DIY DIY: How 'I' changed my clutch/took off my transmission in my driveway by myself

DIY: How 'I' changed my clutch/took off my transmission in my driveway by myself

DISCLAIMER: I must stress that this is a dangerous and laborious task and that you should take it to a professional. They have experience and have the right tools to do the job. Shops typically charge $500 on up for labor. I didn't really have a choice since my car wouldn't get in gear and I would have to tow the car anyway if I couldn't fix the problem. So here's my narrative on what I did using the limited tools around me. Note that some steps may or maynot be appropiate as they what worked for me maybe a stupid method. Also, I highly suggest that you get someone else to help you as the transmission is quite heavy. I am a novice and this is how 'I' did it and what worked for me maynot work for you. Do this at your own risk.

This was done on a 1998 Corolla with a 2004 1zzfe with a C59 5-speed transmission.

Tools/Materials Used:
Floor Jack
Spare Jack
Creeper
At least 4 Jack stands
Pry bars
Metric Socket set
Used oil drain pan
Gloves
Zipties
Mallet
Plier
Ziplock bags
Sharpie pen

Steps:

1) Removed battery and intake.


2) Used a Sharpie pen to label the Ziplock bags for different screws and where they go.


3) Jacked up car. Removed left and right side engine splash covers. These covers are easy to get off with a 10MM socket wench.


4) Drained transmission oil and removed passenger side CV axle. Removing driver's side CV axle is not required. Refer to another DIY for this step.

5) From the driver's side with the splash cover off, this was the view of the transmission. This transmission is what was needed to be taken off.


6) This is the front engine mount. Took off the bolt in the middle of the mount and the bolts in that middle bar directly under the front mount that connected to the subframe.


7) Took off the starter bolts and ziptied the starter to the intake manifold. The starter bolts were tricky to find as there were two of them and each were found in opposite sides of the transmission bell housing. The red circled bolts were the tricky bolts.



8) Took off the clutch fluid lines bolted to the transmission on its way to the slaver cylinder.


9) Took off the clutch line that was bolted to the transmission running to the master cylinder.



10) Removed the shifter cables by removing this cotter pin. There were two of them.



11) Removed the ground bolt.


12) Unplugged the backup light switch.


13) Unbolted the two bolts that held the slave cylinder to the transmission.


14) Pushed the pushrod out and it came out free of the transmission. Just had to ziptie it to the frame to keep it from moving.


15) Got down under the car with the passenger side cv axle off. Took off the shifter cable bracket and unplugged the speed sensor.


16) Unbolted the two transmission bolts near there.


17) Unbolted the other two transmission bolts while I was under there.


18) Had the front mount off now just had to get the rear one out.

To achieve this, required dropping the subframe to clear the rear motor mount. Started by unbolting the anti-sway bars and tiebar. Placed the floorjack under the subframe as precaution. This required unbolting all the bolts in the photo below. Did this for both left and right sides.




19) With those bolts off, the subframe would start to fall. Placed the car jack under the subframe to keep the subframe suspended. Also, placed a jackstand or two under the engine to hold it in place as the engine is supported by one engine mount when the transmission is dropped. Needed the floorjack for dropping the transmission later.



20) This gave enough clearance for the rear mount to clear and the middle frame bar to come off.


21) Only the left engine mount and two bolts holding the transmission in place now. Unbolt the two bolts holding the transmission to the engine.


22) Placed the floorjack under the transmission and jacked it up a tad to release pressure on the mount. The screw fell out when the jack was lifted some. Unbolted the mount.


23) The transmission started to fall and break open. Used a pry bar to open it more. Jacked the transmission up to relieve downward weight on the spline inside the transmission and wiggled it out. Had to be careful to watch the rear mount from rubbing the subframe as it came out. The weight of the transmission with all that you see in the picture weight in at 98lbs.



24) Had to take off the 6 bolts to the pressure plate. Those bolts were torqued down so I had to use a long breaker bar with the handle jammed to the ground to stop the flywheel from rotating as I unscrewed the bolts with a 12MM wench.



25) That's it! Reassembly is the reverse of these steps. Remember when putting it back together the hardest part will be to mating the transmission back into the engine. I thought I was going to have to bench lift the transmission, but it turned out that all I had to do was level the engine flywheel/clutch assemble then level the transmission with a jack and run them into each other while wiggling.

Holy crap! Good work. Mad props.

:beerchug:

i did mine 3 years ago on my 94, it wasnt that hard...but good write up.

I'm a big DIY guy... and this is something I would never do on my own... thanks for putting this up!

curious was this done before your engine swap or after?

:king:

nice job good post

Truth be told, my car is still on jackstands at the moment. This narrative is my method of backtracking how to put everything back together. The last step I posted is the step I am at. LOL

This was done right after the engine swap. During the swap, I suppied SCC with a Southbend Rally Series clutch to replace. Everything was fine during the test drive and around town. The problem occurred when I was on the interstate going home after the swap. I live 165miles from the shop so as I was on the interstate trying to downshift to take a exit into another highway, I noticed that I was having problems shifting into gears. I would push down the clutch pedal, but my RPM would not drop. My clutch was not releasing no matter how much I hit the pedal, but my pedal still had pressure!

Right away, I knew I was in trouble. I realize that I could put it in one gear and that was it. Since I was on the Interstate still doing 70 mph and was about 80 miles from home, I though 5th gear was the way to go. My other dilemma was that I had left the shop with less than 1/2 tank left and if I stop for gas, I doubt I would get going again since I couldn't release my clutch. I knew I would have to get into my driveway with that or probably I'll have to be towwed.

The whole way home, I was trying to think what could be wrong. I thought it was because I had no hydrallic fluid in my master cylinder, engine swap went bad, or my slave just failed. I knew it was unlikely that my slave or master went bad because they were working fine when I dropped the car off. Anyways, I drove all the way down to my exit and when I got off, I hit a red light and couldn't hold my RPMs in 5th long enough so I pulled into a gas station to check my clutch fluid as I was highly positive this was what the problem was. I checked that and the fluid was full! So I had to call Dr. Tweak.

We couldn't figure the problem without another person and I was only 2 or 3 miles from home. This was Saturday at 6 PM so no towwing or mechanic shop would be open until Monday. The gas station had some shady ass folks hanging around and I didn't want leave my car there or wait for a tow truck so I decide to screw it and go. :hide: So I popped the car into 3rd gear started the engine. The engine responded with a loud screeching noise and scratching. I revved the engine up and it smelled like burnt clutch. I got on the road and hoped for green lights and no traffic all the way to my driveway.

Thankfully, I finally got into my driveway and cut the car off. :djparty: SCC called me back and we diagnoised the problem as not the slave or master cylinder. The car would not get into any gear. The car would make screeching and scratching noises every time the gear was in a gear with the engine started. So we figured out the clutch was the culprit.

Again, this was Saturday night. Did I want to wait until Monday to make an appointment for a clutch replacement or start trying to fix it myself? :juggle: Regardless, I would have to tow the car there anyway.

I figured since I was able to drive 165miles home into my driveway on less than 1/4 tank of gas and get home without the ability to switch gears, this was a sign that I have to do this myself. So began my quest...... that's my true story.

Here was the problem if anyone is curious:

















Yeah, it was a bad clutch and Southbend is sending me a new clutch kit. Should be here in 2 days. :dance1:

Hmm... very nice. So when the engine is turned off you could switch gears right?

I'm hoping I only have a clutch problem and not the whole tranny. I couldn't put it in any gear when the engine is running and when I do get it in gear and drive a few feet I get weird scratching and grinding noise.

Yeah. If you can switch gears with the engine off then your tranny is fine. It is the clutch. You got the same problem as me :Laugh::jk

That looks like a daikin exedy clutch disc. Thats strange, I never had problem with them before.

You are right and that's what I've been hearing too.

what clutch kit your getting?

Same one per warranty. Southbend Rally Series

^^^never heard that company before i hope it doesnt do that same and if it do the same go with act clutch kit i guarantee you the clutch will last longer down the road.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ACT-...010QQitemZ200255153965QQrdZ1QQsspagenameZWDVW

Guess what. My clutch came out the same...

What brand clutch did u have DOT?

Centerforce.

WTF why is this happening to everybody?