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FCP Euro Service Kits

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Replacing a car's clutch is never a menial task.

When done at home, it often involves a few days, a few 6-packs of your favorite beverage, and a few friends. Despite all of the grunt work, it's important to focus on the small steps that will make your clutch replacement a success and save you tons of money by doing it yourself.

Sachs Clutch Kit

So, what's involved in a clutch job?

For starters, removing the transmission. This often involves dropping the engine cradle (sometimes called a subframe) to gain access to it. Whether you've got CV axles or a driveshaft, plan on yanking them too. Budget 4 to 6 hours to remove the transmission if you're not a technician that does this for a living. You'll often need to know how to remove control arms, do a brake job, drain your cooling system, and work with clutch hydraulics on some cars as well. A clutch replacement rarely only involves just the transmission - it's getting all of the subsystems out of the way that takes the most time.

You've got the car torn apart and ready for it's new friction components. Now what? Buy some new ones! You'll need, at a minimum:

  • Friction Disc
  • Pressure Plate
  • Throwout Bearing
  • Pilot Bearing (Varies between vehicles)
  • Crankshaft Seal, aka "Rear Main Seal" (Highly recommended)
Resurfaced Flywheel
A resurfaced Volvo 850 flywheel fresh from the machine shop.

 

 

Rear Main A Leaking Rear Main Seal

 

It's usually a good idea to get your flywheel resurfaced at an automotive machine shop. Over time, it's possible for the flywheel to distort causing uneven wear patterns on the new clutch. Resurfacing the flywheel gives the new friction disc a fresh, straight surface to "bed" into, ensuring chatter-free engagement and even wear across the disc. I've seen estimates around $40-50 for this service, and most shops give a cash discount. At that price, it's definitely not worth skipping.

With the flywheel removed, you now have access to one of the most hated seals on an engine - the rear main oil seal. This oil seal is often the hardest to get to on any vehicle, as it is sandwiched between the engine and transmission. If yours is leaking, it's a great time to take care of it. If it isn't leaking, it's good advice to replace the seal anyway. If you're at a mileage where your clutch became a problem, chances are the rear main oil seal won't last much longer either. If it fails, it will ruin your new clutch, so don't risk it!

With your new oil seal in place, you have some options for bolting the flywheel and clutch parts back on to the engine. Some manufacturers (like Volvo) recommend replacing all of the flywheel bolts with new. This eliminates the potential for an oil leak, as it flows past the flywheel bolts on some vehicles. In other cases, a high temperature thread sealant product can be used to re-seal old bolts. For peace of mind, it's best to go new, even if your vehicle cannot spring a leak from this area. Stretched threads on used bolts are not ideal for such a vital location on your vehicle's engine.

Before popping the transmission back on, clean and grease the splined input shaft on the transmission as well as the area your new throwout bearing will ride on. This ensures smooth and effortless pedal feel. A gummed-up output shaft can cause the clutch to hang up and make shifting difficult. Most shifting problems can be cured by simply cleaning up the slide points of a neglected or abused clutch system.

The key to getting a DIY Volvo clutch replacement right the first time is focusing on the details. Bolting parts together is easy - the real value in DIY comes from taking the time to clean and lubricate all of the components properly. Remember - paying a shop is just paying someone to do the job as fast as they can.

Have you ever replaced a clutch? Tell us your story in the comments below.

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Written by :
Alex Fiehl


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