Wednesday, September 14, 2011

Changing a Clutch?

Hey, I have a 1993 Toyota Celica GT, and it's got a worn out clutch, I know someone who works at LuK (they make clutches in ohio) and they can get me a stock like clutch for 80$, pretty good, but the only problem is, I dont know if I should have someone replace the clutch for me, or try to do it myself. Just wanted to know the difficulty rating you would give it, I know a little bit about cars, so I'm not completely dumb, lol. If you think its not too too hard, how do you do it, or do you know a specific place with specific instructions? thanks!!!!!Changing a Clutch?
trust me here and have it done by a professional, often times do-it yourselfers get into alot of trouble and the repair costs much more, find a mech that you trust and have them do it, if you needed your tonsils removed would you let your friend billy do it because he took biology in highschool,, get my point?Changing a Clutch?
I am not too familiar with the Celica vehicles, but if this just the run of the mill front wheel drive with a 5 speed, you shouldn't hit many snags, it will take some time if you're doing this on the ground without a lift. If I were you, I would go at this job with atleast one other person that knows what they are doing, simply because you will save a ton of time not pulling out things that do not need to be removed. If this vehicle is the all wheel drive edition, dont even bother, that transfer case may be an issue, and just take it to a shop.Changing a Clutch?
I changed the clutch in my vehicle and I'm just a weekend-mechanic.



As long as you get lubrication on the right points, and use a torque wrench to ensure all bolts are tightened to specs, you should be fine.



I'd make sure you look at a manual though. Some cars are more difficult than others, etc.Changing a Clutch?
If you aren't comfortable taking your car apart, and confident you'll get it back together again, get someone else to do it!

In either case, (front or rear wheel drive) the transmission must be separated form the engine, and it's far easier for someone else to do it for you, except for the cost of labor.



If a car is rear-wheel drive, changing the clutch is worlds easier than front-wheel drive, but it is still no small task.



I remember that Celicas were rear-wheel drive. I don't know if yours is or not. I'm going to assume it is.



If you or a friend has the proper tools, work facilities and equipment, it is a fairly straight forward task



If you are going to work on it on jack stands, it really helps to have a transmission jack for supporting the transmission during removal and installation.



You can bend the shaft on the front of a transmission if you let the weight of it hang on the shaft.



The hardest part is putting everything back together. Transmissions get really heavy after a while when you don't use a jack, and are trying to line it up and put a bolt in it before your arms get too tired.Changing a Clutch?
does the price include the disk and clutch pressure plate?



fairly easy, make sure you have an alignment tool ($10.00 USD) to align the clutch disk to the flywheel