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I am surprised the pressure plate would end up like this after 36k. I wonder if it was a bad lot of clutch kits. Now I have a stock replacement Sachs kit installed that I purchased for under $500 We shall see how it holds up.
What a Bummer: my pressure plate went wrong at 67K miles, despite my gentle driving. First the pedal became very smooth and easy to press, which was nice in itself. Then, while trying to pass a car, I downshifted, released the clutch and pushed the throttle: the engine went all the way to the top and the car barely moved. I could smell the acrid stench of the clutch plate burning. I managed to finally pass that other car, and kept my actions very smooth until I got home.
The pedal is slow to come back, clearly indicating that there is no more pressure from the clutch being sent back to the hydraulic system.
My Indie is now suggesting I replace the flywheel ($1000) without having seen the car..... I think I am going to run multiple estimations or even try to do the thing myself.
I just completed the awful job of replacing the Clutch myself with help from a friend mechanic with access to his garage. I will try to post a tutorial with pictures and drawings.
It is definitely not an easy job and having one and at times two, persons to help you is paramount.
I just completed the awful job of replacing the Clutch myself with help from a friend mechanic with access to his garage. I will try to post a tutorial with pictures and drawings.
It is definitely not an easy job and having one and at times two, persons to help you is paramount.
Yves
Looking forward since I'm contemplating doing the clutch too.
What Clutch and pressure plate did you put in? Flywheel?
Rotmilky, thank you for this thread. The information has been excellent. I am in the middle of the blasphemous portion of trying to mate that darn transmission back up to the engine. This part is indeed a PITA, everything else has been pretty straight forward. Yes, I'm one of those poor soles with no auto lift so I am working on the floor (guess what I'm buying soon?). My freakin neck hasn't seen a workout like this in sometime.
Spent 5 hours last night trying to wiggle, jiggle, bump, raise, lower, push, finagle the sucker with no luck. I've aligned and realigned the friction disk (with tool and eye), a few times now. Does anyone have any other ideas to get this sucker in or is this just a matter of continuing the above? It makes one want to take up drinking again.
I would recommend the metal tool (small one) for aligning the clutch, before torqueing the pressure plate. The tool must slide in and out with absolutely no resistance. The plastic tool will not give you the precision you need.
Also, doing this job alone is not going to be easy. See if you can find a good soul willing to help you under the car to hold and align from the other end the gearbox. Once you are aligned, you need someone to push on the gearbox to make it click in place.
I would recommend the metal tool (small one) for aligning the clutch, before torqueing the pressure plate. The tool must slide in and out with absolutely no resistance. The plastic tool will not give you the precision you need.
Also, doing this job alone is not going to be easy. See if you can find a good soul willing to help you under the car to hold and align from the other end the gearbox. Once you are aligned, you need someone to push on the gearbox to make it click in place.
Good luck.
Yves
Thank you, Yves. I did neglect to mention that I did have help under the car. Maybe I will call on a couple more buddies as well.
I did take note of Rotmilky's drama with the plastic tool. Mine also has a bit of resistance pushing in, hence me eyeing as well. Maybe a third time is in order with another tool as you mentioned. Thanks again.
One other little tidbit for the slave cylinder; I actually installed this on the trans on the way up (before mating). It was much easier to install this way.
All in all, I am happy I found this thread and decided on doing this myself. My only heartaches were super slow shipping from ECS (although the lowest prices I could find), a broken tab on the new throwout bearing (and again waiting for the replacement) and lastly, the plastic MISalignement tool from Pelican, stay away from that one. Cheers.
I just replaced my clutch and want to say thank you for this great write-up. It took me (and a friend who was helping) around 6 hours. The most complicated part was putting the clutch slave cylinder back in place - it took us 45 minutes.
Anyway, here is a picture of my old clutch disc - it is clear why the car was not moving at all:
08-17-2015, 12:37 PM
We shall see how it holds up.
This part is indeed a PITA, everything else has been pretty straight forward. Yes, I'm one of those poor soles with no auto lift so I am working on the floor (guess what I'm buying soon?). My freakin neck hasn't seen a workout like this in sometime. 
