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Clutch Replacement: Lessons Learned

bostonaudi

Go Kart Champion
Location
Charleston, SC
Car(s)
1995 BMW M3
I did this job a month ago. Subframe removal is the way to go.

Yup, that's what I do. It makes it a shit ton easier. I have life time alignment at Firestone so don't give a crap about alignment going out. If you use one of those little tranny floor jacks you really have to remove subframe as otherwise its extremely difficult to rotate the tranny enough to get it to clear the subframe on its way out. Subframe out, with flanges removed makes it fairly easy to get out/in. For super easy clearance you can also remove the drivers side control arm cradle (don't forget to disconnect HID level sensor).
 

NewToVW

Automotive Ninja
Location
USA
Update with some reinstallation comments:

  • Bench bleed the slave/release/TOB (I reused the stock one with 30k miles on it, so I actually didn't do the bench bleed)
  • Do NOT use the bolts to pull the transmission onto the engine. You can get it seated onto the engine block's pins by just lifting if you're doing it right. Rotate the transmission output shaft flange while it's in gear to rotate the input shaft. When it's aligned properly, the engine and tx will go together very easily.
  • Do NOT use the bolts to pull the transmission to the tx mount
  • Gravity bleeding the clutch line works well. Make sure you have enough fluid in the reservoir though. The reservoir is partitioned and the clutch line draws fluid way in the back. You can't just go by the MAX line on the front. Use a little flashlight. Let it bleed out the fitting using a hose into a container; close the fitting; pump the snot out of the pedal 20 times; open fitting; repeat a few times; don't let the reservoir go dry in the back; pedal should firm right up.
  • Realign the shift cables using the dieselgeek youtube video. Buy a 20p nail in advance.
  • Torque things back per the Bentley numbers. The only torques I really questioned was the transmission mounts. That last 90* of rotation into the aluminum of the tx case is just scary. I went 45* and so far, it has held fine.
  • There are a ton of torque to yield bolts/nuts required. I'll work on posting a list.

Goingnowherefast said:
can you report back with how you like the Stage 2 Daily "silent design" clutch? Mostly in the noise catagory?
Sure. I'm a noise nazi. Seriously, I have really good hearing and I easily notice unpleasant noises. The old/non-silent clutches are pretty notorious for clatter at idle. I think I would hate this sound from what I've seen online and what people have told me. So, I was pretty excited when SB announced this "silent design"...

Silent? Mmm, not quite. When you first fire it up from a cold start (in neutral, pedal not pressed in) it is a little clackety. It's not loud, not obnoxious, just different than stock. It also shows up when pulling away in first gear on a cold engine. But, once the engine really warms up... I have to say, it's pretty much as quiet as stock at idle. You would not know it's aftermarket.

The other place a new noise shows up in when decelerating in gear above ~2500 RPM. You hear some fairly intrusive gear/bearing lash/whirl, mostly in the lowest gears. Poking around a parking lot in first gear emits a pretty annoying whirl when you're not on the throttle. This isn't a very common driving condition though, so it's an acceptable side effect to me. And, importantly, it gets quieter in each taller gear. By the time you're in 5th and 6th. It's non-existent. Which is key to me. I've had other aftermarket clutches in other cars, that would buzz when unloaded at highway speeds. This was VERY annoying! Luckily, the SB design is truly silent under any condition on the highway. Quiet as stock in 5th and 6th from what I can find.

So, is it silent? Not exactly. But, it's silent when it matters most to me (idle and highway), so I'm satisfied.

Stage II Daily is perfect for me. It is 100% street drivable - the wife will be able to drive this w/o issue. It slips easily w/o chattering at launch. I think it chatters just a little when downshifting w/o a rev match, but that might go away as it continues to break in. I don't downshift w/o rev matching often, but it's just a observation. It's a little bit heavier than the stock pedal feel, but never gets offensive. It feels like a sporty car should now. The -10 lb flywheel diet is noticeable. Throttle inputs are more direct and immediate. The tone of the engine has changed just a little, almost like you can hear each cylinder fire when going slow... sort of like a Suby flat four. Sounds good, not annoying or loud, just a little tone around town. Highway speeds sound the same to me.
 

grandshervee

New member
Location
Vancouver
^ I went with the SB Endurance Stage 2 silent design and your description is bang on. Sometimes I miss the silence I had on deceleration, but the speed at which the car revs now definitely outweighs that. A lil bit of music and you don't even hear the clutch. I have to admit, the car has never been smoother either, for me at least. We'll see how things transpire in the next 1000 miles as I've just about finished the break in process.
 

NewToVW

Automotive Ninja
Location
USA
I'm finding the same sort of smoothness during acceration. I've now gone WOT through some gears, and man she pulls so smoothly! I think it's faster too, but it's hard to say since it had been so long since I had flogged it. The weight reduction plus not having the DMF working against the crank seems to make it fly.
 

nicholasn

New member
Location
Raleigh, NC
How did you get the flywheel off? I've gotten to this point, but can't get to the bolts to remove the flywheel due to the openings being slightly off center from the bolts.
 

Lcmark

New member
Location
Boston
Car(s)
VW rabbit
So with the rate of people modifying their cars to Stage II and beyond, and the direct result being the frequent death of the stock TSI clutch, it seems a lot of us are going to be replacing clutches sooner rather than later. I figured the MKV/VI gang could use a decent walk-through. This isn't it, lol! To create a bolt-by-bolt, tool-by-tool walk-through would add a serious amount of work to an already awful job.

If you're a beginner mechanic, this job isn't for you. Just take it to a good/great local VW shop or even the dealer. I'm not sure I'd trust this to a cheap generic transmission shop. There are too many "special" VW-type issues along the way.

Lets start with tools. Have a solid assortment of hand tools... metric sockets, extensions, drives, breakers, ratchets, XZNs (triple squares), 24mm 12pt (for the axle bolt), etc. I have a compressor. I don't use it much as I typically prefer hand tools, but a compressor and air tools are extremely helpful in this job. Transmission floor jack, you'll want one. It's not required, but if you're working alone, it's very helpful. I rock a Harbor Freight cheapo. It works. Engine support bar - this is the bomb. I bought one just for this job. It was on sale for $59 at Harbor Freight and it is invaluable. You need to pick up a couple of hooks for the engine lift points too... make sure they're rated for 1000 lbs or more, but they have to fit through your chain as well.

Again, this isn't intended to be a complete walk-through. This job can be dangerous and you need to be careful and a competent mechanic. I'm sure I'm missing a few small steps along the way, so you need to be able to apply some judgment and figure other stuff out.

Big steps:

  • Disconnect GND from battery, positive from battery. Remove battery (13mm holddown clamp) and battery tray (3x 10mm screws).
  • Remove your intake.
  • Disconnect the shift cables. The one on the passenger side just uses a clip/washer. The one on the drivers side is odd. Twist the retaining ring, push the spring forward until it disengages the rod. See pic.
  • Remove the cable mounting bracket from the transmission (3x 13mm screws).
  • Disconnect the hydraulic line to the slave cylinder/throwout bearing. Remove spring clip and pull. It will leak a bit.
  • Disconnect the starter electrical connections. One requires sliding a red tab back and then lifting the release gently. The big GND cable has a nut.
  • Remove the upper starter/transmission bolt and two other upper transmission bolts (3x 18mm).
  • Install your engine support bar. It's $59, just buy it! Be careful to keep it off of your fenders. You will destroy the paint on the fenders if this rocks into them.
  • Loosen bolt front wheels. Jack the car as high as you reasonably can - be safe. Use chocks and jack stands.
  • Remove wheels. Remove underbody tray and driver side wheel liner.
  • Remove 13mm nut from starter. Move electrical crap as far foward as you can. This junk will be in your way if you don't do something with it. Remove the 18mm starter/transmission bolt. Don't drop the starter on your head.
  • Disconnect the back-up switch connector from the transmission. It's near the starter on the trans case.
  • Remove the two 10mm nuts that hold the level control sensor to the lower control arm. All MKV's have this. I assume only MKVI with HIDs will have this.
  • Remove the drivers side axle nut - 12 pt 24mm. My impact wouldn't get it. It took the wife stepping on the brake and a big ass cheater bar on my 1/2" breaker. Be super careful not to press the clutch pedal if holding the brake!
  • Remove the lower IC hose on the drivers side. Loose two T30 (?) torx on the TB pipe. I didn't bother removing it, but I just added some wiggle room.
  • Remove the two 13mm downpipe support bolts from the crossmember.
  • Remove the bolts holding both axles to the transmission output flanges. Qty 6, XZN10 on each axle. I indexed the axles to reach them all. You'll also need to hold the axles. A helper on the brake again works or a cheater bar against the floor off of axle nuts will hold it just fine.
  • Remove nuts from lower control arm under the ball joint. (qty 3 16mm). Push the LCA down and remove the driver side axle. The passenger axle can stay put.
  • Remove the pendulum arm assembly. (qty 2, 16mm, qty 1 21mm).
  • Now here is where things get real, lol. You need to decide if you want to remove the subframe and driver side LCA. Some people claim this is unecessary. They say the transmission can slide out w/o dropping that stuff. Well, I tried and I say - don't waste your time or energy. Yeah, it will probably come out, but at what expense? You are beating the crap out of the clutch and flywheel in the process. So while it might be ok coming out, I wasn't willing to abuse my new clutch/flywheel in the same manner going back in. I dropped the subframe and drivers LCA and the transmission easily comes out. It's 14 more bolts, but they are all torque-to-yield (replace them!)... 4 hold the swaybar to the subframe (13mm), 4 hold the powersteering to the subframe (16mm), 4 hold the subframe to the frame (18mm), and two hold the LCA assembly to the frame (18mm). There's a 10mm bolt that has to come off the LCA assembly as well holding a power cable down.
  • Ok, about to start lowering this monster. Check tension on the engine support bar. SLOWLY loosen and remove the three 18mm bolts from the driver side / transmission mount. The transmission will lower with them. You only want to drop it about 2.5". Use your engine support bar.
  • Remove qty 3 bolts from that block of aluminum under the tranny mount. I forget the size, maybe 13mm or 16mm.
  • Remove the black plastic shift lever. There's a lock washer and then it will slide out
  • Move your transmission jack into place and support a little of the weight. Remove the remaining transmission bolts. I think there are four left. One is an XZN14. The others are 18mm.
  • A little gentle prybar action and the transmission will start moving away from the engine.
  • Navigating it out should be pretty easy with the subframe and LCA out of the way. Once you get enough room from the passenger axle, you can also remove the passenger side output flange from the differential. This little bugger will hang up on the back of the flywheel if you don't. It's a 6mm hex key. Be sure you're angling the flange upward because you're now breaking into the transmission fluid and it could spill. Here's another place for options.... you could choose to drain the MT fluid earlier into this job. You could also remove the drivers side flange. Some people say, that by removing both flanges you can avoid dropping the subframe and LCA! I can't promise this is true, but it certainly seems possible.
  • You did it! Have a beer!
  • Remove the pressure plate. These screws are a weird size. I think they are 9mm 12pts? I'm not sure because I didn't have the right socket. I used an English 12pt to get them off.
  • Removing the flywheel bolts will take a little creativity as you need to keep the flywheel from rotating. On past clutch jobs, I've been able to shove something between the fw teeth and the casing. This fw sticks out too far for effective jamming of the ol' foreign object technique. I made little flywheel holder out of some steel banding I had laying around and a transmission bolt. It works. See pic.
  • Putting the new flywheel on is fun. There is only one way the bolt holes line up... one. And it's not obvious. I was a little worried at first, lol. I had to break out the caliper to figure out what was going on. The torque for the new bolts is 60 NM + 90* rotation. This is tough! XZN's just aren't deep enough to support this kind of wrenching. I think the impact and marking them for 90* works well.
  • Clean the new fw and pressure plate working surfaces with brake cleaner to spotless perfection! You don't want any grease on either surface.
  • From here it's basically the reverse of disassembly. I'll update with torques, part numbers, and a few pics as I finish up. I just wanted to get this down on paper while it's fresh in my head. Good luck!







Do you have torque specs for all the bolts?
 

nlinesk8s

New member
Location
Cincinnati
Car(s)
2009 Rabbit 2.5
I seldom have adds to a great diy like this, but I've a couple of suggestions, having just gone through this on a 5 cyl 2009 Rabbit:

1) Using the lifting bar is ok for safety, but with the 5cyl there are only lifting points on the front of the engine, and it will rotate hard when you release the two bolts on top of the transmission mounting bracket. Use the trans jack to first lift the trans up as high as you can against the mount, so there is no rotation when you release the two bolts on top of the bracket to mount. Otherwise the engine will rotate and put enough bending on the second bolt that it will ovalize the hole and tear up the threads in the aluminum bracket. And that's a $120 part shipped. [No need to ask me how I know this]

2) Just a suggestion, but for removing the axle bolts. Get a 24" socket extension and a triple square socket. Also buy a set of those pick tools (usually come as a set of one right-angle and one with a crook shape for removing o-rings, handy for oil changes). And also buy a set of channel locks that have the v-shaped jaws for holding pipes. Lock the channel locks on the axle to react against the lower control arm. Use the picks to clean out the triple square bolt heads. With the long extension you can reach all the way in on top, even on the non-trans side, to remove the axle bolts with ease, and the channel locks can be released and relocked as needed. Having a headlamp helps to see in there.
 
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