[Closed] Replacing a car clutch myself?

not done a passat my self BUT

its a car clutch - assuming its not one of them DSG units then theres no real reason it cant be done on the drive.

its a bit of a chav but managable.

it will how ever be a dual mass flywheel and your prices seem a little light as youll probably find you need to replace the flywheel as well especially if you did not replace the clutch at first sign and have let it go to *absolutely must replace*

a decent branded kit with flywheel will cost about what you have been quoted for clutch and fitting unless things have moved on.

one thing i do know from doing passat springs is that they do have some pain in the arse fixings that need funcy tooling - not expensive you just wont find it in halfords.

Just reading through some stuff online now, thanks Mr Rat. Do you reckon I'll need to remove the engine? and how do I assess if the flywheel does need replacing?I think maybe it is a garage job.

Quick Google suggests £500-£700

That might be the case just for the clutch....but as you're doing the clutch, you really might as well do the DMF whilst you're at it as any failure of that further down the line = at minimum pulling it all apart again and doing the lot and at worst a new gearbox due to bits of broken DMF finding their way into the gearbox.

For my legacy - I got clutch plate, DMF and release bearing for about 650 from carparts4less (original parts - Valeo are the only ones to make them!) and 200 quid for fitting by local subaru indy.

I've done clutches in the past, but there was no mucking about with subframes or engine removal or DMFs. If I was you I'd do plenty of research on exactly what is required in terms of work and toolage for your car before committing to the job.

FWIW when I did my Mazda 323 it took longer to undo all the bits and bobs than it did to take the gearbox out. If you've got a helper it makes it a lot easier getting the gearbox back in and located.

And if you can get the job done for £200 like cp did then I'd suggest getting it done by a local (trusted) garage.

ive never had a vehicle new enough to need a clutch doing thats got a DMF.

my newest vehicle till recently was still 15 years old - 2 of them got clutches in their time but they were regular clutches - one i did with the engine on the deck the other with the engine in the car. much of a muchness and i wouldnt pull the engine - it just so happened i was fitting a new engine so preemptively did the clutch while i was in about there

should not need to remove the engine , just the gearbox - they are heavy buggers - a good trolly jack and a plank of wood come in good here - dont pull the first motion shaft out and let it drop on your chest like an idiot as youll then be trapped there 😀

but look for lack of grease on springs , check for rotational play between the plates , check the ring gear and look for excess debris in the bellhousing and around the starter solenoid....

It's not a great job to do on the drive tbh.

I would get on a passat owners forum/fb page and find out who is recommended.

There are a couple of decent people in essex who don't take the mickey.

Doing a clutch on your own is not really a good idea , especially if you have not done the same before with help,

Each vehicle has its own quirks , and they can be quite major , online guides really help with that , but you would need to buy things like an engine support beam to do the job safely,

There can be a lot of things to damage and not least yourself so best get it done by folks who have done them before.

Yeah I think you're right now. I was thinking back when I replaced the clutch on my 98cc Yamaha aged 18 and it was just take the plate off, take all the rings out and replace them. I'll start ringing round now. Thanks all.

I've done it before on an old RWD car (bonnet off, radiator out, disconnect everything from the engine block and belhousing and lift it straight out the front).

The actual clutch replacing bit is easy peasy, it's the other 95% of the job that's time consuming and likely to cause problems.

As car jobs go, I'd rather do the cambelt (equally fiddly but no heavy lifting). If you've got time, inclination, engine hoist/beam, gearbox support/lift, and a handy friend to help then go for it, but expect it to take all weekend what a garage could do in morning.

FWIW MrClutch did the OH's fiesta for £330  after most places quoted £500-£700 (more than it's worth), they stuffed up a CV boot and gearbox seal in the process but replaced both when we took it back a week later (the MOT tester found the gearbox was pissing oil out the drive shaft seal). 5/10 for the original job, 10/10 for customer service and the price though.

Don't even think about it.

It's a horrible job to do on a driveway. By the time you've rented or bought the tools, engine lift etc. that you need, you'll hardly save any money on getting it done at a decent local independent.

Just don't use Mr f***ing Clutch, no matter how cheap they seem.

for 200 quid labour its a no brainer.

mr clutch is a franchise .like kwikfit some good some bad , safest bet is to avoid them all.

I’ve done it with older cars like my CRX, but a lot of these modern ones need you to drop the whole front subframe just to get the gearbox off.

I wouldn’t attempt it now without a pit or a lift of some sort. Engine swaps are easier than a clutch IMO.

The labour on my DMF and clutch was £400+VAT at a local Suzuki dealer with reasonable workshop rates, that was a Mondeo though so not necessarily representative. DMF and clutch kit came in at £370+ VAT.

What I do know is that there was **** all chance I was even attempting it when it took the garage 2 days to that and the timing belt. I'm a spanners and youtube kinda guy as well but I know my limits and I know there are some jobs I'd rather just pay someone to do as doing it outside on axle stands is just grim.

You think a car gearbox is heavy, try bench pressing a Land Rover gearbox up off your chest and into position.

Most jobs on a car are do-able at home if you have the right tools and do your research beforehand. IME there are lots of scare stories on t'internet from people with zero mechanical experience who have attempted things they really shouldn't have. In reality it's just a case of knowing what bolts to undo and in what order.

I find car stuff all rather small and mostly not much more than finger tight, but 95% of my tinkering involves Land Rovers, grinders, welder, big hammers and man sized spanners.

Seven hours is the official time for a clutch on my Alfa 147.  My specialist allowed two days.  Its a drop the subframe job.

Access on FWD is likely the biggest problem along with if the clutch mounting bolts are seized doing it on a drive instead of a proper pit.

I don't know what the Passat entails but I did think of doing my BMW but even on RWD its a case of what you need to remove to see how easy the actual replacement would be!  Didn't even bother thinning about it on the OH's FWD Honda....

in many ways modern cars are easier to do this sort of thing being kind of "plug and play" but as with all things spannering and cars it only takes one stubborn  bolt and life becomes a misery.

don`t land rover gearboxes come out through the cab with an engine crane ?

I help out a friend who is a land rover specialist as well as doing all makes

and I would far rather help with a landy clutch than do a passat   , in fact almost any job is easier

saying that we do have all the gear 3/4 impact lift/hoist/gearbox jack etc.

This thread's got way too many acronyms now for me to understand 😄😄

"You think a car gearbox is heavy, try bench pressing a Land Rover gearbox up off your chest and into position."

no thanks. i just used the hoist through the door was much easier than a transverse box as plenty access.

Modern cars tend to be far worse as there is usually much less room to work in so numerous other bits have to be removed or moved to get access

Also worth changing the clutch slave cylinder if its in the gearbox bellhousing (as per a mk4 Golf)

It'll be a concentric release bearing/slave cylinder, should come as part of the clutch kit but if it doesn't it'd be folly not to change it.

In B5 Passats and A4s the engine is longintudinally mounted in spite of them being FWD, if this is the case DIY is likely to be even harder on a driveway.

You have lots of considerations, here are some;

-Do you NEED the car, or can you afford for it to be laid up for a week or two?

-Do you need the hassle?

-Will you enjoy it or get satisfaction from saving the money or doing it yourself?

-What are the chances of you messing up and damaging expensive to replace parts which will also add to delay?

-Is the car of an age that a receipt for having it done properly makes a difference to its resale value?

I DIY everything and have a former colleague with a 4 post in his barn, he has a very useful son who is a proper engineer and likes working on these jobs with people (he calls it fungineering) and if we messed up or didn't get done in a day we can push it to one side and I can survive without a car until the following weekend.

If I were you, I'd be very tempted to pay someone to do this but as you're handy with the spanners you may decide differently after consulting manuals and youtube.

I did the clutch and DMF on my brother-in-laws 59 plate passat a couple of years ago.  it is doable yourself however, you need to drop the subframe to get the gearbox out (there is no way to get it out the top) or pull the engine.

Dropping the subframe is easy but requires special locating pins to fit back correctly.  They are about £50 from memory plus factor in a full 4 wheel alignment at another £75ish.  Be warned, the gearbox on these are bloody heavy compared to others I have done.

Pulling the engine is not too hard but you will have to strip off a lot of the ancillaries such as aircon pump, dpf and turbo, alternator, inlet, fuel rails, etc.  Once you add all the gaskets the price adds up pretty quickly.  You will also need an engine hoist.

Unless you have the tools, inclination and will to do it then pay someone else.

As above the parts alone for the clutch kit and flywheel were about £800.  May sure you get the full clutch kit which includes the slave cylinder as these are prone to go at about the same time as the clutch.  If you pay someone to do it make sure they replace the slave cylinder too.

What brainiac came up with the idea of putting the slave cylinder inside the gearbox, when the one on my skoda leaked it meant everything inside was scrap.

I once changed the clutch on my AlfaSud 15ti, and if I look carefully I can still see the scars that the bodywork left imprinted on my right hand.

Think bodywork like razor blades and a numpty like me with a hammer and screwdriver 🤣💪🤠

Most jobs on a car are do-able at home if you have the right tools and do your research beforehand.

Well, yeah. It's just the difference between owning the right tools and buying them for a single job often makes it a false economy, especially where those tools are particularly obscure. And it still won't help you if you come across short after following some particularly cavalier advice and end up with a car in a state that is no good to anyone (like the time I removed some shock springs that couldn't be replaced and ended up going all around town to find a garage that was willing and had the time to fit them).

Like I said, I'll happily do jobs on the car and will spend money on the right tools if they are going to pay for themselves, what I won't do is take on a job that is liable to grow arms, legs and heads like a hydra when I'm doing a car outside, maybe if I had a dry garage I'd change my mind but slow jobs are no fun in the freezing cold and pissing rain.

I find car stuff all rather small and mostly not much more than finger tight

I take it you live in a country that doesn't salt its roads or use torque tables?

in many ways modern cars are easier to do this sort of thing being kind of “plug and play”

Kind of, if by plug and play you mean plug in a laptop and play with a diagnostics program 😉 (PSA cars are awesome for this kind of user friendiness)

Unless you have lift or ramp doing it on axle stands on your back is no fun.

5 or 6 speed box?

6 speed is a biggggggg heavy lump, 5 speed is manageable. Don’t take the engine out, don’t take the subframe off.

Air filter housing, battery and tray out to get access to top of box, under tray off, bottom half of n/s archliner off, n/s driveshaft off(gets it out the way so it’s not in the way), same with boost hose, disconnect o/s driveshaft and take off drive flange from gearbox(you won’t lose oil), pendulum mount off. Support engine in a safe manor that won’t slip or give way!! Take off gearbox mount completely from box, disconnect cables/hoses/bolts leave the 16mm head bolt below the starter till last as it will keep box in place till you are ready to remove it. I may have overlooked something but if it’s not obvious when doing the job you shouldn’t be doing it. As the box comes out you’ll thank me for mentioning removing o/s drive flange and n/s shaft, push the diff up and you’ll gain enough space to get it out.

Theres YouTube for checking the dual mass flywheel.

Rebuild is just a reverse of strip, bleeding the clutch can be a bitch depending on type.

Good luck

I did one on my last car (Rover 75 diesel) it was a bugger of a job . 4 axle stands , 2 trolley  jacks , a few skinned knuckles and 3 days of swearing . DMF won't necessarily need doing if the car has been driven with respect as they wear more if the vehicle is driven hard. The only reason I ddid mine myself was the job was more in the garage than the car was worth!

As above, it depens how quickly you need the car back in action. I did a 2.0HDI 307 on the drive about 5 years ago. The key was getting the car as high as possible on the axle stands so you have room to push/pull/shove things. Take it slow and remember where everything goes. I thinki i managed it all with just a trolley jack. Getting it back in was rather interesting. Once i'd got it in, i realised i'd missed a big metal plate linking gearbox to engine block. I had to use a massive piece of wood to lever the engine over to get it to fit. Mangaged to crack the windscreen doing this.

For me, i had access to another car so just did bits slowly and walked away when i got tired/frustrated. I sold the car pretty much straigh away afterwards, but it was worth the effort as i got £1k vs £50 scrap with no clutch.

Back in the days when cars were analogue, I changed a clutch on what is now a classic Mini with the engine still in the car. It was awkward but do-able.

Then I went through some years of bangernomics, but got sick of losing whole weekends to keeping them running.

I would pay for it to be done, because as mentioned by others you can have all the tools (which you may have to buy for that one job), you can have help, a lift/pit and know what you're doing - but one thing goes wrong or part is incorrect and it stops the job. If you have other means of transport or can do without and you fancy it, fair enough. But go in with your eyes open.

Well further development in the saga... on the way home last night the clutch pedal went to the floor and went all floppy so I pulled up and got a taxi home. Currently sat in the cab of a flat bed with the vw on the back on way to a garage. I've only had 2 months and the lad I bought it off has agreed to 50/50 on the cost.... so we'll. Thanks for taking the time out to type all the above out but I shan't be fixing it myself. If you wanna take a guess at the total cost...I'll update in a day or two!