clutch swap in car?

[N20SATURN]

aight ive swapped motors with the tranny in,and engines with the tranny in,,so im pretty familiar with whats going on..but i need to swap my clutch and flywheel,,ive never done that in car..
so whats the easiest way,,does the drivers side cradle got 2 be dropped??
explain

[anthony]

i did it in chris's car without the cradle being dropped.its a tight space to work with but can be done with some skinny hands.just dont forget to put something under the motor to support it. [img]{SMILIES_PATH}/rolleyes.gif[/img]

[ProjectSW1]

I can see doing just the clutch... but both the clutch and the flywheel might be a challenge

[slowion2]

I think Sam's done it before, clutch anyway

[N20SATURN]

I can see doing just the clutch... but both the clutch and the flywheel might be a challenge

i would think thta if the clutch was off their should be even more room 2 get the flywheel off?

[saturnspeed_12]

all you need to do is shove the transmission towards the driverside and let it rest on the craddle with a jackstand helping too. ive done it 3 times, and now i can do it very quick. of course halfshafts come out, break ball joints loose (tie rods too if you need to), starter out, motor trans brace, flywheel cover, battery, battery tray, intake, trans dogbone and lower mount. drain trans fluid, and well i know you know the rest and probably know about everything else i was just writing.

[therealm0rh0us]

whoa!!!!
the clutch can be swapped with the subframe in!!!!!
someone needs to write that again
if you cram a block of wood between the top of the engine and trans
you have enough room to unbolt the clutch and shiz?

[saturnspeed_12]

hell yeah. ive done it 2 times and pretty much anybody else thats done the clutch in them does with the trans still in and subframe still bolted up. its kind of tight but ive had no trouble and both times ive done it by myself, helps when you have a flywheel tool.

ive got pictures of when i did it but im not sure they got saved, ill have to look.

[therealm0rh0us]

that sux for me but when i did my clutch i also had a huge hole in the trans so i gues thats ok
ive got a clutch job comin up at work if i could save an hour by not touching the cradle my productivity will be up
then ill sit in a chair smoking and tell my boss that my productivity for the day is higher than his
heheh

[saturnspeed_12]

only thing is, i would not do it on a lift. it needs to be jacked up pretty high but still be able to work from the top. im sure it can be done over a lift but then you would need those transmission jacks that always get in the way. just jack it up, put a jackstand under the engine (or use an engine brace/hoist), and once everything is taken apart, slide the trans over and stick a jackstand under the edge of the trans.

[N20SATURN]

blah,blah..baby shit [img]{SMILIES_PATH}/biggrin.gif[/img]

[S.Bretz]

you can do both with no problems.. Just push the tranny back and tkae the clutch off, then take the flywheel off. Just make sure you are not under the fylwheel when you take it off. Pull it off threw the top. That 18lb flywheel is heavy when you are under the car for about an hour and its mass wil suprise your tired arms...you could catch a face full of flywheel. Ohh, that wouodl be a good video there Steve!

[therealm0rh0us]

eat it!!!!
yeah i dont work on the ground any more im spoiled
and thanks for the info i will use it and then tell everyone about it

[SC2Sick]

i did a clutch/flywheel swap with the tranny sitting in the wheelwell.

[saturnspeed_12]

heres some pictures. not much as of a detailed way of doing it but just shows its possible. forgot about my camera until i tore it apart. SORRY BIG PICTURES!!!!!!!


heres when i first tore everything out.


inside of trans after a quick clean. did a little more after the intial cleaning


old clutch and flywheel


i got more pictures including my flywheel and POS centerforce (bought it before i knew about them and wasnt on saturn forums) and other items. scrapped that clutch 6 months ago after it failed very quickly.