clutch replacement

[paulsenior]

I have a 91 Z28 I need a new clutch and I am guessing a new Fly wheel. I plan on doing the work myself, I just want to know what to expect and any special tools I might need. Can anyone please give me more understandable advise than what is in the chiltons or haynes book.

[4onFloor]

just get a clutch kit, and have your flywheel re-finished if at all possible. a clutch kit will come with a new clutch disk, pressure plate, t/o bearing, dummy shaft, and probly even a new pilot bearing. make sure to clean all finger prints off the flywheel with carb cleaner, brake cleaner or starting fluid, and torque the pressure plate down a few turns at a time in a cross pattern so it doesn't warp. there is a tool to remove the pilot bearing but not sure where you'd find it at. i always just found a piece of round stock about the same size of the hole, filled the hole with grease, and then put the rod in the hole and pounded on the shaft. the preasure of the grease pushes the pilot bearing out, and also grease's up the hole real nice for ya

[1992RS]

I'm not sure if the kits come with the pilot bearing. They might, but I don't think so. I'l find out on payday when I have to change my clutch.

[Chevyracincamaro]

dont ya need a clutch alignment tool, or is that pretty much commonsense?

[1992RS]

that's what he meant by a dummy shaft I think.

[4onFloor]

yep dummy shaft-clutch alignment tool...
the last clutch kit that i bought came with a pilot bearing, but it probly varies on different brands and models

[Chevyracincamaro]

works for me...

[paulsenior]

How long and what kind of labor should I expect when changing the clutch? Do I need to do anything to the trans. Is this something that I can do in my garage, or do I need to put the car on a lift?

[4onFloor]

yep you can do it in your garage. all you'll need are the basic hand tools, a torque wrench and some jack stands. a good mechanic can probly change a clutch in 3 or 4 hours, but for a first timer, you can probly expect a little longer. just make sure the input shaft splines are clean and didn't get damage while removing the tranny. you'll start out with the tranny on a jack when you put it back in, but i can almost gaurentee you'll end up on your back, and pushing the tranny up in place on your hands and knees. they rarely ever go back in smoothly, so just be patient. you have to spin the output shaft while you push it back in so that the input shaft splines line up with the clutch disk. just dont let the tranny hang if it's not all the way in or it will break the clutch disk.