How to: Chainge your clutch!!

[Jono FD3]

Right then....... this is a little story of my weekend, which so happens to include chainging a clutch on an FD!!!!

Let the story begin.................

After cleaning the car to get all the crudd off I desided while the weather was semi decent I would sort out the garage & chainge my clutch!!!
The car in question is:

and this is my garage (or old mans):


This is the pit I\'m going to use to do the job:


But there is a slight problem!!!! so I\'ll be doing this job while on my knees!!!



The first thing you will need to remove (if it\'s still on your car that is) is this gearbox protector by removing 4 10mm bolts (one in each corner):


Now remove the air pipe to the cat by unbolting the joint on the cat side & remove the air pipr from above the down pipe:


The next thing to come off is the exhaust. the bolts will be very tight so you will need a tourque rench or something with alot of leverage to shift these bu66ers!! Also you may find the mounting rubbers stuck, so a bit of wd40 will soon sort that out!


Now the exhaust is out of the way, remove the cross brace by undoing 4 12mm bolts


Now to the rear of the car....... you will have to remove the plastic tray on the passenger side of the car to get at 2 12mm bolts that undo the rear cross brace!! there are 4 12mm bolts that will need to be removed so you can slide the brace out!


Now is the time to drop the gearbox oil or your going to get plasterd!!! Just undo the 24mm bolt at the bottom of the box & have an old oil can to catch the oil that comes out (it should be about 2.5 - 3L)

Back to the rear of the car now!! Befor you remove the drive shaft it is advisable to mark it in some way (tipex will be OK for this):


Now unbolt the 4 14mm bolts that hold the shaft to the diff, give a light tug on the shaft & it should come away from the diff, now just slide it out of the box.

Now you have to remove the main gearbox / diff brace!!! this is done by removing the 5 bolts at the rear:


And the 4 at the front


watch your fingers while removing the brace..... it\'s not particularly heavy, but it will make a nice mess of what ever it lands on!!! The diff will move on the rubber mounts so dont be alarmed if you see your diff at an angle!!!!


Nows the time to sort out the inside by removing the gear knob & centre console, so the shifter will come through the floor!!


It shoul look something like this by the end of it:


Now remove your battery + terminal, & then the starter motor (the top bolt is actualy a nut & bolt, not a stud with a nut on it!!:


Once the starter is out of the way, it\'s on to the clutch cylinder (above the cylinder there is a 10mm bolt holding th eclutch pipe to the boxdon\'t forget to remove this like I did, you could break the pipe!!!):


Now remove the small plate with the warning sticker telling you to look at the manual!! 2 10mm bolts on this too!


Now gaze in at the weirdness known as a pull clutch!!!


Next is to unbolt the gear box..... there are 5 14mm bolts holding it to the engine, 2 at the bottom what are easy to get at, 2 towards the top )drivers side one is a bit of a fiddle!)

& another at the top, best to get at this one from under the bonnet! Its at the middle, top of the pic just befor the dark section!:


Now undo all the plugs that are on the passenger side of the gearbox


Now you need to disengage the clutch mechanism:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=uPCi4RpGQCU

Now remove the box..... this is realy a 2 man job as it is a little awcward so one body at the bell housing & one at the shifter, wiggle the box back & lay it on the floor (the box isn\'t heavy for 2 people but might be too heavy for one person to handle!!

Now you need to unbolt the 6 retaining bolts that hold the pressure plate & clutch mechanism:

Once unbolted use a screw driver or lever bar to pull it off the locating pins!!

Next to get out is the pilot bairing (but only if you have a replacement!!!) if you dont have a new one just grease up the one that is in there ready for the refit!!

[m4drx]

and then.........

[Jono FD3]

Blimy!!!!! I was only half way through when you butted in:2Rolleyes

Now the gearbox is off..... tomorow the refit story will start :Thumbsup!

Jono

[m4drx]

sorry just wondering away...

seem more complicated then i thought.

actually alot of it and other jobs are just long..... but not too difficult


good luck mate, make sure to post up for us (and then someone can remove what i said and make sticky icky)

[Jono FD3]

Okey cokey matey!!!

My legs are so stiff after spending  all that time on my knees, & rolling the car back & fore on the pit!!!! I don\'t realy want to go back in there now!!!!

But I supose I\'ll have to!!!!

[antnicuk]

keep up the good work,  when you asked you didnt say you had a pit, that makes a lot easier!  You shouldnt be able to drop the gearbox on your nose!

[m4drx]

Okey cokey matey!!!

My legs are so stiff after spending  all that time on my knees, & rolling the car back & fore on the pit!!!! I don\'t realy want to go back in there now!!!!

But I supose I\'ll have to!!!!

i know the feeling mate, spent months of weekends and nights on mine and i dont have a garage so it as many layers as possible and a good torch!

when its done its all worth it. knackered but worth it :Thumbsup!

[ace-rx7]

nice write up jono, it took you so long cause of all the stopping and starting for pics
well if/when mine starts to go i know where to come !

[Jono FD3]

keep up the good work,  when you asked you didnt say you had a pit, that makes a lot easier!  You shouldnt be able to drop the gearbox on your nose!

Yea, it\'s got further to fall..... so it will just shatter your foot instead!!!

nice write up jono, it took you so long cause of all the stopping and starting for pics
well if/when mine starts to go i know where to come !

Yea, WGT, RE:works, Dragon.......... Take your pic :rollin :rollin

Yea pics made it take a little longer, but I thought it would benafit you guys!!!

Jono

[Jono FD3]

Right then, now you\'ve got the clutch off, give the fly wheel a light rub with some emery cloth, just to rough up the surface a little (this will help the new clutch bed in!!)

Fit the new clutch system to the flywheel, but be warned the clutch plate will only fit one way!! This is normaly company logo out! if you get it on the wrong way the clutch will not work! Test the clutch plate against the flywheel, as one way you will have metal to metal and the correct way you will have the material on the clutch plate against the flywheel!

Once this is sorted fit the clutch system to the flywheel & put a few bolts in finger tight to hold it all in place:


Now fit your line up tool to centre the clutch plate:


Now just nip up the 6 retaining bolts (just enough to hold the clutch plate central!)

Now chainge your release bairing on the box:


This is done by undoing the 2 14mm bolts that hold the clutch arm in place (you will have to lever the arm off the box!!) Now refit with the new bairing:


Now you are set to fit the box! This again is a 2 man job.
Now slide the box in to place (well I say slide.... you will hve to wiggle & tap to get it seated!!) By leving the bolts on the clutch slightly loose it will alow the clutch plate to centre itself (if it\'s not toaly spot on!)

Now get a few bolts in finger tight while the second person holds the pressure at the back of the box!!  Now your bolted up you can tighten the clutch bolts through the inspection hole (you will need a second pair of hands to hold a screw driver to stop the flywheel from turning!!)

Now you can engage the Release bairing by simpley levering it in to the clutch plate (Lever against the clutch arm rather that the bairing)


Now refit the clutch cylinder, but don\'t forget about the bracket that holds the pipe to the box!!:


Now refit the starter motor & hook up the power leads:


Next to go back is the gearbox / diff brace...... fit this to the diff first using 2 of the 5 bolts, then lift the front up to the box & again secure it to the box with 2 bolts. you can now relax for a bit!!!! Put the remaining bolts on the brace & tighten them up (Tight, as this is a structural item!!!)


Now if your de-cating while your doing this job, unbolt the heat sheild & put the prob behind it out of the way & re-fit the heat shield:


Next is the prop shaft..... make shure the box is in nutral...... slide the spline in to the box then get a bolt in to the diff to secure it (dont forget to line up your marks on the diff & propshaft!!!) Now put the remainingbolts in and tighten them up:


Now you need to refit the cross brace that goes through the gearbox / diff brace, & then refit the plastic tray you have unbolted:


Now you need to refit the inspection cover on the box (but first you should test the clutch peddle a few times, because if the bairing isn\'t seated properly it will pop out, resulting in the peddle staying on the floor & no clutch!!)


Now you have to fit the cross brace that sits under the gear box :


Now the you have to refit the exhaust:


If your not de-cating dont forget to put the pipe back on to the cat:


Then refit the gearbox protection plate secured by the 4 10mm bolts:



The last job you have to do is refill the box with gear oil:
http://www.mazdarotaryclub.com/forums/showthread.php?t=11205

Now your back on the road!!!!

Hope this helps all you DIY\'ers that would do the job, but feel daunted by the prospects of doing a pull clutch for the first time. I did it myself as I couldn\'t afford to get someone to do it for me, & to be honest it wasn\'t a bad job, just time consuming removing all the bits & bobs!!!

Jono

P.S. I hope this is worthy of a sticky??:Thumbs-up

[FD3SNuttah]

well done matey!!! how did your first drive go?

[strange_days_uk]

good work JD, I may well DIY mine as it\'s slipping more than a little now I got me single tub

hmm

[Jono FD3]

First drive is yet to come mate as I\'m doing a few other things to it while it\'s in the garage (Befor the garage fills up with junk!!!) but it all seams to work OK!!

DIY\'ing it will save you more than a few pennies Si, but put aside a full weekend as you will always encounter something you didn\'t expect, like snapped studs in the exhaust or something!!!!

Jono

[m4drx]

well done mate! appreciate the time taken to write up but im sure this will come of use to many people.

cheers :Thumbsup!

[Waddock]

I have been looking every where for a guide in doing this! :god

I think I will be printing it out and spending all of next week on my back looking at dirty pictures