Clutch swap - Wednesday night

[302GTS]

Well I decided to take your advice, HISSIN, and go with a brand new clutch as opposed to just getting a throwout bearing. A friend and I will be doing the swap Wednesday night, and I was wondering if there's any good tips and tricks I should know before doing this? He just did a clutch install for an 01 Cobra two weeks ago, but it took a lot longer than it should have as he ran into some problems along the way. I'd like to make this install go as smoothly as possible, so Let me know if there's any good tips!

 

[SVT32VDOHC]

I haven't done pilot bearings on any of the clutch jobs I have done except for one time. I don't know if it made a difference but we struggled with it. We got it out and all but it took some time.

If you have a clutch kit, just get the flywheel cut, double check the condition on the retainer, and replace it if it is worn. They make upgraded steel retainers to replace the aluminum with. They are like 29.99. I highly recommend that.

Read the directions and follow the torque ratings at the crank, which I think were 75-85ft lbs and only 12-24 ft lbs on the pressure plate to fywheel bolts. I did mine at 18ft lbs.

Make sure your cable and quadrandt are in good shape and you'll have a nice operating clutch.

 

[302GTS]

I haven't done pilot bearings on any of the clutch jobs I have done except for one time. I don't know if it made a difference but we struggled with it. We got it out and all but it took some time.

If you have a clutch kit, just get the flywheel cut, double check the condition on the retainer, and replace it if it is worn. They make upgraded steel retainers to replace the aluminum with. They are like 29.99. I highly recommend that.

Read the directions and follow the torque ratings at the crank, which I think were 75-85ft lbs and only 12-24 ft lbs on the pressure plate to fywheel bolts. I did mine at 18ft lbs.

Make sure your cable and quadrandt are in good shape and you'll have a nice operating clutch.

Any ideas on a good retainer to buy? A local shop owner told me my retainer may be chewed up because of the condition of my TOB... But yes, I bought a King Cobra kit, with just a basic FRPP flywheel.

Edit: Just ordered a steel retainer from Summit, so that covers that problem.

 

[HISSIN50]

Your fork might have seen better days. Buy online.
The RMS might need renewing. Can get at parts store.


Here's a pretty good write-up that David did. It has a fox III in mind, but almost everything (sans the bearing retainer, fork, etc) are the same. The procedure is largely the same.The part numbers and lists are nice:


http://forums.stangnet.com/707250-86-95-5-0l-clutch-swap-help.html

 

[revhead347]

Don't forget to grease the fulcrum on the clutch fork when you put it back in. It's best to stand the transmission up on end when you change the retainer so that nothing falls out of it. The pilot bearing is a piece of cake to change if you rent the tool from the autoparts store. It's one of those free rentals, and both Advance and Autozone carry them.

Kurt

 

[302GTS]

I appreciate the replies, and that write-up is great, JT. I went through the list of needed/wanted parts and I only need to pick up a few more things. I definitely didn't plan on spending this kind of money on a clutch so soon, but it's better to get in there and do it right one time instead of over and over again. The process should go pretty smoothly, and hopefully I'm satisfied with the result.

 

[HISSIN50]

I appreciate the replies, and that write-up is great, JT. I went through the list of needed/wanted parts and I only need to pick up a few more things. I definitely didn't plan on spending this kind of money on a clutch so soon, but it's better to get in there and do it right one time instead of over and over again. The process should go pretty smoothly, and hopefully I'm satisfied with the result.

Good plan. After doing it this time, you should be good for a long time.

 

[Chythar]

Take a look at my comment on that clutch swap thread, the input shaft bearing retainer needs an oil seal. It's cheap but there's no reference to the seal in the writeup. Also, the input shaft bearing retainer has RTV between it and the tranny itself. You'll need to lay a bead down or you'll get a tranny fluid leak.

My swap is nearly done, got stuck installing the tranny. A few things I ran into:

The instructions say that the engine will tilt when you remove the tranny. This is true. It will tilt BACKWARDS, so support the lower part of the oil pan with a jack stand and a block of wood.

I separated the bellhousing from the tranny. The tranny itself is pretty light, but I found it wouldn't balance easily on a standard jack. It's also a lot heavier than it seems if you can't get at just the right angle. If you have a buddy to help, you should be fine.

I found my tranny got stuck on the throwout bearing and clutch fork when uninstalling. This combined with the jack problems I mentioned above made it really difficult to pull the tranny out.

The instructions at the link Hissin gave does say this, but it bears repeating: when reinstalling the tranny, do NOT drag the tranny back in by its bolts. All the parts will sit flush when properly installed, the bolts will then hold it all in place. When a buddy and I reinstalled my T5, it got stuck on something and left a 1/4" gap between the tranny and the bellhousing. We had to twist and wiggle the tranny until it finally slid in that last 1/4" and was flush with the bellhousing.

 

[revhead347]

Transmission weighs about 68lbs if that's any help.

Kurt

 

[HGFireHazard]

The instructions at the link Hissin gave does say this, but it bears repeating: when reinstalling the tranny, do NOT drag the tranny back in by its bolts. All the parts will sit flush when properly installed, the bolts will then hold it all in place. When a buddy and I reinstalled my T5, it got stuck on something and left a 1/4" gap between the tranny and the bellhousing. We had to twist and wiggle the tranny until it finally slid in that last 1/4" and was flush with the bellhousing.

A good way to get through this issue is to hook up the clutch cable to the fork and have you or your buddy get in the car and press and release the clutch pedal while the other is beneath to help push it forward. This is known to easily allow the transmission to go that last bit on.

If you're using stands ensure you got them as high as they will safely go, if you are using a lift I envy you. If you remove the transmission without the bell attached the transmission is modestly tolerable to 'bench' in order to remove it. I had no issue lowering it to my chest and lightly sliding it off of me onto my creeper. One knows their own body better than anyone else so if you aren't sure about it just use a jack.

If you run into any problems the forum is here to help, don't hesitate with any question.

Good luck!

 

[302GTS]

Chythar, I'll definitely keep all that in mind.

I'll also keep the clutch cable strategy in my head.

As for the weight of the tranny, that's no problem. I was the one who lowered it off the input shaft for my friend's car when the same friend I were doing another Mustang's clutch. I was able to lower it right above my chest and just hand it off to my friend, so that won't be an issue. With all this added info, it should definitely go smoothly. I'll even have time that night/morning to do my dizzy swap!