Tom's Nile GTi6

[Toms306]

So, as soon as I started, drizzle set in, brilliant. Anyway, made decent progress for the first hour, got the whole 'topside' clear, removed the airbox - easier than I thought as there was a bolt missing (of course!) and got the NS BJ and shaft out.

Then spent an hour fighting the other BJ, cannot explain how much I hate these things! When I finally got it out I realised why it was so much hassle. The shit garage that ruined every other job also fitted a P bush...but they fitted it at such a ridiculous angle the wishbone is pointing up away from the floor at 'rest', not looking forward to getting that back in.

In other news, the oil breather came off the intake hose, anyway I can bodge that back together? And does anyone know the part number of the gasket between the TB and manifold to save me going on SB?

[RetroPug]

You could always pop over and lend a hand.

It's a bit too much of a drive for me

[Toms306]

It seems they changed the gasket at some point to a rubber ring seal. The paper/fibre square one is 1635 C3 and costs £2. Guessing they wont have them in stock though!

[Toms306]

More things have arrived!

[Mattcheese31]

Just because I know you, I cleaned those dials before I sent them lol

[Toms306]

So I don't have time to upload pics atm but basically the old clutch was well f*cked! No grooves left on the centre plate and the release bearing has a load of play.

New one is on but I cant get the 'box back on by myself tonight. If anyone is free tomorrow morning/evening just to help lift it in I'd be very grateful! If not, I guess I'll have to man up.

[DeeTurbo]

I'm going to do the clutch soon on mine as the girlfriend will complain it's too heavy.

Is it very similar to doing the clutch on the HDI except it being a pull clutch?

Your car almost seems as bad as my estate when I got that, so many bodges from previous owners.

[Toms306]

Just because I know you, I cleaned those dials before I sent them lol

Awww, thanks Matt! I did think they seemed cleaner than normal...its the stalks that are the worst usually though...good few mm of skin on those these days, don't understand how people don't notice lol!

I'm going to do the clutch soon on mine as the girlfriend will complain it's too heavy.

Is it very similar to doing the clutch on the HDI except it being a pull clutch?

Your car almost seems as bad as my estate when I got that, so many bodges from previous owners.

Well its similar in that its in the same place, but tbh other than that there are quite a few things different.

Firstly the airbox is in a rubbish location so you need to remove the NS arch liner to get to it and usually struggle with the rusted nuts.

There is an extra bolt on the 'box through the sump that I missed first time.

Wiring can't be fully removed due to the individual coil packs so that's kind of in the way.

The 'box is a lot heavier than the 5 speed, I've lifted several 5 speed 'boxes in myself but there's no chance with the 6 speed! It's also more awkward to manoeuvre.

You need to remove the clutch arm from the fork before removing the 'box. And line up the clutch fork with the new release bearing - again a pain on your own.

The good thing with the '6 though is there seems to be more access to everything, not really sure why but gear linkages and plugs etc all seem easier to reach.


The worst part about the bodges on this are that it's been done by a garage, who charged a lot for breaking things! I do feel sorry for whoever paid for it to be done tbh (it wasn't the guy I bought it from). But this is also why I don't like 306s, the amount of bodges and broken bits, and the more I dig, the more I seem to find!

[Toms306]

Very quick 'guide' to the clutch change - battery, ECU, battery box and battery tray out. Unplug everything on the nearside and get wiring out of the way (I use bungee cord). Remove airbox and piping. Remove TB for access to starter. Remove pin and arm from clutch fork. Unbolt starter. Remove clutch cable and lift reverse cable. Unbolt earths and brackets from box. Should look something like this -





Jack up, remove wheels, remove hub nuts (impact wrench ftw), remove pinch bolts and pop out lower BJs. Remove NS shaft. Remove 11mm nuts from intermediate bearing and knock shaft out. Remove speedo drive (easier to manoeuvre).



Loosen all gearbox bolts, 4 at the top and 2 underneath on the '6! Take the weight of the engine with a jack. Take the weight of the box with another jack. Remove the 18mm gearbox mount nut. Then the mount bracket 13mms. And the mount stud. Fully remove gearbox bolts. Carefully lower gearbox, adjusting engine jack where necessary.



Laugh at the state of your clutch (Sachs cover and LUK centre, presumably original!)



Remove clutch cover bolts - hex key needed on the '6, torx on the HDi and 13mm on the 1.8 iirc! Pry the clutch cover off its dowels.





Give the flywheel a squirt of brake cleaner to get rod off all this dust etc



Take a picture of the new clutch so your neighbours think you're mental



Bolt it up with a clutch aligner, 25Nm of torque.

[Piggy]

Good work matey :-)

[Paul_13]

Take the engine mount stud out and put the box on with thediff pointing down then rotate the diff up until it slots in over the dowels

[Toms306]

Stud is already out, I just can't lift it from under the car even to get a jack under. Wish I'd left it balanced on the subframe instead of dropping it out completely now. An old oc member should be helping me get it in this afternoon though.

---

Also, have painted the door handle and fitted the heater panel this morning.

[insomaniac45]

i remember changing the gearbox on my nissan almera, god do i know how heavy they are.....

i rigged up a piece of wood across the bay, with some blue hauling line to help lift the motor until i could get the jack under it.

Just watch your fingers and toes

[Toms306]

I have a proper engine crane for exactly this sort of thing... But with no outdoor space here it needs to be kept elsewhere!

When I could get it on the jack though - jacking up with my foot and a hand on the box - I couldn't seem to get it between the radiator crossmember and, the subframe and the new clutch. For some reason the sump is made overly large on the GTi6, and the gearbox has been shaped to fit it presumably just to make it more awkward lol. There's gotta be a knack with these that I'm missing.

The 'diff down' trick didn't work either, all that did was dribble the remains of the gear oil onto the floor.

[Xsikid]

I have a proper engine crane for exactly this sort of thing...  But with no outdoor space here it needs to be kept elsewhere!

When I could get it on the jack though - jacking up with my foot and a hand on the box - I couldn't seem to get it between the radiator crossmember and, the subframe and the new clutch.  For some reason the sump is made overly large on the GTi6, and the gearbox has been shaped to fit it presumably just to make it more awkward lol.  There's gotta be a knack with these that I'm missing.

The 'diff down' trick didn't work either, all that did was dribble the remains of the gear oil onto the floor.

It will all be worth it in the end mate. Looks a very decent 6 does that

[DeeTurbo]

Tom where did you get the TB gasket from? I didn't realise that had to come off but it makes sense.

I'm going to replace drive shaft seal and thinking of doing the crank shaft seal to. Would you recommend doing the input shaft seal to?

[Toms306]

The tb seals come in packs of 10 direct from citroen, they did let me have just one though. You might be able to get away without removing it, there is a tb bracket on the gearbox that needs removing at the least though.

As you're doing all the others you might as well do the input shaft seal and sleeve, definitely replace the fork bushes but they only come in 5s from the dealer unless yours have any left in stock. About a tenner the pair from eBay though.

Now have a handle for the first time since owning the car lol, not perfect but it works and is the right colour. Replaced missing door bolts with the same 10mms that I used for the handle...funnily enough, with all the bolts in the inner handle trim doesn't fall off even without glue!

[procta]

good stuff tom!

[Toms306]

Don't take the piss Procta!

Anyway, after the slowest, least motivated day ever it is all back together and driveable. Also jetwashed the bay and a lot of that water got into the engine oil somehow lol, no wonder there's oil everywhere if it's not water tight.

However, the diff bearing still wouldn't budge, and the driveshaft wouldn't go in with the speedo at an angle, so there's basically a 1cm gap right around the speedo housing which of course won't hold much oil (500mm is somewhere but probably mostly on the floor). As I came back from test drive heard the familiar tinkling of bolts hitting the floor as the top bolt fell out with the stripped threads, I did find it though lol.

Also the permanent heat has not been fixed with a new panel. And the NS mirror only moves up and down not left or right.

So, seriously whats it worth now? Presumably less than the 700 it was worth with a knackered clutch?

[Paul_13]

You've been driving it with the diff like that?!? Seriously!

[DeeTurbo]

Tom, do you know if the motor that turns the flap is accessible? If it is check power to it or as a last resort would you be able to take the motor off and move the flap?

[Toms306]

You've been driving it with the diff like that?!? Seriously!

It actually drives fine, you honestly wouldn't know without looking which surprised me! It couldn't stay where it was but when it did actually move I thought taking it round the block can't hurt, the diff is already f*cked so I don't care if it gets worse lol. Didn't take it further than walking distance obviously.

Tom, do you know if the motor that turns the flap is accessible? If it is check power to it or as a last resort would you be able to take the motor off and move the flap?

I don't know where the temp flap is now unfortunately, been a while since I've looked at a 306 heater box. I have a feeling it's buried behind the dash with no access though.

[DeeTurbo]

Yeah, I've got a feeling it's on top so buried behind the dash.

[DeeTurbo]

Just found this

http://www.306gti6.com/forum/showthread.php?id=165520

[Niall]

Tom just get a box for the car and get Rowell to help you fit it. Can pick them up for £50

[Toms306]

Rowells never home lately lol, and the brief chance he is we need to make sure the Rallye is ready for shows & track which are coming up fast!

I can't do another 'box change here in the car park anyway. I have thought about putting into a local garage to let them sort it but I just don't see that the car is worth any more after the hassle and expense of that anyway?

Will check relays now, Dee. (By now, I mean after a bathroom visit lol)

[Toms306]

Relay is fine but plug looks melted? I guess the relay may have been replaced though.

[DeeTurbo]

Is the spade in the melted one caked in plastic, so not making contact?

I've also read to check fuse f20 30a and f22 10a might be melted contacts or blown.

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk

[Toms306]

Tbh I couldn't get a decent look at the spade without moving the car (3 door doors are too long lol). But if it wasn't making contact, I guess the blower motor wouldn't run which it does? Thinking about it though, I can't understand why there would be a relay for temp control anyway, the flap motors can't take much electric?

None of the fuses are blown as I've already checked that. Will check the pins on those two later though!

[Toms306]

Is it possible to remove (even partially?) the diff casing without removing anything else?

So keep the driveshafts in, unbolt the speedo drive and slide that back along the shaft a bit, then unbolt the diff casing. In my mind, everything should stay in place with the shafts in, but the bearing should be loose enough to move into its proper position, then bolt the diff casing back together and refit the speedo drive? I expect it'll leak a bit but chances are the shaft seals will leak now anyway. But it would at least mean I can get a decent amount of gear oil in for only an hours work? Good idea or not?