Guide: Big Job Tips and Tricks

[wainwrightj]

So to get things straight from the get go this isn't a guide I am NOT a mechanic so take this all as you will these are all things that I would've liked to know before changing the clutch on my 1998 Rallye/ GTi-6 (BE3 Box XU10J4RS Engine), so with that out the way lets get into this!

Doing a job like this yourself is a pain in the a*s but it's one of the more rewarding things you can do to your car! You won't realize this at the start but as you get closer to completion the excitement starts building it all starts becoming worth it. Once you've finished the job look back at all the things you've learnt and think about all the things you can now do with the knowledge you've gained.

• Before you start anything you want to get intimate with a couple of guides, read your chosen guides over and over until you are comfortable with the process in your head
  • Don't take the guides as fact, after all they are only a guide and sometimes the information provided might not line up with your car (For example a guide I was following quotes 10 gearbox bolts and we spent at least 10 minutes looking for our lost bolt until we realized there's only 9 and the guide skips number 8 when counting to ten 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,9,10)
    
  • Quoted bolt sizes could also be wrong for example the gearbox bolts were quoted as 17mm whereas on my car they were 16mm's
    

• So now you've read a couple of guides make sure you're prepared for the job, collect all the parts you'll need, order everything a couple weeks in advance so when you ultimately forget something you still have time to get it ordered.
  • Write a list of all the parts and tick them off as you get them ordered
    
  • Acquire any tools you'll need for the job, namely hub sockets, torque wrenches things you don;t just have ying around if you;ve never done a job like this before
    
  • Google will only get you so far sometimes it's better to double check sizes of bolts/ nuts on the car especially if you're buying a hub nut socket that you probably won't use again (I spent £10 on a 36mm socket that was too big for the hub nut, went and bought a £15 35mm socket and even that is slightly too big but does the job better than the 36mm)
    

• Give yourself way more time than necessary!!
  • I can't stress how important this part is, I believe the book figure for a clutch on my car was around 7 hours so as we've never done a clutch we set a whole weekend free thinking that would be plenty of time! It wasn't it's currently Saturday now and I have only finished this job today. (Work a 9-5 so only had evenings in the week two of which my mate helped be getting the box back on)
    
  • Things will go wrong, it isn't a case of if they go wrong it's a case of when. Be ready for this and don't let your frustrations get the better of you, stay calm and really think about how to solve the problem instead of getting angry at a seized intermediate bearing..
    

• Don't be afraid to ask people for help whether it's on the forum or on facebook
  • You'll always get that bell*nd that has nothing better to do than to mock you, or bluntly uselessly answer the question because it makes them feel better about themselves but you just have to ignore these people, they've all been in your situation at some point they weren't changing clutches as a fetus they asked questions at some point that's how people learn.
    

• Always assume you've done something wrong
  • If you get caught looking at a problem thinking to yourself "Why isn't this f***ing thing working we've done nothing wrong" 11 times out of 10 you've done something wrong, it's the hardest thing to admit when you;re in that sort of situation but believe me you'll save more time by just starting over than staring at something telling yourself you've done it right
    

• The biggest take away from working on cars yourself is the knowledge you gain (plus the money you save)
  • During the job you forget this part, you look at everything from a different perspective, you start with good intentions and then everything starts going down hill, you run into a couple of problems and everything starts to overwhelm you and it feels s**t, don't let it get the better of you that's when you start taking short cuts making bad decisions and generally making yourself more work in the future.
    

That's an awful lot of writing hopefully not too boring and hopefully you've taken something away from this

[Mighty306]

I spent £10 on a 36mm socket that was too big for the hub nut, went and bought a £15 35mm socket and even that is slightly too big but does the job better than the 36mm)

Think you might have got unlucky there. Anything less than 35mm hub nut seems quite rare. I've yet to come across one.

https://www.306oc.co.uk/forum/archive/in...-9138.html

http://www.306gti6.com/forum/showthread.php?id=129290

What you've said above is so true of a lot of repair jobs done for the first time ...frustrating & rewarding in equal measure.  Well done for seeing it through. You'll be all the better for the experience.  As you say, ignore the trolls who are anything less than encouraging of your efforts!

[wainwrightj]

I spent £10 on a 36mm socket that was too big for the hub nut, went and bought a £15 35mm socket and even that is slightly too big but does the job better than the 36mm)

Think you might have got unlucky there. Anything less than 35mm hub nut seems quite rare. I've yet to come across one.

Definitely got unlucky although had I just checked I would've saved myself £15 by only purchasing one

[cully]

• Don't be afraid to ask people for help whether it's on the forum or on facebook
  • You'll always get that bell*nd that has nothing better to do than to mock you, or bluntly uselessly answer the question because it makes them feel better about themselves but you just have to ignore these people, they've all been in your situation at some point they weren't changing clutches as a fetus they asked questions at some point that's how people learn.
    

That same bell*nd has probably never tackled the job you are doing let alone know which end of the knife is sharp!

good advice

[pug306driver]

I have yet to do the clutch on our estate.......space permitting, guide pins screwed into the engine to make it easier to align the gearbox when its time to refit?

[wainwrightj]

I have yet to do the clutch on our estate.......space permitting, guide pins screwed into the engine to make it easier to align the gearbox when its time to refit?

I'm sure guide pins would help although we didn't use them, I'm assuming only the 6 had the pull type clutch which makes it a lot harder than a push type

We found it easier putting the gear box up sideways with the diff facing the ceiling, then rotating it clockwise to avoid the sub frame

If you don't won't to undo the gearbox stud like us, undo one bolt from the gearbox mount and loosen the other and you can spin it out the way until the stud's in the right place and then rotate the mount back over the stud that way, makes it a lot less faffy than trying to wiggle it around the mount

It's a difficult job but well worth the effort (and the money you'll save) when you get it all back together, I've done 70~ miles so far bedding the clutch in and it feels great, as I said in the post I'm not a mechanic but so far nothing has gone wrong, just take your time and don't take shortcuts, you'll get it done 

Good luck if you do decide to tackle it yourself!

[Mighty306]

The XSi also has a pull-type clutch.  That's the only model I've worked on so can't comment on others.

I had to look up the difference between pull-type and push-type clutches though as didn't know why the 2 designs existed.  Apparently for any given amount of effort to flex the pressure plate on a pull-type (equates to force required to depress clutch pedal), the clamping force of the pressure plate on the clutch when not depressed is higher than with push-types.  All to do with fulcrum points apparently!!  In short, the pedal on a push-type clutch that was strong enough for a gti6 or XSi would require quite a bit more effort to depress.  As it is, they're quite hard work compared to a lot of cars!

I guess hydraulics takes the worry about driver effort out of the equation & more cars have push-type clutches these days?

[wainwrightj]

The XSi also has a pull-type clutch.  That's the only model I've worked on so can't comment on others.

I had to look up the difference between pull-type and push-type clutches though as didn't know why the 2 designs existed.  Apparently for any given amount of effort to flex the pressure plate on a pull-type (equates to force required to depress clutch pedal), the clamping force of the pressure plate on the clutch when not depressed is higher than with push-types.  All to do with fulcrum points apparently!!  In short, the pedal on a push-type clutch that was strong enough for a gti6 or XSi would require quite a bit more effort to depress.  As it is, they're quite hard work compared to a lot of cars!

I guess hydraulics takes the worry about driver effort out of the equation & more cars have push-type clutches these days?

Quite interesting that, I was cursing it out wondering why it was made that way because I couldn't see a benefit but that makes a lot of sense

Do hydraulic clutches still have a natural biting point or is it manufactured into the design? I can't imagine a hydraulic clutch being anything but linear?

[Toms306]

The 2.0 petrol engine (GTi6/Rallye/XSi) and the 1.9XUD diesel engines both use the pull type clutch. The main purpose is to keep the clutch spring strong enough to hold the torque on these engines but still keep it light enough for the driver as Mighty says.

HDi and all other petrol 306s use the push type clutch.


Hydraulic clutches have a bit less control and feel than cable clutches but they are much easier for continuous use in traffic etc, I couldn't imagine going back to a cable clutch daily myself now. Hydro clutch systems require a pedal return spring to keep pressure off the slave cylinder when not in use. The trouble is this spring can cause a very odd pedal feel and a sudden 'give' half way through the pedals travel. The Mk3 Focus clutch is notoriously bad for this, even on the RS model, there is an aftermarket upgrade spring for these now. Other manufacturers (Germans mainly) add a hydraulic damper into the clutch line to smooth clutch operation. As with everything, it's always a compromise.

[Eeyore]

Toms306 and I fitted a gti6 box to my 1.8 at his grans house... i left some of the parts at home and we finished hte job in the dark but with the clutch fork the wrong side and had to do it all again. i had no way of getting home so had to stay at his grans house. So definitely think about what will happen if you dont get it done!

[Mighty306]

The 2.0 petrol engine (GTi6/Rallye/XSi) and the 1.9XUD diesel engines both use the pull type clutch.  The main purpose is to keep the clutch spring strong enough to hold the torque on these engines but still keep it light enough for the driver …

You've explained that much more clearly than me!  Interesting stuff about hydraulic clutches.

[wainwrightj]

Toms306 and I fitted a gti6 box to my 1.8 at his grans house... i left some of the parts at home and we finished hte job in the dark but with  the clutch fork the wrong side and had to do it all again. i had no way of getting home so had to stay at his grans house. So definitely think about what will happen if you dont get it done!

Wasn't as bad for me I had to stay at my own house, but had to get the bus to the closest stop to work which was 2 miles away so the most I had to deal with was unsolicited exercise and scabbing lifts with colleagues