DIY Clutch Replacement Howto:

[emi325i]

Oh man ... sounds like my timing belt replacement; I kept several souvenirs from that one.. broken bolt head, broken drill bit, broken easy-out (why do they call it easy out?), a little bit of blood on this one screw... Let's not forget the time a piece of plastic got sucked into my engine; i kept that, too, along with the $1k shop receipt to get it out.

But on the upside, replacing my clutch went a lot better

[chasiubao]

glad i took mine to the shop

well worth it after reading this thread. i like to "dabble" unnder the hood but out 10 wrenches (10 the most difficult) i think i'll stop at 7, 8 being the clutch job this thread is talking about.

[emi325i]

if you take your time and do everything by the book, you shouldn't have any problems. The right tools and patience will do the trick. If you get pissed off at it, just take a break... And keep shit organized so you don't loose any parts, like that big washer that goes on the flywheel.

[Simon S]

Does holding the motor in place become an issue when transmission is removed? Like does it want to fall forward or backward while being held up by two mounts?

* planning m42 clutch replacement in near future *

[AndrewBird]

Just a suggestion, only put the larger tranny bolts back in (all but the 10mm ones). It's really all that is need to hold the tranny on the engine and will make things a LOT easier if you need to pull the tranny again later.

Jordan, James and I pulled Jordan's tranny and put in a different one in about 6 hours. Granted, we didn't replace the clutch, but that shouldn't take long once the tranny is out (hopefully).

[rcko]

first time is always hard... just a pain time consuming job but nothing technically hard

[fwappy]

There are a few bolts I can't get to at all. And the one I did get to won't turn at all. I hate that bolt. Welp, time to get back to it.

[dude8383]

Im just going to say, that after swapping flywheels on my car yesterday...everything hurts in my body today.

:)

[MIKe30]

Im just going to say, that after swapping flywheels on my car yesterday...everything hurts in my body today.

:)

i bet your body feels better tho while your're at WOT :p

[dude8383]

i bet your body feels better tho while your're at WOT :p

haha, yes, the feeling is quite nice.

the car picks up much better now, pretty peppy :)

[nefarious7907]

Well it sounds like I am not the only person who has a been a tiny bit frustrated trying to reach those top tranny bolts. I thought the starter had to come out although the Bentley makes no mention of it.

[1991 318is]

I saw a guy do this a long time ago and have done it ever since. Stick a couple of studs in the back of the motor or bell housing to hold the weight of the transmission. It makes it a lot easier to stab it when you don;t have to support the weight of the transmission.

[fcsteve]

this is by far the best post ive ever seen.

[-limp-]

wow this thread is old....but by far the worst thing you can get hit in the face with is the tranny itself trust me

[catchuk]

i have one question as im replacing my clutch right now, bently says to lower the engine and transmission onto the subframe but pelican write-up says to support the oil pan with a jackstand, any recommendations?