Clutch Clinic

With care and determination, renewing the clutch and/or manual gearbox on a Citroën C2 can be successfully done at home. But it’s not all plain sailing, says Kim Henson.

The Citroën C2 with a slipping clutch only just made it to the workshops of J&C Motors in Bournemouth. Looking under the bonnet, it was difficult to see, let alone reach, the gearbox that needed to be removed to renew the clutch, such was the jumble of components installed above the transmission. In such instances, there is no option but to methodically work through moving or removing such parts.

If the clutch assembly is at the end of its useful life, slipping is usually the first sign of trouble. When this happens, stop using the car or else the flywheel drive face may overheat (often resulting in deep cracks which can wreck the flywheel’s friction face) or be deeply grooved by the rivets exposed within the worn-out clutch driven plate.

Always fit a complete kit of clutch components at the same time, including the driven plate, pressure plate assembly and release bearing. Taking into account the time and effort it takes to remove and refit the gearbox, renewal of individual clutch components is a false economy, especially as any such parts that you don’t renew are likely not to last very long when working with the new components.

If this is the first time you’ve tackled this job, be especially careful when detaching electrical cables and their clips/ connector assemblies, since these tend to become brittle with age and may snap. It is also wise to make notes and take pictures to ensure correct orientation of components when refitting, as well as storing all components and fasteners removed in clearly-labelled containers.