gen clutch and it's good - not great, but it holds for me. The pedal can get heavy in stop and go traffic, but I usually don't have to worry bout that around here much. (If you have ever driven a Mustang (stnd trans), that will give you a work out! I'm suprised Mustang owners don't walk around with the left leg 3x the size of their right one!)

All in all, you can do it! It's not a bad job, and it'll save you a lot of $$$$ to DIY. Good luck, keep us posted no how it goes. Also, no need to worry about the piolt bearing, not even touched and really serves no purppose. Your clutch kit will come with it, and also an alignment tool. The tool, you'll need, just toss the piolt.

 

my 2 cents if not already mention .. I didn't take the passenger side axle and never had a problem I have taken out my tranny atleast 8 times by my self and i have done it in 6 hours in and out with a clutch replacement !! so with a lift and two people should be a piece of cake !! the nut might be a pain in the azz but other than that not a bad job ..
good luck !!

 

Honestly the passenger side axle only takes what, another 10, 15 minutes to remove? I'd pull it out just to not have to deal with lining it up as well as the input shaft at the same time, also lessens the risk of damaging the axle seal.

In my experience, doing a trans without a lift is actually easier than with it. Merlyn and I can get a 6MT on the ground and cracked open in ~45 minutes from jacking it up on jackstands, takes us maybe twice that on a lift for some reason. Same with my car, maybe an hour, hour and a half for me to R&R the trans (years ago) on jackstands vs twice that on a lift.

I think a lot of it is messing around with a trans jack, when you can just drop it by hand (and reinstall it) much easier. Not to mention raising and lowering the lift over and over to get at different things, which for some reason when you use a lift you feel the need to do just because you have the capability, on jackstands you just make do.

Not saying a lift isn't helpful for some things (getting a nice long prybar on the driver's side axle, getting a breaker bar in certain places, etc) but personally I'd rather do it on jackstands every time.

FWIW book time is 5.2, plan maybe twice that for your first time.

 

Couldn't agree more! And as for the lift ... that is SO true. Perhaps it's because you can raise and lower it, you feel a need to do so and do. For a FWD trans, a lift IMO is more of a PITA than it's worth.

 

first time i took my tranny off, took me 4-5 hours to get it off, and back on again.

 

Same for me. Sadly when I had to do it the second time it only took me 1-1.5 hrs from the moment I turned the key off til the time it was on the floor.

 

lol i did it 3 times.
1st change the clutch
2nd found a parts car with a 5spd took it for myself
3rd blew my 95 tranny and swapped.

it gets really simple. the worst part IMO is the passenger side axle, where you have you disconnect it from the block

 

+1 on not using a lift.

I am a small guy(135lbs) and i was able to line up the tranny by myself lifting from the starter hole. Im not recommending it im just saying........

 

1.5 hours is sad? lolo

 

lol you skinny guys are strong. my friend insisted on picking up the tranny instead of me. lol. said it'll be safer that way ???
(hes 130lbs)

 

Yeah its easy, if yo have the space and the tool. You said you went to a tech. collage. Can't you do it there??????? You just have to meake sure you have everything for the proyect, so you don't have to make several trips to the parts store.

 

Would Dave B have Exedy? Or some no name part? Didn't Nissan use Exedy for OEM?

Whats his number.

 

If you want an OEM 5th gen clutch, would it not make sense to get it from the dealership?

Search, his number has been posted many many times over. It's in the stickies, too, at least in the 5th gen section.

 

Bah, I remember the last Mustang I drove...'66 model (IIRC), manual steering with an aftermarket smaller steering wheel.

What a PITA that was, trying to modulate an extremely heavy cable clutch while fighting what must've been a 12" steering wheel, no power steering through a parking lot.

 

Why disconnect it from the block and not the three bolts that hold it to that support? Besides, when I did mine I had the exhaust out because in the long run I was going after the oil pans. That right there made the axle removal a breeze.

Yea, I worded that wrong. I was quite happy that I got it out that quick. I was sad because I had to do it again just a mere 25 days after I did it the first time.