I just got through with my Valeo clutch install. I figured the more info on the site for people who are getting ready to do this, the better. Here are some tips/trick/advice I would give myself (or anyone else) if I had to do it all over again. Did I forget anything?

#1: Before you do anything else….watch these two YouTube videos……
And read this article from Pelican Parts…. It’s handy to have a copy handy while you are elbow deep in your mini.
http://www.pelicanparts.com/techarti...eplacement.htm

#2: Before you order any parts, ask yourself “Are there any other mods or maintenance items I would like to fix while the entire front half of my car is spread out all over my garage floor?”. There will never be a better time to get to your LCA bushings, ball joints, sway bar, motor mounts, transmission mount, leaking oil pan gasket, leaking front sensor, supercharger, SC belt & Pulley& Tensioner, cracked CV axle boots, power steering pump & hoses, and front diff (If you want to put in a LSD). Oh, and whatever you do…..order a new rear main seal. They are cheap, and you’d might as well replace it when you have the flywheel off. Also, if your SC belt has more than 20,000 miles on it….you might want to order one of those also. Mine had 28,000 miles on it and it looked like crap. You will also need 2qts of transmission fluid (Redline MTL).

#3: When you order your clutch kit, also order a clutch release guide sleeve, and replace it along with the throw-out bearing. You know that creaky, crunchy sound/feeling you get in your clutch sometimes? …….chances are it’s a worn guide sleeve. They are pretty cheap, around $35.

#4: Before you start this job, make sure you have a set of star bit sockets…most weekend mechanics probably don’t have these laying around, and they are needed to remove the oem pressure plate bolts. It’s also nice to have a set of hose remover pliers, and a good strong 3/8” swivel for your socket wrench. Pretty much everything else can be accomplished with a torque wrench, socket extensions of different lengths, and a good set of metric sockets and open end wrenches..and an impact wrench is always handy if you have one.

#5: Take lots of pictures as you start tearing your car apart…..they may come in handy when you are putting it all back together and you ask yourself questions like “was that wire ran over, or under that bracket?”. Or “where did that bolt go?”.

#6: You don't have to remove the axles from your wheel hubs. Some writ-ups tell you to do this (Pelican), but you don't need to. Just pop the inner CV joint shafts out of the transmission, and then twist the entire axle/strut/hub assembly 90 degrees so the axles point to the rear of the car. That gets them out of the way...no need to take the axle nut off and pull the axles out of the hubs.

#7: Get a box of zip-top bags to keep all of the bolts/nuts/pins/clips in that you are removing. I had one bag for subframe bolts, one bag for fender bolts, one bag for bumper bolts, one back for transmission bolts, one bag for throttle body bolts, one bag for.…..you get the point. Keeping everything organized will make this job so much easier.

#8: Keep lots of shop rags handy, this is a messy job. You are pulling the radiator out, pulling CV axle shafts out, draining transmission fluid, pulling your dirty front fender wells out, and dealing with greasy parts. If you don’t keep your floor clean as you work, before you know it…..it’s going to be a giant slippery mess of oil, grease, transmission fluid, and antifreeze. After I got the transmission out, I spent some time cleaning up my tools, and the floor…just so I could have clean start for when I started putting it all back together.

#9: Be EXTRA careful when you have to pry the two shift cable ends off of the shifter bracket. In the center of the cable end is a metal ball cup that snaps onto the ball post on the shift bracket. The only thing that holds that ball socket into the cable end is the rubber that surrounds it. If you are not careful when you try to pry it off, you can rip the ball socket out of the cable…..and then you are screwed. You will need to order a replacement cable which costs $125+, and it’s probably going to cost you a few days in downtime while you wait for it to show up. (Don’t ask me how I know this).

#10: If something is in your way, just remove it…don’t try to stretch, bend, pry, or pull. When I was getting to the transmission bellhousing bolts that hold the transmission to the motor, I found that it’s so much easier to gain access to the front bolts by taking off pretty much the entire intake system from the supercharger to the BPV. Some write-ups I’ve seen don’t mention this, so I didn’t try this at first. I wasted a long time trying to push and pull stuff out of the way…..when I should have just spent the time to pull the parts off that were in the way. I would have saved a bunch of time in the long run.

#11: When you finally get to the point of removing the transmission, take your time…there are lots of wires and hoses in the way that you don’t want to damage. In addition to the wires and hoses that run over the top and front of the transmission, there is also an aluminum AC line that runs on the back side of the transmission that is very hard to see…and can get damaged very easily by the transmission shifter bracket as you try to pull the transmission out. Don’t damage this line!!

#12: Clean your new flywheel with a good quality wax and grease remover after you get it all installed. The last thing you want is to have your brand new clutch chattering and/or slipping because you left all of your greasy fingerprints all over the flywheel.

#13: Test the clutch as soon as you can. After you get your new clutch in and transmission bolted back on, before you do go any further….install the slave cylinder, get in the car, and press the clutch pedal. If something feels wrong, sounds wrong, or acts wrong…..you need to pull the transmission back off and see what’s going on. Don’t wait until you have the entire car back together before you try the clutch pedal and find out somethings not right.

#14: Chances are, your pedal might just drop to the floor and not want to come back up...don't worry, you just need to bleed your clutch slave cylinder. There are plenty of good videos and write-ups out there on how to bleed the slave cylinder. It sounds like this is a common problem when you pull off the slave cylinder and the end of the piston fully extends...it can suck air into the system.

#15: If your clutch seems to operate like it should, the next thing you should do it fill up your transmission with fresh fluid (like Redline MTL). This is the easiest time to do it. Once you have your subframe back in the car, you’re going to think “I wish I would have done this right after I got the transmission back in”.
...now it's time to start putting it all back together. Take your time, and it will actually go back together pretty quick.


Well, that's about all I can think off. Does anyone have anything else to add? Remember to put 400-500 miles on your clutch to break it in before you do any really hard driving. And if you decided to put in a Velao clutch (like I did), don't worry….yes, the pedal is supposed to be freakishly light feeling. You will get used to it after a day or two.



Oh...one last thing. Enjoy the fact that you just saved yourself close to $2000 by doing this job yourself and not paying a shop to do it

 

NICE write-up. Thanks Ian!

 

Man, I had so many zip-loc baggies labeled and laying in a pile it was insane and I really regretted not doing a lot of stuff while I was in there. I got impatient and didn't want to wait on things to ship so now 4 days later the car will most likely be going back into front end service mode to do the oil pan gasket, crankshaft position sensor o ring and changing the Super charger oil