Girlfriend's throwout bearing let go - How complicated is changing the clutch kit?

[cwatkin]

My girlfriend's 2015 Mirage DE no longer has any clutch response and it appears the throwout bearing let go. I am sure this is related to how she drives the car and I would want to change the entire clutch kit as I could tell her clutch felt really soft the last time I drove the car. I have one from Oreilly with a throwout bearing, friction disc, alignment tool, and pressure plate on order. It is this kit. https://www.oreillyauto.com/detail/c...utch+kit&pos=0

I was curious how entailed this job is. I have done clutches on Geo Metros in the past and these do not look all that complicated to work on when it comes to splitting the transmission apart. Mine is in the shop due to an accident caused by a pothole that swallowed the front end of my car (a whole other topic) so do not have mine here to compare. I have a ton going on over the next week and figure this is probably a half a day job or so and might try to get it into a shop.

I would normally do this but this couldn't come at a worse time for me. Next week would have been OK for me to tackle this but not until next Tues at the earliest. What do you think? How complex is this job? I assume transmission fluid would also need to be drained. I was planning to do that on both our cars pretty soon so that would be done by default with this job.

Conor

[7milesout]

There's at least one instructional write-up, up in here about pulling the clutch. Maybe even a video.

[Fummins]

I'm pretty sure Johnny Mullet has a video showing how to replace a clutch in a Mirage. I assume they're not much different than any other fwd manual. Drain fluid, pull axles, clutch cable, battery tray, starter, shift cables, lh inner fender(maybe),unplug a connector or two, upper mount on the left frame rail, hold engine up, bellhousing bolts and drop it down and out.

[cwatkin]

I think I have a shop lined up for the job. She got it into gear and could drive it a bit this morning but smelled something odd. I think she will just go ahead and take it the the shop in case anything comes up when I don't have time. It is 6.6 hours "by the book." Is there any type of hydraulic slave cylinder in these things? This kinda reminds me of how it failed on my truck but usually it was worst when cold.

I found the Johnny Mullet video. It looks like you need a lift which I don't have. Can the trans be pulled from the top? I might be willing to do this on my car if it ever needs it in the future since I normally have spare rides on hand but not right now.


Conor

[cwatkin]

When I did this before on a Geo Metro, I jacked up the engine under the oil pan with a jack and block of wood to protect the pan. This held up the engine once the engine mounts were removed on the trans side. I was able to raise and lower the jack just a tiny bit to get all the bolt holes lined up and the thing back together. Would that be possible on the Mirage or does it have to come out from the bottom?

Conor

[Fummins]

It comes out the bottom. Don't need a lift but they do make everything easier. They have a cable for the clutch, it's not hydraulic. There have been a few guys that had their cables break at the transmission. It is adjustable.

[foama]

I've done quite a few clutches on the Swift decades ago. The last one took about 90 minutes from begin to end. Took the driver side lower ball joint off, pulled the transmission out under the driver side after taking the left drive shaft out. The right shaft came out with the transmission.
I'm curious how it compares to the Mirage, particularly because the OEM clutch has enough built-in problems.

[Johnny Mullet]

[Cobrajet]

I think I have a shop lined up for the job. She got it into gear and could drive it a bit this morning but smelled something odd. I think she will just go ahead and take it the the shop in case anything comes up when I don't have time. It is 6.6 hours "by the book." Is there any type of hydraulic slave cylinder in these things? This kinda reminds me of how it failed on my truck but usually it was worst when cold.

I found the Johnny Mullet video. It looks like you need a lift which I don't have. Can the trans be pulled from the top? I might be willing to do this on my car if it ever needs it in the future since I normally have spare rides on hand but not right now.


Conor

Make absolutely sure it is not a broken clutch cable. My car has gone through three of them and it is a very common failure. I have never heard of a throwout bearing simply letting go on one of these cars.

[Eggman]

Make absolutely sure it is not a broken clutch cable. My car has gone through three of them and it is a very common failure. I have never heard of a throwout bearing simply letting go on one of these cars.

Hey Cobrajet! Good to hear from you. Hope you are okay.

Good advice.

Best wishes.