Clutch and Battery

A few questions for the fellas.

1. Where is the battery located on the 01 Diablo?

2. Does the transmission come out from the bottom of the car or does the engine have to come out to change the clutch? It looks like the trans could drop out underneith.

3. What are the signs of a clutch going bad besides the regular slipping that one would feel? Sometimes my car grinds on a downshift from 3rd to 2nd when cold when there are high revs involved.

Im not looking at my car right now, but i know the battery is in front of the rear tire, i think driver side. You take the tire off, and the inner panel and battery is right there. You can jump your battery from the top though, off the little box with the red X's.

The complete motor has to come out to do a clutch. It swings low and comes out the top. You should not be downshifting at high RPMS when your car is still cold. Wait till your car is properly warmed up, and after youve driven a few miles, and everything is properly lubricated.

Most common signs of clutch going are slipping and where the pedal grabs.

This evening the car was definetly warmed up and the 3rd to 2nd downshift gringed again and then later the 2nd to 1st did the same thing. The clutch grabs close to the floor, thats where it needs to be, right?


So the engine has to come out, looks like its a close call. Wonder if anyone has ever done it another way. Whats the labor hours on this? I guess im prepairing myself for the worst.

Maybe it needs to be adjusted? Im sending you a PM.

This evening the car was definetly warmed up and the 3rd to 2nd downshift gringed again and then later the 2nd to 1st did the same thing. The clutch grabs close to the floor, thats where it needs to be, right?


So the engine has to come out, looks like its a close call. Wonder if anyone has ever done it another way. Whats the labor hours on this? I guess im prepairing myself for the worst.


Have you ever driven a manual before this car?

I've driven two manual cars, my dad's 4x4 pajero, and my awesome 83' ford laser.

1. Going down gears is easy, just, when high revs are involved, DO YOU WANT TO RIP YOUR DIFF OUT?!?!? The clutch is spining, and you go from say 2500 rpm down to 5000rpm, where that's not bad, it's not good either.
You should always slow down when going down gears to minimise the revs you are going into.

One way of SAFELY changing DOWN gears is this:
Say you're in 3rd, and want to go to 2nd, you're sitting at 2500, and if you go down, you will jump your engine up to 6000
To avoid hurting such a presious car (and this is what I do in dad's car) is when you have your clutch in, hit your accelorator to rev it up to 6000, but only for a breif second, then take your foot off the accelorator, then change your gears down while your revs are still around 6000, maybe 5500.

This provides a smooth change, and it completly avoids grinding.
I don't know if this method is the same in a diablo, i would assume so, but I'd be skeptical trying it.
It wouldn't hurt.

In all manuals, going down gears can be hurtful for the gear box.
If you're not slowing down to a slower speed or stopings completly, then i would recommend the extra accelorator to get your transmission upto speed.
Works for me.
Just keep in mind, NEVER bring your clutch out when you have your foot on the accelorator (sp?!) when going down gears. You need to either: bring your rpm down when changing (by reducing speed), or the method i've noted above.

Let me know if I missed something, by correcting me on a point, and let me know if the method is a good way to change gears (down, not up). It always works for me, but it does take time to master.

That or you do have a clutch problem

Sometimes, going from 2nd to 1st in my mighty yellow ford laser, 1.3L flat4, it grinds gears like a spastic, because my revs are FAR TOO high for the gear. I can't see this being the reason in a diablo.