Clutch change procedure G60 and DMF flywheels

Did my first TDI clutch last weekend and with a friends help I was able to get it done in 3 1/2 hours. I left my flanges on, simply removed the slave clinder and still can't understand why you would need to remove the battery tray. I left mine in and had no problems.

Roller said:

I just want to point out one critical piece of information I've found in doing this. If you removed the passenger side axle flange to give some extra room when reinstalling the transmission (I found it necessary), BE SURE to put the flange back in BEFORE completely mating the engine and transmission.
The passenger side drive shaft gets in the way of replacing the axle flange, the transmission needs to be at least 3 cm away from the engine and the drive shaft pushed way high to get the flange to fit back into the transmission. On second thought, it might be better to insert the flange before you attempt the last step of fiddling with the transmission and engine to get them to mate. Trust me, the last thing you want to do after getting them to mate and bolted together is to have to unbolt them and slide them apart enough to get the flange (or half shaft) to fit back in the transmission. I know, I found out the hard way

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I made this critical mistake. Quite a PITA if you want to do the job right, consider replacing all the mounting stretch bolts AGAIN! I opted to just unbolt the ball joint from the control arm on the passenger side, then I was able to pull the axle out enough to get it out of the way. Only about a 10 minute setback overall.

heizervr6 said:

I also completely removed the entire top transmission mount (5 bolts in total) giving me lots of additional room to work with

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Since I'm having a devil of a time getting the transmission back in, would you recommend taking it off?? (The tranny came out with it attached, so logic dictates that it should be able to go back in... yah, sure...)

I don't have new replacement bolts - and Bentley insists they be replaced... Should I chance it anyway??? (I'm a firm believer in replacing mount bolts where Bentley says to do so...)
(I do have a spare set of bolts for the bracket on the engine side... but the part numbers are a bit different... My old version of ETKA says that there should be 3 bolts M10x80 (MK-sw16) on the transmission bracket... Those are grade 10.9... The horizontal engine mount bolts I have are 85 (and 112) mm long... Grade 8.8... Is it safe to try to use the 2 shorter ones??

Yuri

PS: I removed the bracket from my old, dead transmission... the bolts were heavily Loc-Tite'd in place... I'm wondering if the ones on the *new* transmission are...

As I understand it, only the big vertical bolts are torque-to-yield and the horizontal bolts for the mount can be reused. These are the skinney ones that go into the engine block or tranny. I would double check with a Bentley Manual on this, but I believe it is correct.

Also, sometimes the passenger side drive flange must be removed to get the tranny back in.

--Nate

PDJetta said:

As I understand it, only the big vertical bolts are torque-to-yield and the horizontal bolts for the mount can be reused.

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According to both my CD and book versions of the Bentley, the transmission side horizontal bolts are "always replace"... I'm trying to do this without removing the half-shafts due to the non-availability of proper replacement transmission fluid...

Yuri

These are helpful: http://www.idparts.com/catalog/prod...ucts_id=726&osCsid=jtspg4jsecj3dti66mf1mcoer2
http://www.idparts.com/catalog/prod...ucts_id=512&osCsid=jtspg4jsecj3dti66mf1mcoer2

Get the G070 gear oil. it may be more money, but its worth it

darkhorse said:

These are helpful: http://www.idparts.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=76_102&products_id=726&osCsid=jtspg4jsecj3dti66mf1mcoer2
http://www.idparts.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=76_102&products_id=512&osCsid=jtspg4jsecj3dti66mf1mcoer2

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If I had the time to order parts to be shipped to Canada, I would have... I'm sure I spent at least double of what Peter or Aaron charge for bolts - and that's just those bolts I already have bought... I just arranged for someone to drive out here tomorrow and bring me the remaining bolts (as well as some transmission fluid - G070726A2...)...

Let's hope things go better today... [edit... they're already starting... yesterday when I removed the bracket from my old transmission, the bolts were so heavily Loc-Tite'd in place that it was a lot of work... today, removing them from the replacement transmission was a piece of cake... obviously someone had taken the bracket off previously on my car...]

Yuri

Taking off the transmission support bracket made all the difference!!! I'm not going to say that it has become an *easy* job, but compared with the frustration of yesterday...

When the tranny got close to the engine, I used one of the starter bolts to anchor the alignment on the front side while fiddling with the overall fit... (I realize this could lead to a bent starter bolt if something goes awry, but I figured I should get a foot in the door, so to speak...)

One would think that if the transmission came out of the car with that bracket attached, it should be able to go back in that way...

Yuri


(PS: I didn't remove the output flanges / half-shafts... If it's a choice between taking them off or taking the bracket off, I vote for the bracket...)

Did a clutch replacement in my 2003 Jetta Wagon on the Week-end do remove the half shaft driver's side, although did not lose any fluid I wonder if that means that it's low and the fluid looked more like gel. Do remove the aluminum plate around the exhaust. You may remove the whole slave cylinder from the tranny it's on a swivel mount and rubber line so very easy to tie up to the firewall so no need to bleed or disturb the the oil or air in the cylinder. Do give yourself lot's of time and patience. and above all " Let's be careful out there"

Wayne Boudreau said:

Did a clutch replacement in my 2003 Jetta Wagon on the Week-end do remove the half shaft driver's side, although did not lose any fluid I wonder if that means that it's low and the fluid looked more like gel. Do remove the aluminum plate around the exhaust. You may remove the whole slave cylinder from the tranny it's on a swivel mount and rubber line so very easy to tie up to the firewall so no need to bleed or disturb the the oil or air in the cylinder. Do give yourself lot's of time and patience. and above all " Let's be careful out there"

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If you only removed the half shaft, and did not remove the flange bolted into the transmission (single bolt in center), then you saw only CV grease and should not have seen fluid leak.

We need a better, universal definition...

Some people refer to the driveshaft (axle) when they say "half shaft"...
Others refer only to the output flanges coming out of the differential to which the driveshafts attach...

Yuri

I did remove the torx in center of axle but still no oil or mess.

Removed the Half Shaft ( this is the one that runs from the wheel hub to the flange on the transmission) I also had to remove the flange on the transmission ( this has a spring loaded shaft that goes into the transmission about 8 inches long and is removed with a torx that is in the center of the shaft (with the grease) This should clarify things a bit more.........

Today

I'm starting my clutch replacement today.
Any last minute advise?
Also, any gurus, please check back...If I need help, I'll be posting it here.

i just replaced my clutch yesterday, 01 golf tdi it went smooth i did the clutch flywheel and new injector install in about 5 hours total. in the driveway with the help of a friend. if i had to do it again it would take about 3 i think.

a few notes i have done clutches in everything vw audi in the last 20 years in my driveway. this job is about a 5 when and awd audi would be a 9 and a rabbit being a 2.

i always remove the driver-side axle

the trans comes out with the drive shaft flanges intact(with some love) using a 3 ton floor jack under the motor to lower it many inches to get clearance to remove the trans, always protect your oil pain with a block of wood or something so your not to damage your oil pan

having a friend help actually maneuvering the trans out and in makes this a lot easier

the g60 vr6 combo is very smooth and you will be very happy with it.]

Vvarak said:

I'm starting my clutch replacement today.
Any last minute advise?
Also, any gurus, please check back...If I need help, I'll be posting it here.

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This thread should cover most of your questions. This thread was used as a guide for me when I replaced my first TDi clutch last January, so since I'm an "expert" now, I will add a couple things that I have learned.

I had replace my flange seals 10k miles prior to this clutch job, so I learned that when you remove the flange, the half-shaft are in your way, so I disconnected the lower ball joint from the control arm to provide more room. Unfortunately, I had to get a front-end alignment with this method. What I did this time, instead of disconnecting the ball joint, I removed the control arm bolt that faces the front which allowed me to just pivot the whole control arm, along with the half-shaft, out of the way. I did not have to do an alignment with this method and is much easier than removing the half-shaft.

While it makes it much easier to remove the tranny with the passenger side flange removed, it is possible to remove and install with it on. I removed mine when I removed the tranny, but had it on when I installed it. The reason I had it on during the install was because I had my tranny rebuilt and didn't want to take a chance with the new flange seals.

Unfortunately, I didn't have any help, which would have made it much easier when the flange is installed. Funny nobody wanted to help me when it was near 10 degF, go figure. While I'm sure I could cut a couple of hours off this job the next time I do it, I would welcome a second pair of hands.

Hope this helps,
Nick

Done

Well, finished the clutch install today (SBC Stage 3). Pedal feel, engagement point, and easy out of 1st gear are exactly like stock. I wouldn't have guessed that it was changed. After the break-in period I'll see how it holds.
So a few pointers for anyone reading this. I'm by no means a mechanic, I'm a computer nerd, I just like to do all my own work. This took me and my brother about 17 hours. Yeah, a long time, but I've never seen a clutch before this time. These pointers may be obvious to most, I'm directing these to the other computer nerds that want to try doing their own clutch.

- when it says "disconnect hydraulic clutch line"; i just remove the slave cylinder from the bell housing. And if you're like me and didn't know what a slave cylinder is google it.
- I'd recommend removing both drive shaft flanges, it's way easier to remove the tranny with them off. This means replacing your gear oil, but isn't now a good time to do this anyways.
- I found a nice long F clamp worked for putting the flanges back in later.
- it mentions a thin plate at 11:00 on the back...i have yet to find this plate
- i found a chain hanging from engine support (I made one out of 2" square tubing) worked well to lift and lower the tranny (with assistance from a jack)
- I also had to remove the passenger side ball joint to move the drive shaft out of the way to install the flange
- I also had to bleed my entire brake/clutch system - have some dot4 ready
- if you don't have a 12 point 9mm wrench for the pressure plate, a combination/box wrench will work fine (you just can't torque it to spec)
- also, make sure you know which bolts for the bell housing go into the block and which is in the oil pan....I put 60lbs on one that went to the oil pan..oops...
- get the flywheel holding tool! I did and i wouldn't do it without it.

These are just my opinions.
Henry

Vvarak said:

- if you don't have a 12 point 10mm wrench for the pressure plate, a combination/box wrench will work fine (you just can't torque it to spec)

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10mm ?? The pressure plate bolts were 9mm on mine...

That "inspection plate" is there... you didn't stumble into it because you removed the flanges...

Yuri

ymz said:

10mm ?? The pressure plate bolts were 9mm on mine...

That "inspection plate" is there... you didn't stumble into it because you removed the flanges...

Yuri

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Oops. You're right, they were 9mm. I edited the post. Thanks.

Ya, I tried to do it with the flanges on...but I couldn't. I ended up removing the passenger side with the tranny half out. Then I decided to remove the dirver's side anyways when it came to putting it back in as I had to replace the gear oil anyways.

I just finished replacing the 02J in my 2000 Jetta with this as a guide. Great help, thank you so much.

Some things that I did:
I also completely removed the trans mounting bracket. Two vertical bolts on top, three horizontal into the side, and one that held a cross bar on the engine side of the mount. I purchased all new mounting bolts for the mount. All of them had some pink chemical about an inch long on the threads. I'm assuming this is a thread locking material, so yes, always replace all 5 of the trans mounting bracket bolts. It pretty much just fell out of the car, and then slid right back in, minus the hassle with aligning the metal engine to trans gasket. I did not remove the CV flanges, only the 6 triple square bolts on each CV shaft.

To counter the torque when removing the pressure plate, I just stood an 18 inch board just off of vertical so that it caught the teeth and then when I twisted the bolts, it would just push the board into the ground and keep the flywheel from spinning.

Not too bad on a difficulty scale though, thanks to having the procedure and advise here. Whoever said they used a socket as a clutch aligning tool, thank you. And thank for the whole procedure.

This was a very helpful and very handy forum. only one question. i have mk4 tdi and i hear the g60 single mass flywheel bolts directly on along with the vr6 clutch set. true or false?

Correct... a single-mass flywheel from a G60 (Corrado), AHU or 1Z (A3 or B4) engine will bolt onto the crankshaft and a VR-6 clutch assembly will bolt onto that... Be sure to get a throwout bearing that matches the clutch set - Valeo clutches have a thicker throwout bearing... As well, you should replace a number of bolts that are marked as "always replace" in the service manual...

Many of the vendors out there sell clutch kits, some with and some with an additional bolt kit... sample: www.idparts.com www.dieselgeek.com www.boraparts.com www.metalmanparts.com www.mjmautohaus.com and others...

Yuri

Folks, I need a little help (or maybe alot). Just broke down 150 miles from home where my clutch pedal is stuck to the floor. Was towed to a garage and given an estimate of 1800.00 to replace my Flywheel, Pressure Plate, Slave Cylinder, etc. I am tempted to have her towed back home where my local mechanic says he will help me out with the conversion. After reading a number of post her I think that I am victim to the dreaded DMF failure since I have been experiencing alot of the symtoms of the DMF symptoms. Questions are: What is the best conversion kit to purchase and what else should I look at purchasing/replacing (i.e. slave cylinder, rear seal, fluids, special tools, etc). Any feedback/experiences will be greatly appreciated. Also what is the best How-to for the MK5 DMF-to-SMF conversion?

Ofunky1 said:

Just broke down 150 miles from home where my clutch pedal is stuck to the floor.

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I'd get a 2nd opinion... Sounds like a hydraulic problem rather than a clutch problem...

Please post your present location... perhaps there's a TDI-Club veteran or guru nearby who could take a quick look...

Good luck,

Yuri

For those of you who didn't buy a flywheel holder (like me), here's what I did:

1. Take one of the 16mm head throwaway TTY bolts from the trans mount and put it through the hole near the axles that has the centering pin (below the metal plate with 10mm bolt holding it). Put the threads on the flywheel side and the head on the engine side.

2. Using a 12" Harbor Freight prybar (see: http://www.harborfreight.com/12-inch-heavy-duty-pry-bar-39698.html), counterhold the flywheel by angling the tip of the prybar into the flywheel teeth to counter the rotation from tightening/loosening. When loosening, you'll need to hold the prybar in place. Since my triple square bit was rather long, I used an end wrench as close to the bolt as I could get it, with another wrench on the end to double torque. When tightening, thankfully, you can just wedge the prybar against the subframe and tighten to your heart's content. Luckily, my G60/VR6 kit came with 17mm hex bolts, so I didn't need the triple square bit for installation.

I also used a ratcheting "come-along" to hoise the trans for me. I removed the hook on one end, and looped the cable over the driver's side axle flange. I then lifted the trans (diff going up) until the flange was clear of the subframe at approximately the same elevation as it would be when installed (basically, same height as the axles). Then, I got under the car, and rotated it into position and pushed it onto the engine block. Once rotated, I was able to take a breather since it was wedged against the subframe, and then I worked on pushing it onto the block.

Obviously, YMMV, and you run the risk of damaging something, but it worked for me and saved me a lot of benchpressing effort. I was also able to guide the trans around the 42,000 things that're in the way, making it less of a guess and shove game and more something that resembled an "install".

Rockwood,

That's good to know.

One question though: When lifting the trans with the come-along, what did you hook the top-side to?

Chubber said:

Rockwood,
That's good to know.
One question though: When lifting the trans with the come-along, what did you hook the top-side to?

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My rafters. Useful, they are.

My Clutch lasted 397000 KMS , and it was not the clutch that wore out, the fingers collapsed , so i could not longer disengage the clutch. 400K kms, not bad for one clutch !!!

Question; if using the H-F trans lift and jack-stands, how high do you have to lift the car up before the trans & jack will clear the car parts? Which lift-points did you use?