My "Detailed" Clutch Replacement DIY (2005 Aveo)

Thanks for the encouragement.

Again, once you're past the point where the transmission bellhousing is mated to the engine, it's pretty much all downhill.

I made sure all the bolts would start threading before going any farther. Once they were all seated, I installed the two mounting brackets, to make sure the drivetrain was held securely in place. I installed the driver side mount first. The drivetrain has probably moved around a little bit, so getting the mounting bracket back on could be tricky. I got one bolt in place between the mount and the transmission, then I maneuvered the drivetrain with the hoist and a broom handle until I was able to ALMOST get a bolt through the mount and into the body of the car. At that point I just grabbed my big Philips head screwdriver and stuck it in through another hole in the mount and sort of pried the mount into position so I could get one bolt started. Once one is in, get a few threads in for the other mounting bolts and then start tightening them slowly. I ended up moving the hoist a little more so that everything came together better. The mount-to-transmission bolts are 44 ft-lbs. I couldn't find a spec for the bolts connecting it to the body, but the engine side is very similar and so I used that spec. Those bolts were 48 ft-lbs and the nuts were 30 ft-lbs. I honesly can't remember whether they were bolts or nuts. There might have been some of each.

Anyway, then I put the rear mount back on. The mount-to-body bolts are 41 ft-lbs, and the bracket-to-transmission bolts are 59 ft-lbs. Likewise, the connecting bolt and nut between them is 59 ft-lbs. After that, I tightened all the transmission-to-engine bolts.The transmission-to-engine bolt torques are as follows.
1, 6-10: 54 ft-lbs
2: 15 ft-lbs
3-5: 23 ft-lbs

Next came the clutch slave cylinder. This was a little awkward, because it had extended as far as it could go, so I had to push it back into place. If you have to do this, do it slowly so you don't spray fluid out your reservoir. Luckily, it's easy enough to just do this by hand. The bolts to hold this in place are 15 ft-lbs.

Now comes the shift linkage. This does require some care, because you have to make sure the rod coming through the firewall is mated to the hollow sleeve at the correct angle.

First, pull off that connecting rod with those ball joints. It's just easier to maneuver everything without it. Make sure you know which end goes to which ball; it's not reversible. Then, get it back up into place in the center fixed bracket (point B in the pictures above), and fit that pin into place, but don't clip it. Then get the sleeve started on the rod, and then align the connection at the transmission. Install the two pins completely with their clips, and then attach the connecting rod with the ball joints.

Now is the important part. You have to make sure the transmission selector is in the same position as your shifter inside the car. There is a little plug at the back of the selector cover on the transmission that allows you to insert a 5mm dowel pin to lock the selector in place. It's a little bit below and to the driver side from the u-joint shaft. I don't have any gauge pins, let alone TWO 5mm pins, so I went down into my basement and measured all the old screwdrivers and bolts I could find until I found a couple pins that were just about 5mm. Apparently they weren't good enough, but more on that later.

Insert the pin at the back of the transmission selector housing. You'll probably have to rotate the u-joint around a little bit to get it to engage. If you're sitting in the car, the position should correspond to the far left position in neutral.

Then, it's into the driver's seat. Lift up the boot around the shifter, and there is a little spot to insert another 5mm gauge pin in the shifter. It's a little bit to the left, on the plastic part that keeps you from accidentally going into reverse. Position this pin so the shifter is locked into place.

Then, back under the car to tighten the bolt connecting the shift rod to the hollow shaft on the shift linkage. This should be 124 in-lbs (1.3 ft-lbs).

Once that is done, check it. Pull the pins, and move the shift rod in the car. You should feel it going in and out of gear at the proper places. If not, re-do the adjustment/alignment, and maybe get yourself some actual 5mm drill rod or pins.

As it turns out, I didn't notice any real difficulty getting into second gear until I got the car back on the road. I had to push a little hard to the left to get second to engage. Now I just grab the little ring that lets you into reverse and pull that up whenever I have to go into second, and it works fine. I would adjust it, but I need to replace the shift linkage anyway, and I don't feel like jacking up the car again. It's been a few months, and it's now just one more oddity of a 10-year-old car.

Then put the driveshafts back in, reconnect the strut/spring assembly to the knuckles, re-install the brakes, hand-tighten the wheel nut, and put the wheels back on. Lower the car and torque the wheel nuts and the axle nut, and then put in the cotter pin. It's REALLY tight. I don't have a torque wrench that goes that tight, so I just took my breaker bar and my weight and measured the proper distance along the lever and stood on it. Again, I can't find the other half of my manual, so I don't have these torque specs.

Now you have the battery tray and all the electrical connectors to put back, and the fluids to fill. I'll leave it up to you to install the fusebox and connectors and battery and all that stuff.

Push the car to a level surface and remove the fill plug. My transmission doesn't have a drain plug, but it seems some of them do. There's a fill plug on the passenger side, just behind the passenger axle. I circled it below.

Basically, just put fluid in this hole until it starts to come out, just like a differential. I don't have fancy fillers, and there's no room to just invert the bottle. What I DO have is a particular set of skills, and a whole bunch of miscellaneous tubing. So, I ran some tubing from the topside of the engine down into this hole, and put a drain pan underneath. Then, I stuck the nose of the bottle in the tube and put the bottle upside-down on my windshield, cut a hole in the bottom, and started putting the connectors and battery tray back into place. When that was empty, I did the same with the second bottle, but didn't cut the hole so I could save what was left, if any. The official capacity is 2 quarts. I had a third on hand just in case. It's expensive stuff, but I figured it was worthwhile just to have it. I didn't have to open the third bottle.

After it's full, replace the plug and finish up the electrical stuff. If you replaced your crankshaft seal, don't forget to fill the engine oil, of you'll be taking the front half of the drivetrain apart pretty soon. Start the car and go for a test drive. Then have a beer. You're done!

Attachment 9754

Addendum:

Or, if you're me, you can go drop off your summer tax bill at the courthouse, stop at the store, come home and pack for vacation, and then wake up the next morning ready to go only to realize you forgot to put the hood back on.

If you're like me and you did remove the hood, now it's time to reinstall that. As I mentioned earlier, the hood bolts were a very close fit with the hinges, so I just had my wife help me hold it up while I started the bolts, and then we cinched them down and closed the hood. My hood was pretty bent up to begin with, so I'm not sure how sensitive the hood normally is, but mine closes fine and usually opens the first time. Sometimes I'll have to pull the release on the dashboard twice, and it never pops up on its own; I have to walk to the front and lift it to get at the latch. On the other hand, I think I had to do that before the repair, so who knows?

OK, NOW you're done.

If anyone has questions, let me know.

Excellent write up. Well done. I replaced the clutch on my '07 about a month ago, and can attest that if you follow meiermat's instructions, you should be successful. I did a few things slightly different, but overall it was pretty much the same.

1. Meiermat didn't loosen or drop the the "K" bracket (the side-to-side bracket just below and behind the motor/transaxle). Neither did I, and for the most part, it wasn't a problem. I will not do it if I ever have to replace a clutch in one of these cars again.

2. I found the shift linkage to be a PITA due to it's location and the stupid little pin retaining clips. When I pulled off the clip closest to the transaxle, it "sprung", preventing it from seating in the pin's groove during reassembly. I bought a new pin and clip for $3 or so from the dealer, but even then the clip gave me trouble. My teenage son was finally able to get it seated properly. Next time I do it I'm just gonna remove the shift mechanism from the top of the trans and leave the linkage alone.

3. I used an appropriately sized drill bit to index the shift mechanism upon reassembly. No need to stress out trying to find a 5mm pin. BTW, you'll know it was indexed wrong when you can't get the shifter to go into all the gears.

4. I didn't remove the hood. Wasn't a problem.

5. I supported the engine with a floor jack and a block of wood on the oil pan. I supported the transaxle by placing a piece of 2x4 across the fenders and running a ratchet strap around it. During removal, I guided the transaxle from below (on a creeper - I had the front end on jack stands as high as I could get it) while my son ratcheted the strap down. To do this you have to remove the back and the driver's side engine mounts, as detailed. This lets the engine pivot down (by lowering the jack under the oil pan) on the driver's side, providing the clearance needed to slide the trans out. On reassembly, the ratchet strap supported the weight of the transaxle so I didn't have to, allowing me to concentrate on alignment. My son was topside, either loosening or tightening the strap as needed. Not an easy procedure, but worked well enough. Also, I had to push the engine forward to let the transaxle clear the previously mentioned "K" support. This was not a big deal, as it was held only by the passenger side engine mount and the jack.

6. The bolt on the back of the engine, where the ridgid coolant line runs, is a bitch. I used a long screw driver to (gently) pry the coolent line up a bit so a socket/extension/ratchet could slip in there. Be patient.

7. I replaced the plastic bushings for the clutch release lever. They're cheap - a buck or so each. I did NOT replace any other seals, as my Aveo only had 90,000 miles and exhibited no signs of leaking. Yes, I did replace the throw out bearing.

All in all, it wasn't that bad. I've never replaced a clutch before, and my tool set is limited to say the least. I just have the basic 3/8" and 1/2" socket sets with extensions, wrenches, screwdrivers, etc. I don't have an impact wrench, but do have 3/8" and 1/2" breaker bars, which were necessary. I wouldn't hesitate to do it again. I was quoted $950 (9 hour job) by my mechanic to replace the clutch. All the parts (again, I didn't replace any seals) cost me $140. I only paid $1,800 for the car, so this is a big win in my book.

If I can think of any other "gotcha's", I'll post them in this thread.

Again, nice write up.

meiermat, thanks again for the write-up. You make the forum a great resource. (If you'd like a complimentary forum decal, please send your mailing address to Tim (Daox).)

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Originally Posted by meiermat

pack for vacation, and then wake up the next morning ready to go only to realize you forgot to put the hood back on.

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Ha!

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...OK, NOW you're done.

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That means you got to have two "now I'm done" celebratory beers. :)



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Ombibulous, thanks for the extra notes.

Just ran upon this thread
...GREAT input by the way. I will surely be using it some day! Thanks for taking the time to post.

Thanks for the post, I just did mine on a 2007 sedan and it helped a lot, it as played a big part in what decided me to do the job myself.

The throw out bearing died at 200k km, it was already making a small noise when i bought the car at around 125k km, he cried for a few weeks and then died. Had to drive the car home clutchless, it was'nt so bad: i've made some research when it started squeeling hard and learned that you can start the car while in 1st. I did just that and did not had to stop until i was in front of my garage. The clutch could probably have been good for another 100k km, it was worn but not that much. I replaced the whole kit anyway since all the time involved for the repair. I've found the job easier to visualize by reading your posts with pictures than in the chevrolet manual.

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Originally Posted by meiermat

Anyway, flywheel back on (I can't find the engine half of the manual, so I don't have that torque spec) and then time for the pressure plate and clutch disc.

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It's 25 ft-lbs.

I supported the motor with a 2''x4'' from driver headlight to passenger fender and 2 strappings one on each motor attach.

To remove and replace the transmission i just sat on my crawler head facing the back of the car to see between the transmission and motor and used my knees and hands to support the transmission. I'm a strong and small guy, it was almost easy. I've finished by removing bolt 7,8 and 10 by hand and nothing moved, then i sat on my crawler and crawled under the transmission. I called the Wife to be around before just in case but i did not needed her. There is 2 cilynders that support the transmission in hole 10 and 7 if i remember correctly. To mate it back i've put my left hand to squeeze the motor and transmission around that cylinder around 7 then finished pairing them together with right hand and knees.

I had to remove and put back transmission twice because of a gremlin (explained in another post ''problem transmission stuck after clutch replacement'').
1st time took me around 4 hours to remove, 2 to change the throw out bearing, crankshaft seal, both transmission output to axle seals (those gave me trouble, i could'nt find anything proper sized to tap the seal back in place, made one in wood that broke and finally pushed them in with a punch a small hammer and lot of patience by tapping one side a little at the time) and then 3 hours to put back.
The second time took around 1 1/2 hour to remove 1 find the trouble in the transmission and 1 and half hour to mount back. I've been 2 afternoons an evening and a morning in the garage to complete the job.

That was my first time removing a transmission and i found it was easier than i'd tought. It's more long than hard. Sure i do have a garage and more than a few tools. I had no trouble with bolt 9 once i've found it, my 3/8 ratchet with a 3/8 to 1/2, and 1/2 drive box were a perfect fit for the job.

I did not remove the lower transmission mount i only removed the 3 long screws from mount to transmission it did not cause any problem.

I could'nt find any gl4 fluid around here neighter 75-85 so i ended up putting 75-90 gl5, Nissan dealer around here guaranteed me that it will not break anything, that gl4 is being obsolete and hard to come by these days.

I believe it could also be done without removing the passenger axle but not sure if it would be much faster since we got better acces by removing it and mating transmission with axle and motor will be somewat more difficult.

I'll add a few pictures that might be of some help.

Attachment 10215
View from right side, on top left there is a vent/filler plug i filled back from there, there was a black plastic cap on it that i placed back. Around the middle of the picture you see the no8 drill bit that i used to align the shift linkage.

Attachment 10216
No7 drill bit in the other hole 3/16'' could have done the job if taped or someone held it.

Attachment 10217
Another view of the shift linkage.

I know it may seem like an odd request, but do any of you deep engine adventurers have your used intake and throttle body spacers? I need to do some research ��
I want used to see any impressions left from the manifold in order to possibly CAD an intake manifold for us all.

what is the bracket called to the right of the yellow circle? mine just snapped off at the weld that is not in view in this picture?

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Originally Posted by meiermat

Attachment 9742

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