New Clutch Time

[Dave the Builder]

Time for some maintenance
so I have a LUK clutch kit in my spares .(specs i found say it's the same clutch for 20SE C20NE 20SEH) 216mm
The old clutch is slipping if you give it beans,
I did consider slackening the cable but if that don't work then I've a day spare next week.
anyone have any pointers tips ?,never done a clutch before (on a car anyway)
I'll dig out my HJB
got a new starter and a cam belt and some other goodies so I may as well .

[chrismec]

Not hard to do Dave, get car right up off the ground with good axle stands all round
Last one I did took me a couple of hours

[Dave the Builder]

thanks Chris, Got a pair of good axle stands ,
If I chock the rear wheels and raise the front I should get some height.
failing that the rears will have to go on a pile of breeze blocks 
gave my ramps away 

[carlton_mad]

it also helps to have a load of long extensions to get at the top bolts on the bell housing plus remove the offside engine mount unless you have access to a crane then do both

[chrismec]

Why would you take engine mounts off Chris

[Johnny A]

The 4-potters are slightly easier as the engine/box is a few inches forward compared to the 6-potters, even though like Chris said a load of extension bars will make your job a lot easier to release/do up the top box bolts.

Jack up front of car (with plenty of height for you to get yourself under the gearbox with ease)
Support chassis with axle stands or small children (front subframe works for me)
Remove exhaust
Remove chassis brace (4 bolts)
Remove propshaft
Disconnect gearbox shifter (two bolts - two connect the shifter plate to the gearbox and IF it will come out - push a circlipped pin out of the bottom of the shift lever... I prefer to do this as it means you don't need to re-align the shift lever when you put the box back in...sometimes the pin is rusted in, if so you will have to unbolt the adjuster)
Unbolt the clutch cable and pull it out of the gearbox lug
Loosen the two front engine mount rubbers (at the top and bottom)
Get a trolley jack under the gearbox casing and jack it up till it takes the weight of the box
Unbolt and remove the gearbox mount (2 bolts on chassis and two on gearbox rubber)
Drop the trolley jack A LITTLE to give you better access
With better access unplug the gearbox reverse sensor (near the top of the box at the prop end)
Unscrew the speedo cable
Drop the trolley jack slowly till it drops free from the box, this will be around a 35-40 degree angle on the engine and box
Unbolt all the gearbox bolts

Now its time to remove the gearbox itself, you need to slide it off the shaft (lol shaft). Some people use the trolley jack to take the weight.. others get under the box and use their body to cradle the box as they slide it off.... I tend to put down a load of soft wood on the floor below and violently yank it off the shaft (just make sure your body is clear)
Do not let the gearbox fall on its side or upside down, otherwise the gearbox oil will fall out of the breather.

Now unbolt the clutch pressure plate from the flywheel and let it fall on the floor whilst swearing at it
Wire brush all the dust out of the flywheel (don't breath any in)
Loosely bolt up the new clutch assembly
Align the pressure plate in the direct middle and do up the pressure plate bolts (I align the pressure plate by eye but you can buy a special tool)
Now put the gearbox back on, I hope you have strong arms!! But you can use the trolley back to help you here

Now put everything back on in reverse order

[Dave the Builder]

Thanks For taking the time to type all that it Mr A .Very helpful to me. 
may be worth putting in the "How too" section for people in future 
I'm assuming I'll need to jam the fly wheel to undo the clutch case bolts as I've no doubt Vaux put blue threadlock on the bolts ,(and i'll probably do the same, (don't want em falling out at 100 70 MPH.
also thanks to Chris & Chris for your tips.

[Johnny A]

nah the engine will rotate until you hit a compression cycle

[Dave the Builder]

Ok, that makes sense.
I take it there's no left hand threads involved ?

[Johnny A]

no but you can use left handed ratchets

[Dave the Builder]

no but you can use left handed ratchets

How do you tel if the rat is left handed ?

This job got belayed till this afternoon,
so far i've got the old clutch out
nightmare trying to get the prop off.
the friction plate did not look too bad,not cracked and only worn down to the flat surface, (20 thou to the rivet heads)
but what i did find was that the preasure plate had 3 of the 6 spring plates snapped (plates are in pairs ,3 pairs)
the new clutch friction plate is diffrent, the splined hole is longer on the new one, though i don't think this will make a diffrence (famous last words)
but the replacement is genume vaux / luc , preasure plate and fork bearing are the same as the old (which was not genuine me thinks)
re fitting it all in the morning, I'll take photos and post when it's done.

[g4rth]

nice detailed post on removing...and there is a lot of swearing involved... ..!!!

[Dave the Builder]

I finished the clutch off yesterday,all working nicely
A few notes ....
leave the gearbox in neutral (helps when trying to rotate the prop to get the nuts out.)
when the engine tips back it rests on the dissy cap /brake lines on the bulkhead, this could cause damage if the gearbox/engine is lowered too quickly.
one of the bolts to the bell housing is longer than the rest .
600mm / 2 foot of extension bar is enough (I have 3 foot of 1/2 inch and about the same in 3/8 extensions but could not see the bolt heads from that far away  )
I can confirm ...the gear box is heavy , I had a tyre off the rim for it to land on, and I also left the gearbox mount bracket on , this stops it tipping over and spilling the oil.
I rested the gearbox on a board ,under which was an inner tube, acting as an air bag to lift it and gives you the "wobble factor" required to lign it up.
I had some 200mm long (m10) coach bolts that i used to guide the gear box back ,the bell housing bolts are 12mm so the smooth bar of the coach bolts slides nicely,with the gear engadged a slight turn of the output shaft meshes up the spline of the new clutch.
the clutch needs to have the fat side (with more springs showing) facing the rear of the car,
I used brake cleaner on the flywheel, and new preasure plate to de-grease them.
I decided NOT to remove the circlip and pin on the bottom of the gear stick , (I did not fancy spending hours looking for the clip when it springs off ,from previos experience of the little s*ds),easy enough to bolt the link back up onto the knurrled shaft .
but my top tip is......

don't do it outside, in the cold when it's raining   

I have a photo of the old clutch / broken springs.when I've hosted em.
I just have one exhaust bolt to drill out ,cra**y choc bolt snapped when i un-did it,
I've "tested" the clutch on the wet roads when i finished (sticking to speed limits etc) and all is good 

[chrismec]

Good job done then Dave well done

[g4rth]

good work, and a nice progress report too...

[Dave the Builder]

thanks to everyone for the helpful advice and kind words