Date: Mon, 22 Oct 2007 12:32:36 -0500 From: John B <rotten_NOSPAM_nospam.org> Subject: Re: transmission symptoms (?) [c900]
On Thu, 18 Oct 2007 13:55:50 -0500, I wrote: > > Ok, this loud shuddering thing happened again, and I have a new theory: warped > pressure plate and/or flywheel. At this point I'm tempted to just replace > everything and be done with it. > So this weekend, I did a complete clutch job (replaced pressure plate, clutch disc, pilot bearing, release bearing, clutch shaft seals, slave cylinder, and resurfaced flywheel). Also replaced the rear main seal. As far as I can tell, my problems are solved (clutch functioned normally and quietly). Here are a couple notes for posterity: 1. Putting the rear main seal in without the special tool was a bit tricky, and took some improvising. I ended up just getting the seal started by hand, and then putting the flywheel over it and cross-tightening a few of the bolts all the way down (a little at a time). I took the flywheel off, and found the seal was pressed in most of the way, and it was perfectly even. I finished it off by putting the old seal over the new seal, putting a block of wood over the old seal, and gently prying with a pry bar until it was evenly seated. The new seal ended up seated a little deeper than I wanted, but I think it worked out OK, no major oil leaks (yet anyway). 2. I had some serious problems with the slave cylinder. After installing the new slave cylinder (from eeuroparts.com), the clutch worked one time before spewing hydraulic fluid everywhere. When I took it apart I found that the seal on the outside of the piston was broken. So I tried to put the old slave cylinder back in, but the big seal at the base of the slave housing ruptured in the process, resulting in more hydraulic fluid everywhere. So I took it apart yet again, and transfered the old around-the-piston seal from the old slave and used it to replace the broken seal on the new slave. Put it all together again, and... more hydraulic fluid everywhere. After taking it apart again, it seems that the old seal probably broke when I put the cylinder together (not surprising, the old seal was really stretched out). I was getting rather depressed at this point, but then I remembered that there is another small seal *inside* the piston. So I cannibalized that seal from the old cylinder (it was in good shape), put it around the piston of the new cylinder, and put it together for the 5th (?) time. Miraculously, it worked perfectly, and I was a very happy man. Too bad my driveway is now a toxic chemical dump... John
