[s-cars] S-clutch replacement part 2

[Chad Tobin, UrS4/S6 Technical Editor]

Hey guys, Here's part 2. Hopefully it comes through better from my S-cars
e-mail.

Part 2:

This procedure is for doing an S4 clutch change with the car on the ground
elevated on jack stands. This write up is not intended as a substitute for
the Bentley service manual.

5) Removing the old clutch: To loosen the pressure plate you need to loosen
one bolt a small amount and then loosen the opposite one a small amount.
Alternate loosening each bolt only a little so the pressure plate comes of
evenly. If you loosen the bolts all the way as you go you will end up with
some bolts that are very tight because of the pressure from the pressure
plate. It took me a while to realize this. These allen bolts are no fun to
turn with vise grips after they?re rounded out!

6) The pilot bearing: First you will have to remove the flywheel. The
Bentley says to mark it?s position but then one line later it says the bolt
holes are offset so it can only go on in one position. The holes on mine
would only line up in one spot. I used a screw driver that looks like an
allen wrench and has a philips on one end and a flat on the other to hold
the flywheel. I put a pin in one of the trans bolt holes and then put the
flat on this screwdriver thing in the teeth of the flywheel and turned it
until it was wedged between the pin and the flywheel. Watch out when you?re
loosening the last bolt the flywheel will drop and it?s heavy. Set the
flywheel face down on something clean and fairly soft. Use a socket to
knock the pilot bearing out from the back. Put some oil on the outside of
the new bearing and tap it in from the front with a socket or something
else that fits over the bearing. The bearing should be flush with the
flywheel according to the Bentley. While you have the flywheel off you need
to clean it up. I used 80 grit and then 100 grit going slightly diagonal.
My clutch works great but I am no expert on re-surfacing flywheels. This
worked for me YMMV.

7) The seals: The crank seal looks a little intimidating. It has a big
flange around it with a bunch of small bolts. Well it wasn?t hard to do on
my car at all. I used a bicycle tire wrench to pull it out. It has a small
lip for getting under a bike tire. I?ve read somewhere that somebody ground
one side off of a nail head and used this to pull it out. The seal I got
came with a sleeve that allows the new seal to slide over the crank. Put
some oil on the seal and slide it in. I used the old seal to seat mine. I
put it about an eighth of an inch from the outer surface which is
approximately where the old one was.
The trans mainshaft seal was also pretty straight forward. Just remove the
TO bearing guide sleeve and you can get to it easily. Needle nosed pliers
worked for me. The Bentley says to pack the sealing lips with grease and
oil it. You can also use the old seal to tap this one in. Mine was leaking
so I was glad I had the new one.
The drive flange seal is the easiest. Just put a couple of screws in the
flange and hold with a big screwdriver. You may want to clean around the
seal before you pull the flange all the way out. If you tip the trans away
from the seal you are changing you won?t lose any oil. Pack grease between
the sealing lips, coat with oil and push it in. This one will stop when it
gets where it?s supposed to go. The main thing with these seals is to keep
them straight.

8) Putting the new stuff on: I re-used my guide sleeve. It?s metal so I
just sanded it with some 600 grit and coated it with grease. Put some
grease on the input shaft of the trans and slide the new clutch disk over
it. (don?t touch the friction surface) Wipe off the excess grease so it
doesn?t fling all over. Put the alignment tool on the clutch and put them
on the flywheel. Make sure the longer center splined section of the disk is
facing out. Put the pressure plate over the disk and get some bolts in it.
If you removed it gradually they should all be in tact. Tighten it down a
little at a time alternating from side to side as you go. Pull up a little
bit on the alignment tool and make sure it is straight with the pressure
plate on. Once the pressure plate is snug torque according to Bentley spec.
The Throw out bearing just snaps into the arm. Make sure you grease the
guide sleeve.  Just about ready to re-assemble. Stay tuned.

Chad Tobin
UrS4/S6 Technical Editor
S-CARS.ORG