Lethal's DIY Clutch Swap Guide

lethaldose · 01-12-2010, 08:04 AM

Lethal's DIY Clutch Guide

OK! first off i want to talk about a few things that you can make for cheap that will greatly help the un-install/re-install process for you.

OK so we need a device to prevent the engine from rolling forward once the transmission is out. Subaru sells a specific tool for this PN# 41099AA000.

But its expensive as piss as hell so what i did was take some 1/8" mild steel that was 2" wide cut myself out 2 pieces 2"x3" then drilled holes to correspond to the left TMIC bracket bolt hole, and an un-used threaded hole on the right side of the engine block. I then put a 90* bend in them, used some 3/8" steel bar to brace it along with a left over wedge of 1/8 steel. BAM! Throw on some chain and your done.

Second is you need to sacrifice a 10mm socket for the cause. As well as circumsize a 10mm Allen wrench. Basically cut 2" off a spare 10mm Allen Wrench, then weld it into the 10mm socket. This will make removing the shift fork plug 100 times easier than fumbling with a big allen wrench in there.

Third is a home made transmission jack, yes you can buy an adapter for your floor jack for around 50 bucks. BUT if your broke and/or to cheap to do so this works great. Cut a 15" piece of 2"x10" board line it up with your jack pedestal drill your holes, drop in two bolts "counter sink them so they don't hit the tranny" and ta da!

Fourth is optional and you may or may not need it, but buy a 2x4 cut it into a 55" piece followed by 2 small pieces about 7" long. Make it look like this |========| , and it will wedge between your fenders. Wrap some chain around it and you've got another method to help support either the engine (by the home made bracket you made) OR the transmission (by the existing pitch stop mount) This is a real help if your going at this solo or have limited help. You can get the tranny up off the ground from the bottom and have it support itself while you jump back up top to help line things up.

Enough of this BS lets get to the meat and potatoes right.... right

Some of the basic stuff I won't go into really great details on, mainly because if your doing a clutch swap chances are you already know how to take a wheel off and your TMIC etc... etc... But i will throw up pics if i remember to snap them just in case and give a quick overview.

Tools Required:

-3/8" Ratchet with assortment of sockets from 10mm-15mm w/ various extension and a swivel
-1/2" Ratchet or breaker bar with some larger sockets 17mm-19mm
-3 large sockets 22mm, 23mm & 26mm (the last two are only if you are installing a new pilot bearing)
-3/8-1/2" adapter is a good idea to have around
-Good floor jack with 4 jack stands that won't murder you
-19mm/14mm/12mm/10mm wrenches
-Couple of cheater bars (lengths of pipe that can slip over your ratchets/wrenches)
-Few large Flat head screw drivers, and Pry Bars
-Cable Ties
-Grease
-Hammers (big and small)
-Clutch alignment tool
-1/2" Torque Wrench
-Mechanix gloves (nobody is a hero when they tear off their fucking knuckles cause they wanted to be macho and not wear gloves)
-Brake Cleaner
-Long 6mm bolt to pull the release fork pin
-Paint Pen
-Red Locktite
-Blue Locktite
-The custom fabbed shit we discussed above or equivalent

STEP 1

Disconnect your negative post of your battery.

If you have a FMIC you can skip this, if you are rocking a TMIC take that sucker off. 2 bolts each side, then loosen the clamps on the TB, and turbo inlet and unplug your BOV/BPV

STEP 2
If you have a heat shield on your turbo get it out of the way (with mine i have to remove my short ram intake so you may have to do the same) Once the shield is out of the way begin removing your downpipe bolts

STEP 3
Remove your pitch stop and slave cylinder make sure to tie the cylinder up with cable ties out of the way.

Then Disconnect all the electrical connectors on top of the Tranny including the ground bolts/wires.

Use the homemade 10mm socket to break loose the shift fork plug, then thread in a 3-4" 6mm bolt then pull the pin out, lift up the fork so it dis-engages the TOB.

Remove the nuts that hold the power cords to the starter solenoid then remove the two bolts that hold on your starter. Make sure you keep the cables insulated and out of the way because they do run to the alternator and battery so arcs are possible even though your batt is disconnected.

STEP 4
Now you've got the top part of the engine taken care of, its time to get this beast in the air.

On my jack stands i have it raised up on the 5th or 6th notch if the tranny is going to stay under the vehicle. If you plan to remove the tranny out from under the car for whatever reason you may need to go higher. But that does depend on your stands etc..

Once you are in the air and fully supported (don't be a tard and get squished)

Remove the front wheels and set them aside. Take a paint pen and mark the position of your top camber bolts on your spindles then remove the two large bolts on each side that hold it in and all the spindles to flop forward.

Then finish taking out your downpipe, followed by your mid pipe. Be sure to unclip your O2 sensor from the transmission cross member before you drop the DP

If you have any supporting H brace also remove it followed by removing the front axle spring pins with a small phillips screw driver or punch and slip them off the splines and over out of the way (this is why we popped the spindles loose earlier). Then drain your transmission

STEP 5

Move back to the rear and remove your drive shaft shield bolts and set them aside.

Followed by the 4 bolts that hold the drive shaft to the rear differential. (it helps if you've got a buddy in the car to hold the brake pedal but if you don't knock it out of gear with the ebrake off and you can used a piece of wood as leverage to hold down while you break the bolts loose.

After thats done its just two bolts holding the center bearing in and you can slide it out of the back of the transmission Gently!

Next up disconnect the shift linkages at the end of the transmission and position them out of the way. Then the remaining bell housing bolts (minus the 2 that you removed earlier for the starter)

STEP 6
Put your drain plug back in the tranny and position the jack under the belly of the transmission where the plug meets the long flat section, and jack to apply a slight pressure.

Start removing the 6 bolts on the cross members of the transmission followed by the bolts that support the cross members to the chassis and set aside. (now you can skip separating the two cross members and just drop them as a whole BUT i think when your working on the ground its easier to split them but its your choice)

Now your ready to break the transmission free from the engine.

This isn't always easy but i've found the best method requires two people, one up top with a section of 2x4 and a 6lb sledge hammer, the other beneath the transmission and in control of the jack.

Basically line the 2x4 up with the face of the pitch stop mount on the tranny and begin slamming it with the sledge, while the guy under the car varies the lift and tension of the transmission followed by some friendly shaking. Once you get a gap you can toss the 2x4 and big hammer in favor of a wide face chisel or big flat head screwdriver with a smaller hammer and peck down forcing the seal open, first a few pecks on one side then the other. Once the guy from down under notices the dowel pins and bolt studs on the bottom of the tranny are free you are set to pull back and let down.

STEP 7

Now your face to face with your pressure plate and flywheel!

If you have an impact gun you can buzz the bolts for the clutch and the flywheel off without having someone hold the crank (unless they are really seized but if you don't a simple 22mm socket and 1/2 ratchet will hold the crank pulley). MAKE SURE you remove them in a star pattern so nothing gets warped

RE-INSTALL

Now of course you know this will be a reversal on the un-install but there are some other things to highlight.

STEP 1
Clean everything good with brake cleaner, this includes the bell housing, clutch fork, flywheel, pressure plate and also take your bolts to the bench grinder with a wire brush and clean the gunk off the threads.

Pilot Bearing Removal:
Grab a 23mm & 26mm socket and a small hammer. Place the 26mm under the flywheel facing up and use the 23mm to drive out the old bearing. Flip over so the flywheel face is down and use the 23mm to drive the new bearing into place.

STEP 2

Line up your clean flywheel bolts and put a drop or two of Red Locktite on each, Then position the flywheel making sure not to put your greasy ass fingers on the friction surface, thread in the bolts finger tight.

Handy tip for solo wrench turners
place your 22mm socket and 1/2 drive ratchet on your crank bolt then stuff a long heavy flat head screw driver between the alignment groove of your alternator and position the handle so the screwdriver acts as a stop for the ratchet. This will prevent the engine from turning when you torque the bolts down

Torque the flywheel bolts to 52.8Ft/Lbs ( 55.3 Ft/Lbs for STI) in a star pattern starting at the top right corner

Take your clean clutch bolts give them a dose of Red Locktite and have them ready for you. Then place your clutch disc on your pressure plate an thread the alignment tool through.

Then hoist into position lining up the tool with the hole on the pilot bearing. Make sure you get all the dowel pins set in the proper position on the flywheel so everything is flush and all your bolt holes line up.

Thread your bolts in finger tight, then torque to 11.8 Ft/Lbs in a star pattern starting at the top right corner

STEP 3
Grease your release fork shaft with some good automotive grease along with the ears on the throw out bearing, then sit the TOB in position and slide the pin through the transmission and lock it into place with the 10mm plug you removed earlier.

Give a very small dose of grease to the splines of the transmission as well (very sparingly you don't want to much and it to sling all over the place in there) then your ready to jack the tranny into position and begin getting it lined up. Make sure you remove your clutch alignment tool before you go ramming the tranny into the pressure plate.

After your lined up, thread in some of your bell housing bolts (that you dabbed with some blue locktite), followed by your cross members and continue the reversal process until your buttoned up and ready to go. Make sure you give some grease to the axle splines before you slide them on the transmission and drive in new spring pins.

TA DA your done

lethaldose · 01-12-2010, 08:05 AM

Reserved!!!!!!!!!!

i'm not done yet but i wanted to get it on the forums so i could put in my colors and bold and all that shit. more pics and shit will be up as well as proof reading and adding the tools and shit that i miss out on

narcispy · 01-12-2010, 08:09 AM

Wow, excellent guide except for that huge BOV you have

lethaldose · 01-12-2010, 08:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by narcispy

Wow, excellent guide except for that huge BOV you have

SIZE DOES MATTER hahahah i love the RFL though great sound.

when i actually put everything back i'm going to get pics of the cross members and stuff that seems to be the only real thing i'm lacking. Most of the shots came from the 1st time i dropped in the spec clutch

woot

narcispy · 01-12-2010, 08:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lethaldose

SIZE DOES MATTER hahahah i love the RFL though great sound.

Yeah I'd like to play around with one for a bit because they sound cool, even though everyone says they are a "ricer" mod and can mess up your tune.

lethaldose · 01-12-2010, 08:38 AM

they richen your air mix on downshifts and can cause backfire but nothing thats harmful or causes a loss of power. if you switch to the new style that jason and sean are using it eliminates that i believe

but now back to praising my thread go go

JasonoJordan · 01-12-2010, 08:47 AM

good dwi lethal!

narcispy · 01-12-2010, 08:53 AM

about time lethal contributes something worthwhile to this forum besides pictures of midgets and various other garbage

lethaldose · 01-12-2010, 08:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JasonoJordan

good dwi lethal!

LMFAO ^^^

hey i've got a few good DIY's hobo

represent son

SWRC 555 · 01-12-2010, 10:47 AM

pure sex

for the pics

lethaldose · 01-19-2010, 07:28 AM

done deal

shultz2 · 01-19-2010, 08:36 AM

excellent write up man. like to add. you can buy allen wrench sockets to take the plug out, you dont have to make one...i have a set of them on a 3/8s socket. and to remove the tranny. this isnt going to go over well here but i pulled it out myself. laying on my back and i had my dad put the floor jack(just like lethals) under it when i held it up. ps it is really front heavy and make sure you clog the ass of it with a rag so you dont get fluid all over yourself. other then that. i did exactly what lethal did awesome job man

edit: make sure you have the two dowels on the motor, i was missing the one on the passenger side causing my clutch problem.

lethaldose · 01-19-2010, 08:48 AM

yeah i'm just a cheap ass and made one

they are handy if you have set of em they are used for a lot more shit than just this car

shultz2 · 01-19-2010, 08:51 AM

really? i havent come across anything yet...lol hopefully i wont have to.

lethaldose · 01-19-2010, 08:55 AM

how did you fix the dowel? i'm going to clean mine up this second time so the tranny will seat easier, last time they must have had a burr on them or something cause they were a pain in the balls to get in

shultz2 · 01-19-2010, 09:04 AM

i took a bolt that was as close to the size as i had. cut the threads off and the head of the bolt off and put it in. i had to hammer it in, but it wasnt an EXACT fit, but its doing the job just fine. *crossed fingers*

wjfawb0 · 01-19-2010, 08:10 PM

Very nice. I just did this on my 05 STi. I have a lot of the pics here:

http://www.fawbush.org/images/2009_1...pring_install/

It was a lot of fun on the 6 speed by myself, but the harbor freight scissor transmission jack made it manageable.

shaner · 02-18-2010, 07:58 AM

thank you for this! I was just getting ready to ask about it being the same for the sti, obviously it is, thanks again!

lethaldose · 02-18-2010, 03:29 PM

^^ that is a killer tranny jack

narcispy · 02-18-2010, 06:37 PM

Yea that's definately a really nice jack would serve nicely for that swap

seanathan · 02-28-2010, 10:06 PM

ok lethal time for me to ask a question, when you took the tranny out the throw out bearing was in the pressure plate, when you put it back in, it was stuck in the shift fork so what is it, the one i have is stuck in the pressure plate, and i need to find a clutch alignment tool

lethaldose · 03-01-2010, 06:10 AM

if you are going to re-use your old TOB you will have to remove it from the pressure plate then go ahead and install it on the fork and shaft of the transmission and put the pin back in.

its easy to release the tension ring that holds it in has a little open gap just take a flat head screwdriver and spread that just a bit and it will drop right out.

seanathan · 03-01-2010, 07:23 AM

yea it has like 2400 miles on it

lethaldose · 03-01-2010, 10:43 AM

sweet you should be good to go then.. when you get everything buttoned back up make sure you engage your TOB fork before you mount your slave cylinder... (chances are it will kick in when you push your pedal in the first time but i like to make sure so you don't have to go pulling the TMIC off again just in case lol)

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