Jasper Posted March 22, 2012 Share Posted March 22, 2012 (edited) Oops, I meant "questions". Hello everyone. I need to change the clutch on my 88 dl 4wd. I've never done a job like this before but I have changed the cv axles and other minor repair work so I believe I have all the necessary tools except for a torque wrench. I live in the mountains and this is my only car so I need to make sure I have everything I need before I get started, no running down the street to the parts store around here. I do have a few starting questions,with more to follow I'm sure. a) Is everything I need contained in a “clutch kit” and who makes a good economical clutch kit. Do I need a torque wrench? c) Approach : From what I've read there are 3 ways to get to the clutch a) pull the engine. remove the radiator and slide the engine forward and c) jack up the car and remove the transmission from underneath. Which way should I attack? I'm leaning toward taking approach C even though it appears to be the most frustrating way to do the job. I do not have an engine lift and pulling the engine seems a little overwhelming to me. Sliding the engine forward seems doable but does it really make it easier? Thoughts please. I'll post updates and I'm sure I will have more questions as I dive in. Thanks. Edited March 22, 2012 by Jasper Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
desertsubaru Posted March 22, 2012 Share Posted March 22, 2012 IMO Sachs makes a good economical kit that will have all your parts in it. Yes you need a torque wrench (though I personally never used one for the clutch). IMO pulling the engine is the easy way to do it. If you don't have an engine lift three 12 foot long 4 inch around wood polls or trees set up as a tripod works well with a cheapo ratcheting come-along will do. I have also used three 12 foot long 4x4s as a tripod. If you use a tripod make sure you have a way of keeping them from sliding if on pavement. I took three big nails cut the heads off then pounded them into the bottom center of the tripod legs letting them stick out about an inch. If in dirt just dig a small hole to set the each leg in. Or you could rent an engine lift for the day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ivans imports Posted March 22, 2012 Share Posted March 22, 2012 Pull engine it takes me 25 minutues to pull at my shop but you dont have to fight axles or ball joints.just exhaust two mount bolts 4 bell housing two strut brace feul lines diss rad ect. is way better to pull engine is a good time to fix any leaks it may have. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jasper Posted March 24, 2012 Author Share Posted March 24, 2012 Thanks for the replies. The clutch kit will be in on Tuesday and I'm trying to hunt an engine lift down although I'm still wondering if sliding the engine forward is a sound approach. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
man on the moon Posted March 24, 2012 Share Posted March 24, 2012 If you have a friend, they can be your engine lift. The motor is not that heavy. Put ropes or straps around the block, put a pole through, and lift from both sides. Unless you can get the car up and a jack underneath it, I really don't recommend pulling the transmission. It's way more trouble and will result in much cursing--especially if you are alone and without a lift. (I swapped mine out last fall using only a small hand jack and yeah...don't do it). When I've 'pulled' the motor for the clutch, I don't even pull the radiator (twice now)--just remove the fans and pulleys/accessories/belts on the front and slide her forward. Put some a piece of thin plywood against the radiator to keep from bashing it in. I use a jack like you would use to change tires to lift her enough to clear the motor mounts and wiggle/slide. This I can do alone, easily (and without much cursing) and I'm only 120 pounds dripping wet. You need a full metric wrench and socket set (ok, you probably won't use the 11 or the 13 mm, but close enough!) and a clutch kit. It's not a bad time to replace hoses, plugs, etc as well if you have the cash on hand. You will need to partially drain the water from your motor due to undoing the heater lines. No need to drain the oil unless you want to. *ETA: You want a hydraulic floor jack, not the cheap crappy scissor or bottle jack that comes with the car. A small totable floor jack is sufficient. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gloyale Posted March 24, 2012 Share Posted March 24, 2012 Pull engine it takes me 25 minutues to pull at my shop but you dont have to fight axles or ball joints.just exhaust two mount bolts 4 bell housing two strut brace feul lines diss rad ect. is way better to pull engine is a good time to fix any leaks it may have. I disagree. Removing engine requires unbolting the A/C condesor, Power Steering pump, Radiator, fuel lines, heater hoses, hillholder cable pulled from under the manifold...etc.... Removing trans, requires Exhaust, diconnecting shiftlinkage and driveline and clutch cables. Punch the pins from the axles, then drop the tran. Axles will come off once trans is moved back a bit...no need to mess with balljoints. Toughest part is getting it high enough up on jackstands. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jasper Posted March 26, 2012 Author Share Posted March 26, 2012 man on the moon, when you say "pulled" you mean the "slide it forward" method don't you? I think I'm going to go with this approach and if I can't get to the clutch or I have a problem I can always "lift" the motor out at that point. What did you have to disconnect in order to slide it besides the transmission case from the engine, the fans and pulleys/accessories/belts and the mounts. Do you still have to disconnect fuel, power steering, etc? Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gloyale Posted March 26, 2012 Share Posted March 26, 2012 man on the moon, when you say "pulled" you mean the "slide it forward" method don't you? I think I'm going to go with this approach and if I can't get to the clutch or I have a problem I can always "lift" the motor out at that point. What did you have to disconnect in order to slide it besides the transmission case from the engine, the fans and pulleys/accessories/belts and the mounts. Do you still have to disconnect fuel, power steering, etc? Thanks Exhaust, Heater hoses, Dogbone, Fuel lines, hillholder, throttle cable, MAF, radiator, Power steering, AC pump or disconnect the lines, Clutch fan if you got one.....pretty much all of it like pulling engine. Also, sliding the engine forward leaves you about 6-8 inches of access between the trans and engine. Hard to remove the flywheel like that. I'm telling you....unless there is some other reason to pull the engine......your better off just sliding trans out the bottom. It doesn't even have to come all the way out from under the car, just drop it down, and roll it back under car a bit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
man on the moon Posted March 27, 2012 Share Posted March 27, 2012 (edited) man on the moon, when you say "pulled" you mean the "slide it forward" method don't you? I think I'm going to go with this approach and if I can't get to the clutch or I have a problem I can always "lift" the motor out at that point. What did you have to disconnect in order to slide it besides the transmission case from the engine, the fans and pulleys/accessories/belts and the mounts. Do you still have to disconnect fuel, power steering, etc? Thanks I've replaced the clutch by sliding the motor forward, and swapped the motor out which requires pulling completely, of course. You do need to disconnect the heater lines, fuel lines, air intake boot, and wiring harness. None have enough stretch in them to go where you need. I also recommend disconnecting the radiator hoses. There are four bolts that hold the motor and tranny together, two exhaust studs on each head, two motor mounts, and the pitch stopper. When you slide it forward it helps to rest the motor on something (get the mounts down onto the cross member in front of their holes, for example) so you don't just POP off the transmission. If you aren't replacing the transmission, you won't need to pull it out from under the car, but you will still have to move it supported on a jack while laying on your back under the car. I don't care for that, but if you don't mind that method isn't too bad. I just find moving the motor easier for me. ETA: I have small hands, the 8 inch gap is not a limiting factor for me, but it's something to consider if you are large in that department. Edited March 27, 2012 by man on the moon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fairtax4me Posted March 27, 2012 Share Posted March 27, 2012 I've done both ways, but not on an EA car. The process is similar enough on any car though. If you have a big floor jack (18-20 inches of lift with a 4" pad) you can lower the trans in an hour or so without having to drain any fluids. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jasper Posted March 27, 2012 Author Share Posted March 27, 2012 Thank you for the replies. As I said in the original post, I have never done a job like this. Moving the motor may not be the easiest for me so sliding the trans out the bottom it is. I was not aware I could/can just drop it down, and roll it back. I only have two stands so I think I'll pick up a couple more later today when I go get the clutch kit. Perhaps jacking the car up on four points will give me a little more room. I only weigh 165 lbs so I have no problem working underneath her. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gloyale Posted March 27, 2012 Share Posted March 27, 2012 If you aren't replacing the transmission, you won't need to pull it out from under the car, but you will still have to move it supported on a jack while laying on your back under the car. I don't care for that, but if you don't mind that method isn't too bad. I just find moving the motor easier for me. ETA: I have small hands, the 8 inch gap is not a limiting factor for me, but it's something to consider if you are large in that department. I work on cars all day, every day.....I find lying on my back for 15 minutes, hurts less than bending over the fenders for hours. And, it's not my hands that won't fit in there, it's the 1/2" air impact for removing and retightening the flywheel bolts...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
man on the moon Posted March 28, 2012 Share Posted March 28, 2012 I work on cars all day, every day.....I find lying on my back for 15 minutes, hurts less than bending over the fenders for hours. And, it's not my hands that won't fit in there, it's the 1/2" air impact for removing and retightening the flywheel bolts...... It's not the pain so much as the fact I might hit 120 pounds soaking wet. I don't have the mass to move the transmission. If I push on it, I'm the one sliding across the floor! It took a lot of (hours of cursing) finagling to get the d/r swap in place and happy, and that was after the epic battle with the roll pins. Otoh, with the motor I can hook my knees behind the grill or wheel well and get the leverage I need to put things together/apart, no problem at all. I can see the air impact wrench being a problem--since it's a low torque bolt set I just used a hand ratchet. (And I don't have an impact wrench). I guess the moral of the story is: do what you need to do based on the tools, skills, and other resources (friends?) at your disposal! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
81EA81 Posted March 28, 2012 Share Posted March 28, 2012 The first time I replaced a clutch It was in my EA81 Brat. I decided to pull the transmission.Lucky for me I was able to use a lift:banana: I didnt have a problem with ball joints or cv s.The linkage can be a bit tricky. Of course it poured gear oil when I pulled the driveline out. I found an aerosol can cap fit ok enough to slow down the leak.The tranny was a bit heavy, however I was able to lower it with one helper and set it on a bench. But honestly the worst part for me was getting the tranny input shaft lined back up. for some reason that seemed to take the longest of all. In my opinion the only advantage of this is not having to mess with anti-freeze:) If you have another person to help lift Im sure you will find it mush easier to pull the engine. The whole procedure is surprisingly simple. I find an engine more of a regular shape and easier to manuver and lift vs an elongated transmission to drop. and all you have to do is drop the engine is place rather lift the tranny up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jasper Posted April 1, 2012 Author Share Posted April 1, 2012 OH MY GOD, what a knuckle busting pain in %$#!*. So I went from underneath and to be fair the hardest part is that I have never done this before. I had the help of a buddy which made a big difference. I probably disconnected more off the top than I needed to. I envisioned actually taking the tranny out but once I got it back about 6 inches I was able to get to the flywheel. I'm gonna take it to town tomorrow and have it surfaced then comes putting it back together. Thanks for the replies and I will post how the reattachment goes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jasper Posted April 8, 2012 Author Share Posted April 8, 2012 (edited) I've got it almost all back together, I also replaced my right strut, strut cap, hub barrings, and both side brakes. However, I cannot figure out what the clutch lever return spring connects to besides the clutch lever. I do have a wire holder bracket (I don't know what it is called) left over. I'm thinking this goes on the bolt top center of the tranny case and the spring goes on it but there is no hole in it, except a bolt hole, like the clutch lever or I'm missing a part. Thoughts. Edited April 8, 2012 by Jasper Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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