drumike102

How hard is it to put in a new clutch and throw out bearing in a t-5 tranny? thanks

91 Camaro Z28

whats up mike- i just got doing my t-5 swap and of course i had to throw in the whole clutch assembly- its so simple its funny. BEST ADVICE YOU CAN RECIEVE:: get a clutch alignment tool for that car- 26 spline for sure-- then we'll go from there
assuming you can pull the tranny and driveshaft and torque arm, heres how you do it...

TAKE NOTE OF HOW THE PARTS ARE ASSEMBLED WHEN THEY COME OUT, IT'LL MAKE REASSEMBLY SO MUCH EASIER

Parts:
Pressure Plate(new)
Throwout Bearing(new)
Pilot bearing(new)
Clutch Disk(new)
Alignment tool
High Temp grease(Lithium grease works very well)



Step 1: remove the old clutch assembly and look for any signs of unusual damage-- you might prevent a bigger problem in the long run

Step 2: next, you need to remove the flywheel because most likely it'll need to be resurfaced- most hobby shop places do it for like 10 or 15 bucks- once its resurfaced, you can go ahead and put it back in, make sure you torque it down to spec

Step 3: Install your new pilot bearing- make sure you put a little grease all around it, especially where the tranny input shaft will slide in- it'll make reinstalling the tranny a whole lot easier

Step 4: using your alignment tool, stick your clutch disk onto the flywheel- the tool will hold it in place and straight while you put your new pressure plate back on

Step 5: Install your new pressure plate to the flywheel- make sure you keep the clutch disk lined up correctly, otherwise youll have some problems later on. once you torque the pressure plate down to spec, you can remove the alignment tool and you're almost done

Step 6: Install the throwout bearing on the clutch fork. it works best to have the clutch fork installed and just slide the throwout bearing over the Tranny input shaft, then work it into the 'fingers' of the clutch fork.

Step 7: put some grease on the following parts:
tranny input shaft
inside of throwout bearing
about 1/4 of the pressure plate fingers where the throwout bearing will be touching

Reinstall your transmission and you're ready to go, new clutchs are so much fun!

If i missed anything, lemme know so i can be learned too :hail:

drumike102

anyway to do it without taking out the trans?

drumike102

also how much do you think it would cost to have a transmission shop install a new clutch?

91 Camaro Z28

the tranny has to come off being as how the clutch assembly resides inside the bellhousing- A tranny shop would charge 500 bucks easy to do the job- Its a real easy job man, it sounds tough with all the "steps" but its very simple- it'll probaly take an hour or so to complete- where are you located-- if you're close to NM i'll come do it for you if need be

swerve-driver

Wow! an hour? I should have had you do mine. It took me 2 hours and I had the motor out of the car.
But it does seem to be working properly......
Best of luck-
S-D

91 Camaro Z28

well an hour for the clutch swap. by the time he gets the tranny in and out-- it'll be about 2-3 hours..

drumike102

well do i need a lift cuz i dont have one thats why i asked if the tranny needs to come out of the car. or can i just do it wit it on jackstands?

91 Camaro Z28

its easiet if you can get a lift and pick the whole car up- i have the luxury of going to the hobby shop on base and do anything i want to i suppose you could do it on jackstands, but it seems unsafe to me, and it would be really hard to get at the top tranny bolts like that

swerve-driver

Agreed with 91Z.
You'd need to get it up pretty high.
A lift would be nice, but on jackstands with a good concrete floor under you to roll the tranny jack on, it would be do-able.

If you do the jack stands, take off your wheels and stack them 2x high at each end of the car so we don't read about you in the newspapers- it's cheap insurance.

You'll want to remove your distributor as the engine will likely rock backwards towards the firewall. That may already have been covered.

Also- don't forget to remove your shifter! I know it sounds dumb, but when I was pulling my engine, I was doing it by myself and I totally forgot about the shifter. Was wondering why it the engine/trans wouldn't come out! D'oh!

If you can't laugh at yourself, who can you laugh at....

Best-
S-D

Uncle Skeletor

iTrader: (5)

91 Camaro Z28: Hate to steal your thunder, but the pilot bearing and input shaft are supposed to be dry when they're installed. Clutch dust will get in the grease, turn it to sludge and cause release problems, or maybe even engagement problems.

I don't think doing it on jackstands is that bad. Just get it as high as possible. IMO it's probably better, since I just bench-press the transmission up anyway. They ain't but about eighty-nothing pounds. I just make sure to eat my Wheaties.

91 Camaro Z28

Uncle Skeletor- I may be wrong about the greasing the pilot bearing and all, but a few great mechanics helped me do my first tranny swap and told me that if you dont have a little grease on there, it'll be very difficult to do- even the thirdgen.org's tech article says to do it- any thoughts?

Uncle Skeletor

iTrader: (5)

I've just always been told not to. It may not really make a difference in the performance of the clutch, but it does make sense to me that if the grease gets dirt in it or if it gets dried out that the clutch disc won't slide freely on the input shaft, and the pilot area on the shaft might not spin freely in the bushing if the grease got all decrapidated. Dried out grease does not have any lubricating qualities.

I personally have never had a problem getting a transmission in without greasing the pilot bushing or input shaft splines... but maybe I'm just used to doing it that way. Once you get the splines started, wiggle and push in; if the disc and pilot bushing are in line, it'll go.

Steve89GTA

All I can say is check your rear main seal/intake/rocker cover gaskets while you're under there. If there are any oil leaks, fix them at this time.

Dewey316

how can you not greast the pilot bearing, the one i got CAME greased from GM.

Steve89GTA

Yes, you are supposed to grease the pilot bearing.

TBIfly

if you happen to replace the rear main while you are down there...freeze it before you install it...while the plastic shape-holder is still there.

This will help prevent tears on the seal itself when installing it, be sure to sand down the burrs if any..

good luck

jmd

iTrader: (4)

I wanna see Uncle Skeletor bench press a T56 into place.



91 Camaro Z28, you might join us one of these weekends at Sonic on San Mateo...

RB83L69

Wow.....

I cannot believe that someone would honestly think that greasing a roller bearing is a bad idea. Please tell me it was a joke.

That has nothing to do with getting the trans to assemble to the car. It has everything to do with whether it will last 75,000 miles, or 75 miles, before it toasts itself. It also has nothing to do with whether the disc will slide freely on the clutch gear; for that, you're supposed to very lightly grease the splines.

It's a moving part. It needs lube like every other moving part. Du-uh!

Uncle Skeletor

iTrader: (5)

Never greased an input shaft in my life. Never had any of them come back with problems.

89' RS/blue

I recently replaced the clutch on my T-5, and it is not a little work. Sure maybe its easy if u own a shop with the right kind of lifts and stuff. I did mine in my driveway, it is a hassle. You have to take apart the interior as well as under parts of the car. If you have little or no experience with trannies and mechanics, i would just pay a shop to do it. But if u feel up to the task, make sure you've got someone to help you, at times a friend can be greatly useful. All i can say is at least the clutches aren't too expensive. and just for the record my pilot bearing came pre greased already when i bought my clutch.