Installing New Clutch Questions - Honda Prelude Forum

telram · 04-19-2005, 09:07 AM

Hi All,

I just bought an EXEDY organic clutch and a Pro Street 14lb flywheel. I will have a mechanic do the work, but is there anything I should make sure he does or does not do?

Also, does the flywheel need to be surfaced before installing it in the car?

Thanks

petern101 · 04-19-2005, 10:22 AM

no the flywheel doesn't need to be resurface if you bought a new one......

nothing special other than make sure he torques the flywheel nuts good............a friend had his flywheel fall out

make sure he adjusts your clutch afterwards.........wow how much is this gonna cost? i did mine with some friends and wasn't bad at all

telram · 04-20-2005, 08:20 AM

Actually the install shouldn't be very expensive at all. The quoted me 6 hours at $60/hr, and that is in Canadian dollars too. The work is going to be done by Canadian Tire a reputable store/garage here in Canada.

One other question that comes to mind is: What is the break-in procedure for installing a new clutch? Do I just have to baby it for the first 750 miles?

mipijemo · 04-20-2005, 08:44 AM

balance clutch/flywheel is important...

axio · 04-20-2005, 11:10 AM

Hey petern101, how long did the clutch install take you and your friends to do? What's the skill level like? I'll most likely need to tackle this, along with replacing the 5th gear throw-out-bearing, in a few months, and I just wanna know what I'm getting myself into. I can do some things just fine, like valve adjustments, and my friend has changed timing belts before. Is it that much harder than these?

Also, what kind of tools will I need?

mipijemo, balance clutch/flywheel? Does this mean you gotta take it to a shop to have it balanced first?

LowFlyin' · 04-20-2005, 11:40 AM

If it is a good clutch and flywheel, it should come balanced.

PRelude787 · 04-20-2005, 12:20 PM

The break in period according to Exedy is 750 miles. I did 900 though just to be safe. It sux cuz you really wanna get a feel for it as soon as it's installed but it's necessary.

petern101 · 04-20-2005, 02:00 PM

umm its not involving at all......ONCE YOU HAVE A HELMS!!... i mean that single piece alone helped out i mean we had no special tools (socket set, make sure you have sockets that fit those many point nuts on the flywheel, torque wrench, jack, jack stands, super high temp urea grease, possibly replace some of the self locking nuts, patience)

basically its just tedious i mean you should plan just a weekend fri-sunday and bang it out at first i thought it was daunting but after doing it you see its not the too bad at all. btw make sure you get the right clutch alignment tool...........we spent so much time trying to figure out why my tranny housing wasn't going back on when it just ended up being that the clutch alignment tool was wrong ( i should have told prostreet.com about the problem but i just borrowed my friends alignment tool) which in turn caused a crack in my tranny casing (bad bad bad)

but if yall have changed a timing belt then yall should be okay

btw i got the exedy organic + fidanza 8lb flywheel all for about ~400

PRelude787 · 04-20-2005, 02:09 PM

^^Yup...just what he said. My clutch actually came with the alignment tool. Exedy cerametallic - thick, with Fidanza flywheel.

axio · 04-20-2005, 02:11 PM

Can the clutch alignment tool and those special sockets for the flywheel nuts be bought at Kragen or Sears?

Also, does the tranny have to be pulled off for this job? Or just the cover? If I'm fixing the 5th gear throw-out-bearing, will the whole tranny need to be pulled as well?

I have a HELMS at home, just didn't look at this part yet.

telram · 04-20-2005, 02:30 PM

Yes, you will have to pull the tranny even if you just want to change the Throw out bearing.

petern101 · 04-20-2005, 03:12 PM

yeah you can buy all those at sears (except clutch alignment tool i mean its nothing more than a plastic tube the same size as your shaft)

and as for "5th gear throw out bearing" i was only aware of one throw out bearing but i could be wrong......if you are just replacing a "throw out bearing" then once you get the tranny off you just move the shift fork aside and slide in a new one

71dsp · 04-20-2005, 05:46 PM

Not true. I have yet to see any company that balances their pressure plates.

Flywheels are usually uniform enough that they're very, very close as is.

My Competition Clutch flywheel was only off by 1/2 gram, and the pressure plate was off by 8 grams.

Quote:

Originally Posted by LowFlyin'

If it is a good clutch and flywheel, it should come balanced.

71dsp · 04-20-2005, 05:47 PM

5th gear throw-out bearing? What is that???

Only special tool for a clutch job is the clutch alignment tool. Most clutch kits come with those these days. You cannot find it at Sears.

Quote:

Originally Posted by axio

Can the clutch alignment tool and those special sockets for the flywheel nuts be bought at Kragen or Sears?

Also, does the tranny have to be pulled off for this job? Or just the cover? If I'm fixing the 5th gear throw-out-bearing, will the whole tranny need to be pulled as well?

I have a HELMS at home, just didn't look at this part yet.

71dsp · 04-20-2005, 05:48 PM

Most are "close enough" from the factory, but they're not 100% balanced.

Quote:

Originally Posted by mipijemo

balance clutch/flywheel is important...

Artifex · 04-20-2005, 05:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by axio

Hey petern101, how long did the clutch install take you and your friends to do? What's the skill level like? I'll most likely need to tackle this, along with replacing the 5th gear throw-out-bearing, in a few months, and I just wanna know what I'm getting myself into. I can do some things just fine, like valve adjustments, and my friend has changed timing belts before. Is it that much harder than these?

5th gear throw out bearing, LOL.

The throw out bearing is used by the clutch fork against the pressure plate. It has nothing to do with 5th gear. If you mean to say the 5th gear syncro, then that is a hell of a lot of work (and a different story).

When you get a clutch/flywheel, you need to make sure you have:
1) Red Loctite for the flywheel bolts. This is not optional for aluminum flywheels, since they expand at a different rate than the crank with heat.
2) A new throw out bearing (like $10)
3) High temp grease for the TOB and input shaft splines.
4) If you have an ACT-like flywheel (other copies use the same design), make sure you have the brass bushing that comes with the FW. It has to be installed per the FW instructions.
5) A Helms so you don't over-torque and strip out the bolt threads.

If your mechanic doesn't do any one of these things, don't trust him.

axio · 04-20-2005, 06:12 PM

Got a problem

My bad

I meant to say 5th GEN Throw-out-bearing problem hehe

Thanks for the info guys, I don't look forward to tackling this problem... gonna have to wait until I qualify for vacation days at my new job. Just 60 more days to go hehe. I might as well take a week off to do the clutch/throw-out-bearing/timing belt job... and whatever time I have left will go towards woodworking in the garage...

axio · 04-26-2005, 02:04 PM

Another question. When pulling the tranny, do you need any air tools? Do you need an air impact to get it off? I'm gonna imagine that the tranny is bolted on pretty tight, as well as the clutch/flywheel, correct? Or can this all be done with a breaker bar?

I have a DeWalt electric impact, but it's kinda bigger and bulkier, so I don't know if it's gonna fit in there...

petern101 · 04-26-2005, 02:56 PM

no you don't need an impact gun or any air tools..........it might help on those annoying bolts elsewhere but i had no problem taking off the tranny, irc none of the bolts on the tranny/flywheel needed more than 100ft/lb of torque so taking them off shouldn't be too bad

axio · 04-26-2005, 03:00 PM

Did you have a tranny-jack? How'd you catch the tranny after it fell? Isn't it heavy?