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How to replace clutch and flywheel (picture heavy)

47K views 53 replies 27 participants last post by  mowog73 
#1 ·
After I tortured myself doing it I thought I post it up here for everyone:

the whole thing is based on Dieter’s manual:
http://www.mgfcar.de/gearbox/clutch_replacement_MGF.htm

first of all I left the car on the ground, didn’t want to break my back so I did everything as far as I could without raising it:


First disconnect the battery



then the cover




that needs to be cleared out, luckily I don’t have any standard stuff so it was a bit easier




after the airfilter was removed





those 2 screws at the fuel filter and 3 screws under the filling stud, bit tricky but possible, then remove the whole thing




remove the screw holding the lambda clip and the fuel pipes


 
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#2 ·
here are several things that can be done, disconnect rearlightconnector, startercable, startercableclip



because I have a clutch support bracket I needed to remove the manifold cover and remove the screw from the other side




remove the speedo plug




remove the 4 slave-cylinder bracket screws, move the cylinder towards the firewall




the tool for proper heroes :) 200Nm , that helped me a lot…
I loosened up the 4 screws of the gearbox support bridge but don’t remove it yet



here a pic how I reached them



and the tricky screw on the other side




now I need to raise the car, so up it went and 2 stands under it, taking off both wheels and the cover
 
#3 ·
for easy access to the starter, use an extension to reach the screws



and gone




now the gearbox oil, you can see both screws, upper “in”, lower “out”




because I didn’t have the proper tool I used this




to avoid the release of the suspension fluid you lift the suspension till it almost lifts off, then put a wedge in between, but first remove the rubber thingy…

do that on both sides




shaft already out, nice view into the differential




raise the gearbox from below, release the vertical screw, remove the bridge and take off the gearbox bracket






now the shiftcables, I only removed the upper cable with bracket completely, the rest can stay, makes it easier

 
#4 ·
now the serious stuff…. The gearbox… you will need 2 car jacks and some good books ;)



if you place the jack like this you can pull the gearbox away afterwards




now remove the rest of the screws with the powertool, very easy..



finally, gearbox is seperated




some advice, rotate the gearbox 90 degrees clockwise so the clutchlever is facing upwards, this way you can drop the gearbox and it stays like this

removing the clutch is easy, very much self explaining ones you see it, here the old one



view from bottom to top




that thing will also be replaced with one with nipples 8)






here a comparison of old and new: 3kg EN24 very niice :)

 
#5 ·
engine side without the flywheel, careful it might leak a bit at the lower screw



and fitted already, flywheel with AP racing clutch, perfect !!






Ok from now on I didn’t make any pictures anymore for the sake of the camera, because I got seriously frustrated for the next 2 hours trying to realign the gearbox and fit it back on the engine, what a nightmare.
Problem is that there are 3 align pins on the gearbox side which need to be slotted into the engine, not only do you need to get the gearbox shaft fit into the clutchplate, but also those 3 pins.
I got at the end so frustrated that I took some screws, put them in where I could and just tightened them, fortunately it actually worked and the gearbox slotted into place… yeah high five…

The rest was easy… just put it back together in reverse order……
 
#22 ·
just in case people are wondering...

drive shaft pops out if you use carefully a hard plastic or even metal wedge between it. you only need to wedge about 5 mm and it comes out. very easy, but you need to be very careful not to damage the metal seal.

clutch alignment: I used, I think from machinemart their blue plastic clutch alignment tool, you have to make sure you use a short tool or it won't fit in between. also very easy.. hence i didn't really mention it.
 
#19 ·
Brilliant. I just wish I had seen this before my three day epic journey into our mgf clutch.
I ended up after many and varied attempts to align everything by putting the clutch in fingertight, so as to allow movement of the plate. putting in bolts and pulling in evenly jostled gearbox and it slipped in easy.
Then spanner on crank turn engine and tighten all clutch cover bolts through starter housing gap.
Maybe not approved method but the last resort
 
#23 ·
Thanks for taking the effort of uploading your experiences!

How exactly did you retract the box? Did you lower the scissor jack (and books) and retract the other jack? Does it stay upright then? How did you turn it 90° clockwise? Block and tackle?

Not sure about the hydraulic fluid loss prevention with the wedge either. But I guess this might show when attempting this job?

kind regards and congrats with you mechanical skills. I did quite some work on the car, but never removed a gear box,

cheers,
david
 
#26 ·
The Flickr photos in this excellent how-to on in-car clutch replacement for the F seem to have vanished!
Say it ain't so? ) :
Because they have been deleted from their host, hence the links inserted into this thread are no longer working.
 
#30 ·
Done three of these and cannot see how it can be done by only removing one driveshaft. You have to move the gearbox fully to the left to gain access to the clutch. If the RH shaft is left in position it would be all but impossible to re insert it without damaging the seal whilst manoeuvering the gearbox into position. Much easier to remove it.

Mike
 
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