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Clutch change!

5K views 27 replies 12 participants last post by  CraigMans 
#1 ·
Right I know this a bit of a mad question!

How hard is it to change the clutch on a GTV?

I realise its a big strip down job so very time consuming but could it be done on axle stands and a jack?

The reason I ask is, I am bloody skint. I can't afford to send it to a garage knowing its going to cost me the best part of a grand. I had money set aside for it and then the cam sensor snapped off and it cost me £1200 to sort that out.

I am not a mechanic. But I have quite good technical knowledge. If its taking something apart and replaceing parts then I am sure I can do it.

Any help anyone can give would be much appreciated.

Thanks in advance,

Craig.
 
#3 ·
craig its a day and a half job on axle stands plus a handy assistant whilst lowering refitting the gearbox the hardest part i found was getting at the top starter motor bolt the rear exhaust manifold needs unbolting to get at it. The subframe can stay in place it just meens the gearbox needs a twist as it comes out and back in. Also you will need a 36mm socket to get the front wheel hub nuts off. Let me know if you decide to do it i will be happy to help via email if required.
 
#10 ·
Hi,

things to consider when doing the clutch.
Drive Shaft Oil seals x2
Rear main seal x1
Drive shaft seal carrier O rings x2
Gearbox input shaft seal (assembly wears with the release bearing sliding on it) x1
Re seal sump (disadvantage is that you need to take off oil radiator pipes and auxilliary belt)
Clutch slave cylinder - I renewed the internal seals.

Cheers, and good luck
 
#11 ·
landymm1, I'm driving 97 GTV, so I believe there is no dual mass flywheel. Am I correct? Thanks jayarr for the info!

Maybe you guys can help me with another problem. I think there is something wrong with the drive shaft. When I turn the right wheel I can feel there is a play between the diff and the wheel. Is it likely that I'll need to replace the drive shaft?
 
#12 ·
sounds like one of your shafts is on the way out. Trying to decide which one is the problem! on the subject of extra bits, the bushes in the clutch fork can wear (and don't cost much!) I don't see why you would need any new oil seal unles any are leaking. I knock driveshafts out of gearboxes 5 days a week and haven't neede to replace a seal for about 3 years. Worst way if you put it back and a driveshaft oil seal seeps, it'll only be an hours work to change it later. I don't believe in disturing seals that are ok, i've done that before and the new one has leaked!! As regards the slave cylinder, new seal kits are a waste of time, if it leaks change the cylinder complete. But as it's external if it's not leaking don't worry about it. Once ageain if it does leak later it ain't hard to change. Good luck.
 
#13 ·
Hi,

beleive that the right hand market had dual mass flywheels later than the left hand market. Can only speculate why, and can't remember where I read this. Mine is a Ph 1, mid 98 build, right hand drive, and had a DMF. Difficult to tell when in the car. Could possibly spot through the inspection port, and maybe a borescope by looking to see if the clutch plate is solid or has springs. Alternative is if the DMF is in really bad shape and you get juddering when reversing slowly riding the clutch.

Doubt that the drive shaft splines would have worn. Possibilities are
Diff crown and pinion
Diff star wheel
Inner CV
Outer CV

Definitely found play in my diff, but would think that you would get the same left and right hand side. As the wheel rotates, there is backlash in all four would contribute. But the CV joints would have to be pretty bad, and dry before they would have significant rotational play.

Have you checked that the intermediate shaft between gear box and right hand shaft rotates properly, there is a bearing under the oil filter.

With due deference to the flyingclutchman, clumsy clutzes like me are likely to damage the oil seals when removing the shaft. The drive shaft seal on the right hand side has a plastic cover, mine was flapping around when I came to have a look at it. But as the man says, seal changes for the shafts are one of the easier things to change.

Cheers
 
#14 ·
Right I know this a bit of a mad question!

How hard is it to change the clutch on a GTV?

I realise its a big strip down job so very time consuming but could it be done on axle stands and a jack?

The reason I ask is, I am bloody skint. I can't afford to send it to a garage knowing its going to cost me the best part of a grand. I had money set aside for it and then the cam sensor snapped off and it cost me £1200 to sort that out.
£1200 for the cam sensor change :eek:

That seems more than a bit wild to me??

The clutch isn't a bad job to do, would be time consuming for someone who is inexperienced though.

These days I usually leave the inner CV joint cups in so as to save doing the gearbox seals and oil to be honest.

Apart from the clutch (friction plate, pressure plate and thrust bearing) you shouldn't really need any other parts IMO.

You can do it with a set of axle stands and a trolley jack, but you'd need a few spare hands to help remove the gearbox as it can be awkward to remove, move out of the way, and refit.

Basically (note, basic idea) you'd need to remove the wheels, pop the ball joints, pull the shafts clear of the box (loosening the inner CV boots if you want to leave the cups in), remove all the gubbins that are on the gearbox and in the way i.e. airbox, hydraulic clutch connections etc, then the starter motor. Next its a case of removing all the bolts around the bellhousing that connect the box to the block, gearbox mount, wiggle the box off the input shaft and pull it out of the way.

Thats a basic idea of it all, depending on the car and the condition of the bolts (if they are rounded or rusty it can stretch the job out) it can be done in a day.

My database has it down as a 6.8 hour job to remove and install the clutch (from scratch). I can usually do jobs in about 75% of the time it states and I don't have a ramp, so if you add in time for searching for tools, tea breaks, swearing and head scratching it should
be easily done in a day.
 
#17 ·
I would quite happily pay £400-£500 for someone to do it! If anyone knows anyone in the west yorks area that could do it let me know!

Badj the guy who did the cam sensor is based in Keadby, charged me £50 an hour labour! I was over a barrel and couldn't drive the car! He gave me the price after he had done it! Lesson learnt I was going get him to do the clutch but he can ram it now. Thats the last money he will get out of me!

I get a judder at low revs in reverse by the way!
 
#18 ·
Cam sensor for a 3.0 is about £60 to joe public on several websites, so I'd estimate around £45 (poss more, poss a lot less) trade price - not had to buy one myself so wouldn't know.

So that leaves the calculation of

£1200/117.5 = £1021 before VAT (if you had VAT at 17.5% not 15%)
Then 1021/50 = 20 hours.

So I'd assume if someone charges £50 an hour they would be pretty handy - but taking 20 hours doesn't seem very skilled. :confused:


The juddering may be a sign of a sticky friction plate on the clutch, if its not been change for a long long time then it may be because of the age and the poorer heat resistant qualities of the lining.
 
#20 ·
Im possibly getting a 2.5V6 flywheel of a 156 thats getting broken.If i get it & the bolts, am i correct in thinking all i need is the GTA clutch? Also does mileage play a part in the 2.5v6 flywheel condition as its on 100k,and is the GTA Flywheel any better than the 2.5V6?
 
#21 ·
I wouldn't worry too much about the clutch if it isn't slipping to be honest.

Have you tried bleeding the clutch? I assume the V6 is hydraulically operated also anyway - bleeding it could improve the problems.
 
#22 ·
My V6 has been playing up for the last few weeks when I pull off it jerks and feels like the clutch isn't engaging properly and the same thing happens in reverse (under slow release of the clutch pedal). Driving and changing gear there is no problem.
Anyway, I was sure it was the clutch as the mileage warranted it(110K I have had it since 25K) and it has never been done before, also the bitting point is very high. I priced up the clutch and found somewhere to get it done, I was just toying with he idea of a Q2 etc ...... got in it on Friday and not a single sign of problem. :confused:
Has any one else experienced this?
 
#25 ·
I changed the DMF on my 156 for a solid one - Engine went pop and they sent me a 2.5 from a 166 with DMF. I would imagine the procedure is the same since I am led to believe that the engines are identical externally.

With the 156 flywheel it is just plug and play, obviously use the bolts that come with it and not the DMF bolts. It was bloody hard to remove the flywheel on my 156 and the dmf on the 166 engine, they are done up tight.

With the 156 flywheels ( as a 156 owner) I know that it is very common for them to become glazed through use and a lot of garages take them off and have them skimmed when doing clutch changes.

Also when I mentioned changing mine on here a lot of people told me that the crank and flywheel are balanced as single units, and therefore if you change the flywheel it will put the whole engine out of balance. I have had any problems and a main dealer head mechanic told me that they had changed over a lot of them and never had any come back with problems.
 
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