Clutch job

[ShagFestiva]

Well, the weekend has come to replace the clutch in my festy. Not looking forward to it since its my first time taking out a trans, but im confident it wont be as bad as i think. Any hidden tricks or things to watch out for that i should know about?

[eurotiva]

Not really it's pretty straight forward.

[scitzz]

There is a ten millimeter bolt hiding for the flywheel cover near the radiator, use something to hold the spider gears in place with something, anything, even a wooden dowel will do, when you remove the LCA's, if you remove them from the body first, the ball joint slides out of the steering knuckle easier, To remove the CV joint bolt, at the wheel, have a buddy step on the brakes while you break it loose, the weight of the car is not enough to keep the wheel from turning, remove the entire speedo assembly, not just the cable, if you lose the plastic ring inside, you will be posting a {WTB} post, and prolly will do it wrong, and get yelled at , don't use a "pickle fork" to remove the tie rod end, it will bust the boot, and I personally use 80w-90 to fill it, not the (now) recommended atf.

The last is a personal preference

Did I miss anything?

[eurotiva]

Did I miss anything?

Just the other 10mm bolt hiding on the aluminum plate on the back of the motor.....these will keep the tranny from coming out, they will hold the plate between the motor and flywheel. I think it is alot easier to remove the engine cooling fan before starting this, It gives you alot more room to work.....my .02$

[gdawgs]

They are pretty easy. One of the beauties of Festivas, easy to work on.

When I did the clutch on my MG Midget a few years back, I looked in the shop manual and step one is "Remove engine and transmission from vehicle." I'm like "what?! That can't be right". Yep, that's right. There's no other way.

[ShagFestiva]

wow thanks for the feedback guys. Wrote all that down on a pad of paper to take with me . Goin to get the parts now.

[GenevaDirt]

I think it is easier to pull the engine to change the clutch. You don't have to pull the axles or remove any of the front end parts. I didn't even remove the radiator when I pulled it. Then while it is out you can degrease if needed and replace anything (timing belt,water pump, seals....ect) that you want. Clean the engine bay easily. A few hours work and you can get a lot more accomplished.

[ShagFestiva]

i havent had a lot of time to work on the car, but the trans is out. I drained the fluid and it was red like ATF. Should i refill the trans with ATF? Also, where could i get a header for the 1.3L? anyone have one?

[Maxtiva]

Yes fill it with ATF this is what is recomended

[doylerl]

Yes fill it with ATF this is what is recomended

That is what I used when I put new CV's in and flushed the trans. You refill it through the speedo cable hole. It takes approx. 2.6 quarts. Hope this helps.

[nonamekid]

Would recommend this How-to

http://www.fordfestiva.com/forums/showthread.php?t=11144

[ShagFestiva]

thanks guys, very helpful. Im goin now to work on it. Will update later.