CLUTCH RENEWAL
4 Drain the gearbox oil, because oil will leak out when the driveshafts are removed. The drain plug is on the underside and can be undone with a 21mm socket or ring spanner. Refilling is via a 19mm bolt on the gearbox end cover, accessed via the nearside wheelarch (see Step 35). 5 Remove the small pieces of front inner wheelarch trim – the offside piece is shown here. Each one is secured with a couple of 10mm bolts. On the nearside, remove the front section of the wheelarch trim as well.
6 Use a small screwdriver to prise off the spring clip on the end of each driveshaft, where they are secured to the hub. Once removed, a small cover can also be extracted to reveal the large hub nut.
7 Use an impact driver and 35mm socket to undo each hub nut (both are a standard right-hand thread). These should be tightened to a whopping 245Nm, so an impact driver is the easier way to undo each one.
8 Refit each hub nut so that the end of the thread is covered, then try to knock the driveshaft through the hub using a plastic or copper mallet. Once released, remove the hub nut and use a drift to finish off knocking the driveshaft through.
9 The nearside driveshaft is the easier of the two to remove and has to be detached to be able to extract the gearbox. Pull the driveshaft out of the back of the hub and manoeuvre the hub out of the way, then extract the driveshaft.
10 The offside driveshaft has a centre bearing. Undo two 12mm nuts, but don’t remove them. Instead, turn the head of the bolt to which they are attached by 90°, allowing the bearing to be removed in Step 11.
11 Separate the end of the offside driveshaft from the hub, then pull it out through the wheelarch. Check the centre bearing has been released from the bearing housing and the end of the driveshaft is detached from the gearbox.
12 Disconnect the battery terminals, then remove it. It’s secured with a clamp that’s held in place by two 10mm bolts. Check you have a note of any stereo codes before disconnecting the battery.
13 Remove the battery box, which is secured with four 10mm bolts. Some of the engine wiring loom is attached to the back and underside of the battery box, along with a control unit (10mm nut).
14 If you find the battery box still cannot be removed, use a pair of pliers to release the plastic fittings that hold the loom to the underside. These are accessed from inside the battery box.
15 Remove the air filter housing by detaching an induction pipe and an electrical plug for a MAF sensor. Lift out the entire air filter housing – it’s slotted into rubber grommets in the engine bay.
16 The clutch slave cylinder can be moved out of the way without disturbing the hydraulic fluid inside it, so it won’t need to be bled. First, undo two 5mm Allen key bolts that secure it to the gearbox.
17 After removing the two bolts that hold the clutch slave cylinder, compress the piston (hidden by the dust cover) a little by hand to remove it from the clutch fork. Carefully manoeuvre it up to the nearside corner of the engine bay. Avoid kinking the hydraulic pipe.
18 Remove three 8mm Allen key bolts for the starter motor. The starter motor can remain suspended in the engine bay, but it needs to be separated from the gearbox to allow the ’box to be removed.
19 Remove the panel over the gearbox mount, which is secured with three 13mm bolts and one 13mm nut (the battery box was mounted onto it). This panel allows access to an 18mm nut for the gearbox mount, which will need to be undone in Step 29.
20 Carefully extract the reversing sensor electrical plug that’s attached to the top of the gearbox. Use a screwdriver to release it. Next, undo the nearby 13mm nut for an earth lead that’s attached to the top of the gearbox.
21 Undo two 13mm bolts that secure the alloy block to the gearbox, which has coolant pipes and wiring attached to it. This is close to where the earth lead was attached in Step 20.
22 There are two 16mm bellhousing bolts across the top of the gearbox, which can be accessed from within the engine bay and via the nearside wheelarch. Undo these now. There will be several more to undo later.
23 Look at the back of the engine bay for one of the gear linkages (there are three). Use a long screwdriver or pry bar to separate the linkage. It’s a ball and socket design and may be difficult to separate if it hasn’t been lubricated.
24 There are two more gear linkages to detach. Use a couple of pry bars or screwdrivers to separate each one, accessing them from underneath and through the nearside front wheelarch. Space is tight.
25 Check around the gearbox from inside the engine bay to make sure nothing else needs to be removed to allow the gearbox to be separated. The wiring loom and conduit may be clipped to the gearbox, so check carefully.
26 From underneath the vehicle, unclip the plastic fittings that hold the two power steering pipes routed between the gearbox and engine. Undo two 13mm bolts and remove the tin plate.
27 There are three more 16mm bellhousing bolts to undo, all of which are accessed from underneath. Leave in one of the bolts until the next step, when the gearbox will be supported by a transmission jack.
28 Position a transmission jack underneath the gearbox to help support it when the gearbox mount is undone from inside the engine bay in Step 29. Make sure the transmission jack is large enough to hold and lower the gearbox.
29 Assuming the vehicle is raised high off the ground, use stepladders to access the engine bay and undo the 18mm nut that secures the gearbox mount. Remove the remaining bellhousing bolt. The gearbox can now be lowered down on the transmission jack.
30 As the gearbox is lowered, the stud of the gearbox mount may get in the way of removing the ’box. It can be wound out using a 16mm spanner, although we discovered our fitting was a little smaller, but not small enough for a 15mm spanner.
31 Carefully lower the gearbox using the transmission jack. Space in the engine bay is tight, so watch your fingers don’t get trapped. Once it is free, lift it off the transmission jack and place it on the ground or a workbench.
32 The clutch cover is secured with six Torx T40 bolts. Undo all of them, then remove the cover and the friction plate together. Clean the face of the flywheel with brake cleaner to remove all traces of dirt.
33 Using a clutch alignment tool, fit the new clutch friction plate, followed by the new pressure plate, which sits on locating dowels. Refit the six Torx T40 bolts and tighten them progressively to 20Nm.
34 Remove the old clutch release bearing, then clean inside the gearbox where it sits and around the inside of the bellhousing with brake cleaner. Apply a smear of grease on the shaft where the release bearing sits, then fit a new one, making sure the clutch fork sits over it.
35 When refitting the gearbox, make sure the clutch fork doesn’t get snagged as it could detach itself from the release bearing on the inside. Refit all remaining parts and refill the gearbox with two litres of 75W80 synthetic transmission oil via the 19mm bolt in the end cover.