See title. I need to replace the diaphram, I think, or the plate, or springs, but I'd rather not have to completely remove the tranny like the Haynes manual suggests. I don't have the money to pay a shop, and it has started slipping in gears (T5) It slips, car ~still~ accelerates while slipping, and then smoothly grabs again. I can smell it burning up, so I know something is wrong.

Could low tranny fluid/lube do this?

Any other quick fixes to get me another 5k till I have the cash?

 

Ummm...... yeah you do.

 

Tranny has to come out to replace clutch.

Low lube should not have any effect, unless it has somehow leaked onto the pressure plate.

The higher the gear you use, the more the clutch will slip.
Down shifting on hills will help a little, depending on how bad it's slipping.

I've heard of people pouring soda pop on the clutch to get it to grab, but I would not recommend it.

I'll take a wild guess and say you have abt 1 to 4 weeks of driving left on that clutch. All depends on how long it's been slipping, how you drive and if you have any hills to deal with.

 

All I have to say is... $100 dollar LIFETIME WARRANTY clutch from Checker Auto Parts ! Amen! lol

 

you could pull the engine but pulling tranny is easier. One of the 2 must come out and it's a pain to align everything back up if you have to do it by yourself with no tranny jack.

 

Its not a difficult job to do. Its pretty simple actually. Just don't do it by yourself. Grab a friend who'll help you out, and you can change the clutch in your driveway. Just pick a day when you don't have alot to do, and take your time.

 

They are right, you absolutely have to pull one or the other completely out to change the clutch.

I can change the trans in my car by myself in less than 2 hours laying on the ground in my garage, drive-in to drive-out. Of course I'm a big beefy muscular kind of guy, I'm 6'1" 140 lbs. It takes about 20 additional minutes on top of that to change the clutch.

It's just not that tough. It actually takes me almost as long to get the car up on jack stands and then back down again as it does to R&R the trans. One time my little bro and I took a 69 Chevelle, put it on a rack, pulled the trans (Muncie 4-speed), tore it down & rebuilt it (all new bearings & synchros), changed the clutch, put it back together and drove back out, in an hour and 15 minutes.

If your clutch has been slipping, you will need to have the flywheel re-surfaced. It's much like turning brake rotors or drums. If you don't do this, you will be disappointed in the results you get. If you can't afford for the car to be out of service for a few days while you get this done, then get a junk flywheel, and have it done beforehand. Use NEW flywheel and pressure plate bolts, which are special bolts; you can get them for less than $20 for both sets from your local speed shop or mail-order places in ARP or Mr Gasket.

Don't cheap out on the clutch. A lousy clutch makes the car unpleasant to drive, and can shorten the life of the trans. I have a Centerforce Dual Friction in my car now, I like it very much; just smooth as silk in stop & go traffic, but practically metallic hookup when I stand on it. I'd rather have a good clutch than a cheap clutch that I have to change every 6 months, no matter how inexpensive it is or whether the replacements are free.

 

like RB83L69 said, it ain't that hard. Standard transmissons are much easier to handle than automatics. If your clutch kit doesn't come with a tool to line up the splines when you install it see about getting one. They should be cheep. Mine came with a plastic one that worked fine.

(I decided to replace the u-joints at the same time and it actually took me longer to get them out than pulling the trans and replacing the clutch.)

 

That clutch alignment tool that jimmy_mac mentioned doesn't always come with a new clutch when you buy it, but if it doesn't, its like 2.50 at your local auto parts store. Its really cheap.

 

Ok... Thanks for all the input... To make sure I have the basic procedure down right...

1. Get the car on stands.

2. Remove rear coil springs and lower the rear axle to the ground.

3. Remove Driveshaft

4. Remove tranny

5. Replace Flywheel and Clutch

6. Reverse 4,3,2.

Right? Any other tips on how to make this faster? It's starting to slip more, and is going fast. It needs to last one more week till my other car gets back from the body shop...

 

Uh, it might be easier to just remove the drive shaft by unbolting the caps on the rear u-joint and lowering it a couple of inches and pulling it out of the rear of the tranny. You will need to remove that big long brace thing from the rear diff to the tranny (I forget what you call it). And have an oil pan under the tail of the tranny to catch any fluid that comes out.

Someone else can correct me if I am wrong but dropping the rear axle just to remove the tranny sounds like a big hassle for no good reason. Maybe I have been doing this wrong.

 

Gack. My memory is full of holes. You have to remove the rear torque bar, which means the rear coil springs have to come off... I think...

Can anyone correct me?

 

Here's where I get confused... I had to swap out my 700r4 to have it rebuilt. I had all 4 corners of the car on jackstands. The rear stands were placed on the framerails "just in front of" the rear lower control arms. The rear tires were off the ground, and the rear axle was just hanging around. There was no upward pressure on the torque arm at the transmission.

I told someone this, when they were replacing (I think) their torque arm bushing. They wound up getting their hand pressed between the torque arm and floorboard. Now I don't see how I could have my car act one way and their car acted differently...

But, from my experience, I think as long as the rear tires are off the ground, the torque arm won't be dangerous. Look at the spring perches on the rear axle. They're not on top of the axle tubes, they're "behind" the axle tubes. So when the car is on the ground, with full weight on the axle and tires, the springs are "twisting" the axle. They're pushing against the rear of the axle tube- which twists the axle on the lower control arm bolts, and tries to make the "front" of the axle closer to the sky. Meanwhile, there's a torque arm bolted to the front of the axle. So the torque arm also twists upwards, towards the sky- and the floorboards. If you lift the rear tires off the ground and let the axle hang, then there's no stress on the springs, the axle doesn't want to rotate, and the torque arm just hangs out.

But this is only my theory as to why I was okay and other people weren't, so if you crush your hand between the torque arm and floorboard (or otherwise hurt yourself), don't blame me.

 

You don't have to remove the torque arm completely. You obviously need to unbolt it from the side of the tranny, but be careful because it is supposed to want to move up and may damage your floorpan. When you pull out the last bolt, have a piece of 2x4 ready and put it between the torque arm and the floorpan. Gently let it go up until it touches the floorpan. If I remember correctly, this is the procedure that was in my Chilton's manual, or something similar. I did a transmission swap not that long ago and I didn't need to worry about the torque arm because the front of the car was up really high compared to the rear.

A few tips to remember.

1) Make absolutely sure that you have the car up high enough to work under. It sucks to realize that after its half apart, trust me.

2) Make sure you torque everything to spec. Don't get lazy and do it by feel, take the extra few minutes, look up the torque specs, and do it right.

3) Get someone to help you move the tranny around under the car. Its not a very good idea to try it by yourself, you can easily drop it off the jack, and that would suck.

4) Pick a day when you don't have alot to do, and start early in the day. Take your time, and if you get frustrated, take a break. Then go back later when you cool off.

 

Oh wow, I guess I have just been lucky then. I have removed mine and put it back in on a few occasions with jack stands under the axle itself. Maybe the wieght of the car on the axle has been keeping the whole thing stable. In any case the torque arm has come off and gone on easily in each case. Like I said though, I have probably just been lucky.

In any case trying to find a faster way usually ends up causing more work or worse hurting yourself. Someday I hope to learn this myself.

Take your time with it and get a good manual. Read the procedure before and during the operation. Whatever you do don't hurt yourself.

 

I do this on 4 ramps.
As RB83L69 says, it takes ages to get the car up in the air and stable!
I get a strong friend to pull the front of the torque arm down while I undo the retaining bolt. That way, it's his fingers that get caught and not mine!! No, only joking! The force upwards is not that much, even I can hold it while someone else undoes the bolt.

TomP was correct in saying that the lower the axle the less force there is on it twisting it up towards the floorpan.

Remove prop by removing U/J clamps at the back axle and slide it out of the box.

When the clutch is out, inspect the area for any oil leaks that could get on the new clutch and ruin it! i.e input shaft seal and rear main seal on engine.

I have changed many clutches but have never had to have the flywheel resurfaced! They have always worked fine after! A thorough gentleman that RB83L69! Every credit to you! An excellent point, never even thought of it!

Lopoetve, let us know how you get on.

Andy.

 

Odyssey-

Where do you get a $100 lifetime warranty clutch?

 

what???
lifetime warranty?

I´m sure that only covers manufac issues not normal wear and tear