No action all weekend on this... finally got around to "almost" completing it.

1. Backed out the bolts I'd installed one at a time and cleaned them... once all were in and tightened down with 3/8 ratchet, I torqued them to specs. The only one that gave me any real hassle was the top right side one under the CAS sensor. I just couldn't get it to torque at the max end of the recommended range, so I settled for the low end. The angle was too extreme for the number of extensions I had to use.

2. Getting the clutch hyd line bracket on the high bolt was done by feel as I couldn't see with my hand up there.

3. To re-install the clutch slave cylinder, just push the plunger back in the cylinder. It will go back in with a little force, allowing you to slide the plunger in under the shift arm.

Everything else went fine. I reinstalled the reverse, neutral, and speedo cables to the tranny, and torqued the four bolts on the PPF to specs.
Once I had all the tranny bolts torqued and the PPF bolts torqued, I removed the jack that was still holding the front of the engine up a little.
I also re-attached all the plastic clips for the wiring harness to the PPF.

4. I used a turkey baster and sucked out as much of the shifter cup fluid as I cold, then used paper towells and q-tips to scour the bottom... then refulled with Royal Purple.

5. To add back the small amount of RP that I spilled on the re-install, I used a short piece of tubing that came with my MityVac on the RP bottle, that conveniently has a pointy outlet perfect for attaching a hose to. Once I got a little dribble out, I secured the cap.

6. I stuck the shifter back in it's place, secured the two rubber boots and put the center console back in place. Then I gently pumped the clutch a few times... it felt good, no need to take up any slack as of yet.

I've also got an aftermarket frame brace I put back on and as usual, everything got doused one last time with Simple Green so it's nice and shiny. All done.

I can't fire it up until I get my order of Manifold Studs from Begi... hopefully be here Friday... then spend the weekend driving around town to expedite 450 miles. Just to be safe, I think I might just disconnect the wastegate for the break-in miles. Looks like early next week for the dyno... DAMN, that reminds, me, gotta install the 305's and O2 clamp. Well, the wife works all weekend, so plenty of time to install and drive.

But for now, clutch change complete.:bigtu:

Did you adjust the position of the transmission at the ppf? The distance from the rails to the ppf when tightened?

Clutch Change Reflections...
 

Just thought I'd drop some hints for those of you thinking about doing this.

1. Don't be afraid... it's not that hard.
2. If you've got something else to drive, great... plan on doing it a little at a time over the course of a week after work. No need to try and do it all in one weekend. Your arms will get tired and you'll lose patience and concentration.
3. Get a friend to help you, at least with the re-install. Simply from a safety aspect, one guy to pull the rope and steady the tranny while another moves the jack around is key... plus, if you get hurt and drop the thing on your head, nobody will be there to call 911.

Some things I'd consider.
1. You saw the nice little mount I made for mine. Next time I do this, I'm going to take an hour and make a real one that sits under the center of gravity... hopefully I can fore-go the rope entirely. I'll use a good piece of 2x6 and shape it exactly to the bottom... then cut neep grooves in the bottom of the mount so it attaches to the jack, not simply sits on top.

2. Have 2 jacks. YOU HAVE TO LIFT THE FRONT OF THE ENGINE TO REINSTALL THE TRANNY. You could simply use a piece of wood wedged under there and hammer it in place... but you wouldn't have the adjustability needed to wiggle the entire thing up and down to re-install the PPF... it just makes life easier with one jack on the engine and one under the tranny.

3. The right tools are key:
14mm and 17mm sockets- tranny to bellhousing (I think PPF's are 17mm too)
Large Crescent Wrench- removing reverse sensor and speedo cable... only a crescent will do. A regular wrench or small crescent won't be able to apply enough pressure
14mm and 17mm box or open-end wrenches- holding nuts on two of the R side tranny bolts.
12mm socket- removing clutch slave cylinder
2 floor jacks
24mm socket Tranny drain bolt
At least two feet of extension and one swivel for your ratchets. no need to get crazy with your attachments. For the top-most bolts, my extensions were something like Ratchet, 6" 1/2 ext, 1/2-3/8 piece, 12" 3/8 ext, 3/8 swivel, socket. Only my 3/8 sockets were 6pt for 14mm and 17mm... my 1/2 sockets in that size were 12pt... plus the 3/8 stuff was plenty robust and weighed less when holding it up there.
Torque Wrench
Zip Ties- for pulling things (clutch slave, wiring harness) out of the way.
Simple Green, Q-tips, plenty of paper towells. Of course you'll need a few other things, but these are the absolutes that you shouldn't skimp on.

I'm going to ad my entire cost for this thing up here... don't get alarmed.

Spec Stage II= $310shippied
Royal Purple 75x90- $10qt= $30
Front Tranny Seal= $3.95
Rear Tranny Seal= $12.95
Front Main Seal= $17.95
Small Shifter Boot= $24.95
Large Shifter Boot= $22.95
CAS O-ring (didn't do)= $4.95
Water Outlet Cap= $4.95
Total= $432.65+shipping from Rosenthal for parts= +/-$450

Tools Bought (don't really count them)
22,23,24,26mm sockets $3.95ea= $17
Big floor jack from Sears= $80
4x6ton 22" SUV jackstands from Northern Tool= $40
Torque Wrench (always borrowed before) also from NT= $38
Total= $175

Good luck when you give this a shot, hope this writeup helps others save some time. I only bled three times during this whole thing... A NEW RECORD!

:cool: That's a hell of a writeup.

Nice!

Where the tranny mates to the PPF, there were distinct grooves cut in the PPF. I was able to align it back in the exact same place simply by jacking up the front of the engine, which effectively pushes the transmission back... side by side wasn't an issue, there was maybe 1/4 inch of play and when I had the forward/back distance on target, the side/side was perfect.

There is an "up/down" spec that positions your driveshaft at the best angle. It also controls the height of your shift knob(which probably means nothin to anyone).

From a flat placed across the frame rails, the bottom of the ppf at the transmission should be up 2.22" plus or minus .197"

Wow...I remember hearing about this angle spec for the PPF a long time ago, now. Didn't even think about it last time I changed my clutch. Guess I wasn't thinking there was enough slack in the setup to make a difference...guess what I'll be looking at this weekend ;)

DAMN! When I get home and measure this, is the fix to simply use my spare jack to raise the front of the engine until I get the correct distance and then tighten... or what?

If you loosen the ppf bolts to the transmission, the back of the engine/transmission will drop. You will need the jack at the transmission or ppf to adjust.

I tightened, pulled the jack out and found I needed to support it less with the jack cause it didn't drop enough. Took a few tries to get it within spec in a free state without the jack touching.

SAM -
Are you telling us that you "DID NOT" replace the REAR MAIN SEAL?

um how come i've never heard of this before? damn, oh well it is where it is

+1 and over 10K miles ago....:eek:

I haven't fixed mine yet, but I'm sure it isn't at the right height (PO had the clutch done). Reading on m.net will tell you that after a clutch change, there is often a lot of driveline noise on deceleration. Apparently, this is minimized in certain cases by getting the ppf properly aligned.

Did I say that... which post and I'll correct it.
I definitely DID, YES, AFFIRMATIVE, POSITIVE change the rear main seal... it was the original and was leaking a little!

The only thing I didn't replace was the CAS o-ring as it was done about 15k miles ago with the timing belts and a few other things.

Post #27 -- https://www.miataturbo.net/forums/sh...1&postcount=27
You go on to explain that the rear main seal had been leaking, but you hadn't mentioned your sequence of events on removal and replacement of the rear main seal prior to the flywhell re-installation.

The only reason that I had posted was because to a novice person performing a clutch/flywheel repair/replacement, this step should never be omitted if you are removing the flywheel. The rear main seal almost always needs replacement (unless you don't mind leakage). :bigtu:

Thanks a bunch for pointing out that omission. I even bolded a key part I read in Chiltons about replacing the thing when I edited post #27.

i have a problem with my clutch install... im stuck on the 3 14mm bolts on the right side of the tranny! i have every other bolt(17mm) secured, just the 14mm bolts im having problems with... they wont go all the way through! i tried jacking the engine, jacking the tranny, jacking both, still no help. how did you get yours in spam? please help me! ive been without my baby for almost a week now! i started with taking off the tranny on sunday evening-8hrs... monday changed clutch and flywheel-1 1/2 hr. wednesday put the transmission back in-2 hrs. tonite started to put all the bolts in and spent 3 hrs only to attach all the 17mm bolts... please help!

Those 3 bolts hold in the starter motor. You might need someone else to hold it up and in place so you can get the bolts started.

check the metal gasket between the tranny and motor. make sure it's flat against the tranny and that none of the harnesses or clutch lines are not stuck between them.

DISCONNECT the battery. it's a good place to short something out and burn yourself.

its flat. i have all the other bolts in place... im probably going to loosen the starter so i can start the threading...