How hard is it to....

jenni · 11-5-07, 0:37

Change out a clutch?
When I got my baby, she slipped a little when going from 1st to 2nd. NOW, she slips while IN gears... no power behind her anymore. Pretty sure it's the clutch, but that's only assuming.
(BTW, if I'm going in the wrong direction, PLZ point me the right way. I don't wanna replace the clutch and still have my problem.)

Now, I plan to pay someone to do the work, but I'm iffy, cuz in our state we have nothing but swindler mechanics.

I'm good with cars, just never too sure I have the time or the ability to do the jobs myself. (I'm sure I can always get the tools from AutoZone.) I've looked at some repair manuals, and they tell me, I've gotta pull the tranny, then I've got my clutch, and that with the right tools, it'll take around 6 hours.

Anyone worked on this before, and do you think it's gonna be a bitch like I think it'll be?

**Shwaykid** · 11-5-07, 0:45

It'll be a bitch-n-half. 6 hours, my little toe. If it's your first time, you'll be under your car for 15-20 hours easy. You do have to drop the tranny. If you're tricky, you don't have to drop it all the way. There's a write-up somewhere where I guy did it in an hour and a half or something crazy. You can do it with basic hand tools. Like I said, you'll be cussing, bleeding, and maybe crying. You can do it, it's very possible, you just have to be patient an persistent.

If you decide to pay someone, expect to pay between $600-$800, maybe more. OEM clutch kit will run you about $200. Mark up from a shop will probably double that amount. Flywheel, either new or resurfaced will be around $100. Labor, well that depends on where you go and who you know. In SoCal, shops get $90-$100 an hour. Mitchell on Demand books an LS at 7 hours labor.

So, it's up to you. It really comes down to time, and how determined you are. Good luck either way.

**jaegzie** · 11-5-07, 13:16

I would have to say that it isnt that bad. The worst part of it was getting the axles out for me. Mine were in there pretty good(rusted), I swapped my atx for the mtx, but I had to take my first mtx tranny out because it blew the diff gears. Really, the biggest thing is when you take everything out to label it all. To me a project goes 100 times quicker and easier when everything is labeled and organized. You do not have to take the tranny completely out but you might as well it makes lining up the clutch a ton easier. Other than that it is just relatively easy if you are an average mechanic. I replaced my clutch and press plate for 125 bucks. It took about 2 hours at most. but if it is your first time I wouldnt expect quite 15-20 maybe 6-10 hours after screwing around if something doesnt come apart easily. Best thing to do is read through some writeups in here and know what you are doing before you start.

**Shwaykid** · 11-5-07, 13:52

I'm not doubting your abilities jaegzie, but 2 hours is pretty quick for someone who has never done a clutch before. Especially when the dealer calls for 7 hours labor for it. I'm lucky enough to have a lift in my garage and the first time it still took me about 15 hours for the entire job. That's including trips to a parts store to find the right size socket for my axle nut. I was also dumb and thought I needed to take the rear motor mount off the firewall.

Overall, you will be dropping your exhaust, removing three of your four motor mounts. The rear, just requires the piece that goes from the tranny to the actual mount, both axles, and all the random connectors and brackets. Don't forget to drain the tranny of all gear oil, and suck all the fluid out of you master cylinder.

I would personally drop the tranny all the way out of the car so you can inspect the inner bell housing for little cracks and to just clean all the junk out of it. You already did all the work to get it out, might as well make sure it's clean. This is also a good time to check the rear main seal, and also the axle seals. All these little projects rack up the hours.

Assuming you have all the parts and tools you need, and have a way to get the car off the ground besides jack stands, and you know exactly where every bolt is, and then know where they go when your going back together, 2 hours is still flying.

**blaster3500** · 11-5-07, 14:02

What all have you done to your car? A clutch is a pretty hard job. You may need inpact, i did for my axle nut. I did mine in a weekend with help.

**jaegzie** · 11-5-07, 14:22

It must be different then, I never had to mess with my exhaust. It clears the exhaust on mine fairly easy, you need to work around it at one point but never take it off. I could be wrong on mx because i have pgt, and actually, I have found, I also have a hoist, but i did not use it to replace the clutch, I just put it up enough to roll under it with a creeper, and worked like that. I am not doubting it took 15 hours but I think even for your first time, if you read about what you need to do and take the proper prep work, like oiling bolts etc... a lot of time can be cut off of the job, i am just pointing that out.

**dmark101** · 11-5-07, 22:15

book labor is longer than 2 hours. i'm not slow and not even i can change the clutch in the 2G that fast. quickest i've done it myself is 4 hours and that's moving.

but i have swapped an engine and had the car started in 7 hours. two man job.

**PaulG** · 11-6-07, 13:15

traviswilliams has a good writeup on probetalk, and you don't have to remove the axle nut, and only one axle has to be pulled out and up out of the way if you follow his writeup. Also, no need to empty the master cylinder. Change your own clutch.......... - ProbeTalk.com Forums

**Renboy** · 11-6-07, 13:18

Took me a little over 3 hours the first time I did it (jackstands and creep). I find the hardest part is getting the tranny lifted up and seated properly (no tranny hoist, and I'm not that big of a guy).

Definitely find/download Travis Williams write-up. There's no pictures (but you don't need them). The only part that's missing in the steps is the slave removal, that aside it's quite useful.

jenni · 11-6-07, 14:13

So then do you guys think it's worth paying $300 labor for someone to do it for me in a day, or should I just do it myself and get it done over a weekend saving $300...?

**PaulG** · 11-6-07, 14:41

I did it myself over two weekends, and although I am mechanically inclined, it was the first time diving into the engine bay, so there was some uncertainty involved. Throw in a couple of surprises, and a weekend job turns into a two weekend job. If you want to give it a shot, then by all means go for it, and you'll get a lot of satisfaction out of doing it on your own.

My biggest concern before beginning the job was not being able to get the axle out. I got it out easily, but others have had a lot of trouble with it. I also had trouble getting the tranny seated, but figured out afterwards it was because the shaft had to fit into the pilot bearing, not because I was missing something.

There might be a few surprises for you, but if you do enough research and have all parts on hand (including machined flywheel, axle seal, circlip if necessary, new rear main oil seal, new pilot/release bearing, the clutch itself, etc. then it can be done in a day or two no problem. At the end of the day, I don't think we can make a recommendation to you, only tell you that it's not a guaranteed weekend job, and not an easy to do (on my scale it was an 8 out of 10 for difficulty, but the next time around it will be a 3 or 4).

Good luck with your decision,

Paul

**jaegzie** · 11-6-07, 15:04

good adice from paulg, one thing i thought of reading his post is that the drivers side axle does not have to be pulled out. I removed the tranny and used a mtorcycle jack from the drivers side wheel well. If you can get a hold of a motorcycle jack it will make a huge difference in lining up the tranny and engine. In my pgt I ended up not taking the drivers side axle out because the seals were good. If you do not have a problem with the seal and the axle just does not pop out, which one of mine didnt and it was a pain, then just take the tranny out with the axle in but have it braced up so you dont wreck it.

As far as the motorcyle jack went i put a piece of wood over the two jack arms and used that to lift the tranny and lower it, takes away from having to balance the tranny with a floor jack.

**Shwaykid** · 11-6-07, 15:26

Quote:

Originally Posted by jenni

So then do you guys think it's worth paying $300 labor for someone to do it for me in a day, or should I just do it myself and get it done over a weekend saving $300...?

I'll tell you right now, it doesn't matter how fast a shop can do it, you will still be charged for 7 hours. Mazda said that doing a clutch should take 7 hours, so that's how much any normal shop will charge even if they finish it in 3. A good, fast mechanic can do 25 hours of work book time in a 10 hour day. The exception, of course, is if you are friends with someone who works at the shop. Also, if you get your parts through them, they will hit you with mark-up. Expect at least a 50% increase here. That's what it means when you look on the receipts and it has a cost price, (what the shop had to pay) and list price (what they charged you).

jenni · 11-7-07, 11:56

Okay, well then... I hope this will get fixed soon! Me and WNS will work on it this Thanksgiving weekend along with our other friend.
I thank you all for the helpful advice.