this was my first time installing a clutch/flywheel on any car. this was such a pain to install yourself especially if you don't have the proper tools like the ball joint remover, tranny jack, etc.. luckly i have a breaker bar ,torque wrench and a service manual. this probably took me around 50 hours total with hours spread out through out the week. plus i had to wait for stock parts to come in, like the seal for the intermediate shaft, the rings for the drive shafts, a few suspension bolts and other small misc parts. but at the end it was all worth it once i started up the car.. car revs SO Much faster and the clutch grabs SO well. also there is no chatter at all... so i definitely recommend this clutch/flywheel. anyways here are some pictures of my install...

Loading up the rams so jacking up the car will be a LOT easier...


jacked up the car higher... pulled the ramps.. took off the tires.. and unscrewed the bolts to the fork and the lower control arm... and now this gives me problems.. I NEED A BALL JOINT REMOVER!!



then i accidentally popped out the CV joint from pulling a bit too hard... that's why everything is still attatched when took out the driveshaft



and here's the passenger side.. pretty easy




almost took off everything.. the motor mount, starter, clutch slave cylinder, and wires



after everything was clear.. i took off the tranny bolts and put the tranny on 3 jacks with wooden blocks... it was a slow process brining it down but it worked.. i didn't have a tranny jack.... here it is ..slowly comming down



passenger side view



top view



finally down!!!



freakin DIRTY!



here's the stock clutch



let me tell you the weight difference between the stock flywheel and the clutchmaster flywheel is like night and day.. i couldn't hold the stock flywheel with one hand for an extended period of time but the aftermarket one was like a feather!




clutchmaster flywheel with throw out bearing.. my stock bearing was really loose too



clutchmaster stage 4 clutch



no clutch



finally installed! remember to torque it to spec guys!



and here it goes back up man what a pain.. i had to call my friend to help me lift the tranny by a rope with these jacks..pain in the *** since there was a limited amount of space..




almost there!



done!


nice hole




as for the CV joint i had to take off the boot and put the joint back together. then i put everything back the way it was... everything is running great and will i do this again?? NO!!!! but good learning experience and i saved 300 bucks.. if i had my own shop and a beater car, i would do it again

 

yes it is a bitch if you don't have right tools and space.

good job though and sweet accord. I would recommend thread lock for the flywheel bolts though, my flywheel bolts decided to come out at the track one time, and i was stuck with 3rd gear only for the 60 mile trip home.

 

remember to stress not to bend the input shaft, i dont know what happens if you do but it cant be good. good work man. looks like you had all the proper tools and supported the tranny good. for you. its always nice to see someone doin that stuff themselvs

 

Wow. That was a really good informative post. It just so happens... that I'm going to be changing my own clutch too for the first time.

Im not really sure what I need but I'll be doing it at home using a service manual. I have a 97' Accord 4-door EX with 110,000 miles on my stock clutch.

If I bought a stock replacement clutch... could I use an aftermarket flywheel with it ? If I don't get an aftermarket one.. do I have to buy a replacement stock one ?? Or do you just reuse the old one ?

Does anyone have any links on how to replace a clutch in a 97 accord vtec ? That would be helpful.. or some tips on tools to have or tricks to make the job easier.. things not to forget etc.

Any help would be great.. I'm a little bit worried about doing it myself. Thanks.

 

you can use the old flywheel, just take it to a machine shop to get resurfaced. That costs about $45 bucks.

I say give yourself a full weekend for the first time job. Find a friend to help you, this will make things go alot easier. Be prepared to take alot of stuff out, and try to stay as organized as possible through the ordeal. Keep plenty of cold beer around for when you bash your knuckles against something. Also, make sure your friend has a car that you can use to go get something in the process, like a tool or some more beer.

The best way to learn how to do it is.... to do it. Get your feet wet and the process will become routine.

Good luck!

 

i was thinking all 4pucks looked like mine

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Bda91acc &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">you can use the old flywheel, just take it to a machine shop to get resurfaced. That costs about $45 bucks.

I say give yourself a full weekend for the first time job. Find a friend to help you, this will make things go alot easier. Be prepared to take alot of stuff out, and try to stay as organized as possible through the ordeal. Keep plenty of cold beer around for when you bash your knuckles against something. Also, make sure your friend has a car that you can use to go get something in the process, like a tool or some more beer.

The best way to learn how to do it is.... to do it. Get your feet wet and the process will become routine.

Good luck!</TD></TR></TABLE>

other than that stuff.. youll need a 12pt socket to take off the flywheel bolts, and dont forget the locktite. other than that its just basic tools. 2 hydrolic jakcs is a good idea as well as 4 jack stands.

 

daymn! i never thought of thread lock... i hope that it doesn't back out.. i really don't want to take it out again....

DLB1994- what brand is that?

 

is the Act Stage 4 a 4 puck design? Is it really harsh? Streetable? Like up to wat HP?

 

I just did mine as well (well, it's almost back together. I have to go do the axles and such still). We only had one jack and some wood to move the tranny back in, and that was incredibly painful. I never want to do that again without a lift. Air tools are going to be mandatory next time as well.

In the end, I didn't even bother popping the ball joints (although one looks like it's damaged again, WTF... It wasn't me this time ). I just undid all the bolts to the lower LCA and moved it out enough to get the axle out. I was finally able to undo the radius rod bolts on the driver side with a 17mm wrench, my foot against the wheel well, one glove on my right hand with another glove bunched up (I need a longer wrench), and a lot of swearing.

Just for comparison, this is what my clutch looked like.



The dying release bearing is why I was doing this actually, the clutch still grabbed.
Although not for much longer






My resurfaced stock flywheel, no money for a lightened one


More space would be nice too.


From clutchcityonline.com, better prices on Exedy than I could find anywhere here in Toronto

 

werd of advice, dont pop balljoints. Just remove the 3 nuts on the shock and the 2 nuts on the upper control arm.. push down and voila... all is well. Thats how I do shocks/springs & cvs... takes about 20mins/side to do a CV for me now.

 

damn you did it the hard way. i did mine by just pulling the tranny about 5 inches from the motor and never dropped the tranny completely out. but it looks good nonetheless

as for the ball joints. you dont need a ball joint separator. just beat on the control arm where the ball joint goes into. hit it hard with a hammer a couple times and it will break loose. it wont hurt anything

good job

 

OMG! You guys are killing me. That's a lot of work at home and on the ground. I guess I'm getting soft.

 

I had to bench press my tranny back on.

 

How does the lightened flywheel interact with your setup. Turbo lag, lack of low end torque, any complaints????