Anyone done a clutch replacement on a legnum VR4 on their own?

[matsondawson]

My clutch is on the way out, I can't imagine why.

And my wallet just happens to be on the way out this month to, so I have to replace it myself. Has anyone done this yet? Are there any gotchas and how long would you expect it to take? I have a mechanic who used to do Mitsi's up until the 7th gen, so I've got some backup just need to know if there's anything that might screw us up.

Anyone noticed if you type VR4 but forget to take your finger off the shift key it becomes VR$ ?

[Trow]

I didn't do my clutch my self but have a good friend do it for me who also happens to be a cog box specillist!!! if you have any questions I can ask him for you..

[dickytim]

I am in the same boat, no money and a clutch that is slipping, luckily my old man is a mechanic and is willing to help me, I am looking at a standard, clutch plate and a heavier preasure plate, going to price it up on Monday, will let you know what I can get it for

[matsondawson]

Cool, I'm holding off for another week so the guys at Msport can help me out.
Be good it if you could take some photos, or tell me of any gotchas that you got stuck on.

[dickytim]

I wont be doing mine for weeks.

[matsondawson]

Ooops, I meant a month :)

[wirdy]

I'm keeping my eye on this thread.

My clutch has slipped occasionally for the past 14 months, hasn't got any better or any worse. I'm not going to pull the car apart until it dies completely.

Seems like a few of us are getting into clutch change territory. One consolation - it's much cheaper than torque convertor / tip box problems. I like mechanical devices that I can see & fix myself /yes

A quick question - has your gearchange quality suffered as your clutches have worn?

[matsondawson]

Nope, it first slipped once or twice above 6000 in second. Then pretty consistant at 3000 reving to 5000 then catching again. Followed by a test in fifth foot hard down it hits 2500 then slips out to 7000.
Now it's consistant that anytime I try to put some decent torque down it slips around 3000.

Your symptoms sound a little odd, i.e. it doesn't get worse. Doesn't sound like a worn clutch, unless you actually nana your car :rolleyes4 and that's why it never gets any worse.

I ride my clutch like a biatch to get the turbos to spool and me into power range, always with the some associated clutch smell saying "hey, you just lost 0.25% of your clutch life buddy!"

[wirdy]

Your symptoms sound a little odd, i.e. it doesn't get worse. Doesn't sound like a worn clutch, unless you actually nana your car :rolleyes4 and that's why it never gets any worse.

LOL!!

It WAS getting worse...right up until I wound the boost controller back a tadge. Now only slips with provocation i.e if I do as you do and slip it through the mid-range, it then hasn't the bite to lock up and continues to slip until the throttle is dipped slightly or change gear. No slipping yet with normal changes.

I'm trying to convince myself that all my extra power is simply overcoming the standard pressure plate springs..... :inquisiti

I've poached various bits of info on clutch replacement from both the MLR and here over the past 14 months, so when it comes to change time I think I'll be up to it. tricky bits seem to be separating the gearbox from the engine, the weight of the gearbox & transfer box as you drop them down, and making sure the flywheel is sound before you put a new clutch on. On the EVO they seem to replace the flywheel as well. They're apparently designed to wear also :inquisiti

Good luck. I'll keep nana'ing my car round Castle Combe circuit next month. /yes /yes :happy: :happy:

[matsondawson]

I've just been quoted almost 2grand for a clutch replacement from Donnies, screw that!

[matsondawson]

Does anyone know the standard flywheel weight on the VR4 and have any suggestions on lightning it. i.e. what would be the best weight for driveability/performance.

[AllBeItMine]

mate - before you have a go at this yourself, make sure you call around a few places first aye. i'm not sure what kind of clutch setup you are going for, but buying from certain places, they make quite good margin on the clutch setup so don;t actually charge a hell of a lot for labour.

i;ve had the clutch done on my car, cost me 1350 all up including a standard friction plate with a +200lb over standard pressure plate. Including the flywheel machine, oils, clutch kit, bearing, various seals etc, the labour only came out to around $200... which wasnt that bad... considering they had the car for a day and a half.

[matsondawson]

They quoted, labour $780 + gst, parts price including flywheel machine $880 + gst. They normally charge $45 an hour for the tech fee, so that would be a 17hr job :)

[Trow]

my clutch kit was 1300 + fly wheel skim 80 bucks but I got a new box fitted at the same time so my labour was 800 ish for the whole worxs

[dickytim]

looking at $750 + GST for the clutch kit Daiken/Exedy will be doing it myself at dad's work shop.

It pays to have a capricorn account and an old man who knows his way around a car.

BTW the standard rate for mechanical repairs in around $60 per hour.

[matsondawson]

I can get a new Exedy clutch kit from America (Ebay) for less that $500, so I am considering that.

[dickytim]

+ duty, freight and GST, that is about what I will be paying.

[matsondawson]

That already included freight & gst...

[dickytim]

sounds like a good score then, do you have the part numbers for the kit ?

[matsondawson]

I have no idea the guy just says Exedy Evo 8 clutch kit, and that it's good to about 430Nm...

[AllBeItMine]

I have no idea the guy just says Exedy Evo 8 clutch kit, and that it's good to about 430Nm...



hmmm... i wish i knew how torque and dyno's worked...

my last dyno said my car had 770nm's of torque...

[Kenneth]

hmmm... i wish i knew how torque and dyno's worked...

my last dyno said my car had 770nm's of torque...


That doesn't sound right... The 6a13TT VR-4 puts out around 363Nm stock.

[matsondawson]

Maybe torque works differently atw? I guess in 5th you could have huge torque at low revs but fek all power?

[dickytim]

ok here goes, my brothers engine builder basically explained it like this, TheTorque at the flywheel is 362mn, then when it hits the gearbox it is multiplied by the ratio or gear you are in, then at the diff it is multiplied again by what the diff ratio is..... or something like that, it is basically effected by gearing, in theory 4 gear, (not a gear at all) should give you an accurate reading for torque at the flywheel. .......or not.