Clutch Replacement Article

Before anything could be done, we had to take out the exhaust. What a chore. Just in case you are not aware of this, do not weld the middle pipes together. It needs to be in separate parts to be able to take them out (see photo #1). It's no fun cutting the pipe under the car. Make sure to loosen the hander for the mufflers.

Anyway, start by putting the car on block, ramps or a lift. We used the "Seery" ramps supplied by the ACE club. The ACE group lovingly calls them that because Bryan Seery is the one who made them and they work great for doing this kind of work.

Now we can unbolt the tranny mount (see photo #2). You don't have to disconnect the e-brake just unbolt the pulley to loosen it up and get the cable out of the way. Disconnect the reverse light switch if it is connected or still in tact...

Disconnect the Interlock Linkage. A lot of Corvettes may already have this removed.

Then go up top and pull off the shifter cover. To do this you will need to unscrew the shifter knob, and pull out the reverse lock out pin and spring. You will need to unscrew the lever ball for the vents with a very small allen wrench and then unscrew the four screws at the corners. As you pull it up, disconnect the lighter wire.

Try to get the differential so the each saddle is on the sides and not on top and bottom. It will make it a lot easier to get to. Then unbolt the u-joints at the differential. Be careful with the u-joint bearings. Drop the driveline and pull it towards the rear of the car. Have something under the rear of the tranny to catch the tranny fluid.

Now put a jack under the tranny to support it so you can drop the cross member. This part will have the shifter as part of it and this is why you had to do all that stuff up top.

Ok, once the tranny is braced up, unbolt the four bolts that hold the cross member on and the long bolt and nut at the top on each side. If the car is in rusty shape, you may need to take off the side moldings to hold the nut with some pliers if they brake the spot weld. This happens a lot with cars that have not been worked on. See photo #3.

There are four big bolts that hold the transmission on. So unbolt those. Make sure the trans is braced. You don't want it to rest on the input shaft. There's too much weight for it to handle. At this point, you will want to brace the engine too. Use a 2X4 under the oil pan. Be very careful doing this.

Now you can drop the cross member which will also have the shifter. See photo #4

Now lower the tranny with the jack that is bracing it. You may need to lower the jack holding the engine too. As you lower the transmission, pull it towards the rear of the car. It should slide right out of the clutch disk and throw out bearing.

Once you that is is clear of the clutch, let the jack down some more so you can pull it out.... Photo #5.

Then there it is a shield to protect the flywheel from debris when driving. That will need to come out

There should be six bolts holding the pressure plate on. Loosen them up slow and across from each other. This is a little heavier that you might think so make sure it does not fall on you when it is completely unbolted.

Make sure you had the flywheel turned so it has a clean smooth surface and try not to touch it.

Make sure the bushing in the crank is ok. It is probably a good idea to replace it. Most clutch kits have it an is fairly easy to pull out and reinstal.

There should also be a tool to make sure the clutch disk is in straight when bolting up the pressure plate. See photo #8 thru #10.

Make sure to tighten the nuts across from each other. Just like putting on a tire. Wiggle the clutch disk tool to make sure the disk is still straight.

Put a little grease on the part of the throw out bearing that touches the input shaft. Then put some on the input shaft.

Get the tranny ready on the jack you are using. Roll it under the car and raise it. As you get to the height of the engine and clutch start pushing towards the front of the car. Now, it may be a little difficult due to a tight fit with the new clutch disk and pilot bushing so don't get discouraged.

Once it is all the way in bolt up the four tranny bolts and you are ready to put everything back together.

Start with the drive shaft then the crossmember. From there the linkages and wiring.

What a job. It makes you feel good to know that it is something that can be done at home and save well over $1000.00 to do. This actually took us around a day but because we did not rush it and took some breaks here and there, it took about a week.