Toyotakarl case: Clutch Replacement 2007 Cobalt SS

[Its me]

So the clutch on my Nephews 2007 Cobalt SS (Supercharged) had given up the ghost. It was slipping in all gears and needed a replacement. I had heard that this was an 8 hour job… I think that may be for a non-supercharged version… My nephew will assist and be my “Step and Fetch it”, as his mechanical skills are limited…. I did not break anything and only took a 10 minute lunch break and used many power tools… Even with that this job took around 12 hours to do, and while it was not terribly difficult, there were many things that needed to be done.

We replaced the Flywheel, Flywheel bolts (they are Torque To Yield/TTY), clutch, pressure plate, J- pipe, Throwout/slave assembly… Total cost for this job was around $500… Some money could have been saved by having the flywheel re-surfaced, but we only had the weekend to do this job, so my nephew just bought a new one…

The front subframe of the car has to be removed to drop the transmission, and that is about the most difficult part of the job..

I started with disconnecting the negative battery cable in the trunk, then lifted up the car and placed it on jackstands… I had to use the body to support the weight because to remove the trans I would need to remove the subframe/cradle.

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I removed the air intake pipe and then removed the main fuse panel in the car… A 7mm on my small battery powered hand impact made short work of this…

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Top fuse panel removed

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Now I needed to remove the lower panel. There were two clips that held on the upper portion and two 13mm bolts that attached it to the lower portion.

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Removal of ECU… Three quick release attachments… Simple..

[IMG]http://i1173.photobucket.com/albums/r584/karlh2345/20140419_073918_zps8f0bd64e.jpg[/IMG]

Moved away all the wires to access lower fuse panel assembly

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Once I removed this, I disconnected the linkage arms and the Vehicle speed sensor. The linkage arms just pop of when you pry them with a screwdriver or prybar.

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Next is to unplug these wires/connectors and get access to remove oil cooler (located under the throttle body)… It may not be absolutely necessary to remove the oil cooler, but definitely makes it easier to bleed the clutch… The clutch bleeder is underneath it and access even coming from the bottom of the engine was practically non-existent.

[IMG]http://i1173.photobucket.com/albums/r584/karlh2345/20140419_080919_zpsd08ccb28.jpg[/IMG]
Clearing things out still…

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Setting up the drain pan for removal of the oil cooler (3X13mm bolts)

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Clearing more out

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Oil cooler unbolted (and some oil will spill!)

[IMG]http://i1173.photobucket.com/albums/r584/karlh2345/20140419_082817_zps7d79d747.jpg[/IMG]

Oil cooler (side shown that goes against engine)…

[IMG]http://i1173.photobucket.com/albums/r584/karlh2345/20140419_111546_zpsdffbc015.jpg[/IMG]

Now unbolting transmission linkage mount (2X13mm bolts)

[IMG]http://i1173.photobucket.com/albums/r584/karlh2345/20140419_084015_zps29a1e09a.jpg[/IMG]

Now was time to start to remove the Axle shafts.
Simple work here
Remove tie rod nut and disconnect Tie rod (1 X 18mm Nut)

[IMG]http://i1173.photobucket.com/albums/r584/karlh2345/20140419_084424_zps7d9899be.jpg[/IMG]

Remove balljoint. This is 1X16mm Bolt with 1 X 15mm Nut and remove balljoint assembly (nut gets installed on rearward direction of car)

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Remove 30mm Axle nut with washer and remove axle shaft from knuckle…

[IMG]http://i1173.photobucket.com/albums/r584/karlh2345/20140419_091851_zpsc86e18d0.jpg[/IMG]

Do this on both sides. The exception is the passenger side which has a carrier bearing and the requires removal. There are 3 bolts holding this on, then remove axle shaft as an assembly…

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View from passenger side with axle shaft removed.

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Also when dropping the front cradle/frame the sway bar links need disconnected. We could not do this without destroying our sway bar links… Had to use a vise grip to get traction to unbolt these… The good thing is the replacement ones have room for a hex wrench on the bolt shaft for easy removal (when we have to do struts on this car)

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Next was to remove the starter to get access to the Transaxle bellhousing bolts… However before the starter can be removed, the Supercharger cooling pump needs to be out of the way (to get access to starter bolts). There are 2 x 13 mm bolts holding the pump to the bracket.

[IMG]http://i1173.photobucket.com/albums/r584/karlh2345/20140419_093643_zps15e50fb9.jpg[/IMG]

Then the bracket must be removed. 3 x 13mm bolts (longest bolt is the lowest bolt)

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Bracket removed

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Now you have access to get to the top starter bolt. There are two bolts for the starter, the lower one is easy to see and remove… The upper one requires the use of an extension and feel it into place and then unbolt it…

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Starter removed..

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Next was setting up the engine hanger… I must say, this HF model worked like a champ and throughout the process never even budged…

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Supported on pinch welds, not on side of fenders (don’t want to bend fenders)

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Next I removed the 13mm Steering bolt on the Steering intermediate shaft.

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Began removing transmission to engine bolts, this is the top one (note I had to remove the oil cooler to get access)… Also note the clutch bleed valve is now easy to see (and remove)…

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Clutch bleed valve removed (just pop out clip on side of it with small screwdriver)… Be careful not to lose the clip…

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Remove nut and remove grounds (on transaxle)…

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In preparation for the removal of the lower subframe/cradle, the radiator NEEDS to be supported by something (the subframe holds it up)…. I used zip ties and joined them together in loops for the required distance from where the radiator hoses attach to the radiator up to the hood locking mechanism… I used this mechanism to provide the support for the radiator…

Also removed the two front lower splash shields for access so the subframe could easily drop…

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Once this was done, I disconnected the rear motor mount to subframe (3 bolts) out of the bottom of the subframe (these are vertical)…

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Then I removed the front motor mount bolt. (note, I did not remove the front motor mount assembly)… Found that it was not necessary..

Then I removed the remaining transmission to engine bolts…

Then removed the four lower subframe bolts… Helps to have a helper here… The bolts are 22mm…
Moved subframe away from the car… (note the template I made for the transmission to engine bolts on the cardboard piece)… Sometimes bolts are not the same length and can be hell to get right if you put them back in the wrong holes…

[IMG]http://i1173.photobucket.com/albums/r584/karlh2345/20140419_122919_zps7ed8fc22.jpg[/IMG]
Then I placed a block of wood on a small jack and held the engine in position… similar to this…
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Then I used the transmission jack to support the transmission

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Then removed upper transmission mount bolts (3 X 16mm)

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All bolts out of Engine/trans

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Next, pulled trans back and lowered trans jack… Trans out.. Note front motor mount still attached…

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This piñata is whacked open,… Now, Time for my candy…

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It took around 5 hours to get to this point…. Not really hard and didn’t have any issues… Just lots of steps….

Next up, Replacing flywheel, clutch, pressure plate and the Throwout/slave cylinder combination….

-Karl

Topic

[Its me]

Now was the time to remove the pressure plate, clutch and flywheel… The pressure plate came off with an E10 socket on an impact (to keep the flywheel from turning)

Here is the old flywheel and clutch

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Comparing old and new…

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Removing Flywheel bolts…
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Installing new flywheel bolts… Had to use a flywheel holder to keep the flywheel from moving (see lower left).… Torqued in star pattern… 15 Ft-lbs, 39 Ft-lbs, then 25 degree final turn..

[IMG]http://i1173.photobucket.com/albums/r584/karlh2345/20140419_134351_zps13c6ffcb.jpg[/IMG]

Disconnected J-pipe from Throwout/Slave assembly…. This is a 9mm fitting…. Had to dust off a 9mm wrench… Can’t even remember the last time I used a 9mm….

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Additionally, for those who don’t know, this clutch assembly does not use a typical Arm and throwout bearing… The slave cylinder is attached to the throwout bearing… Most cars use an arm and an external (out of the trans) slave cylinder… Making it easier to repair if the slave has an issue…. I can see the good and bad of this system so I really don’t have any other point to make…
The old throwout bearing was bad and was making noise whenever the clutch pedal was depressed… An in-hand examination definitely confirmed this…

The assembly is held on by 3 x Torx 30 bolts… These can strip easily, I could not get a socket on it straight to break the bolt loose, so I used a T30 screwdriver, pressed hard against it and applied an adjustable wrench to the bolster… All three “popped” easily, and then I could remove them with a socket… These are known to strip easily, so care should be taken here…
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Old and new

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To replace the J-pipe, push the plastic round holder up and there are two disconnects that you can release with a small screwdriver… This is plastic and can break easily, so take care here…

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All re-assembled…
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Next, I removed the fill plug (to be sure I could!)… This is a Hex fitting and came out with no issues… I lost some fluid when removing the trans… This trans takes about two quarts and as I would find out later, lost almost a quart…. Also this trans fluid is expensive…. $30 a quart… Only available around me at the GM dealership (Advance Auto and Autozone don’t stock it)…

[IMG]http://i1173.photobucket.com/albums/r584/karlh2345/20140419_142418_zpsc49f83b4.jpg[/IMG]

I did not get pics of the clutch installation tool and bolting up the new pressure plate, but it was simple, Use the clutch installation tool to hold the clutch in place, then put the pressure plate over it and bolt the pressure plate down…all while making sure the flywheel was staying aligned. I torqued the pressure plate bolts to 22 Ft-lbs and all was good…

Then came the time to put it all back together… A thing I did differently from just going in reverse was to re-install the starter with the sub-frame still off… Had more access to get in that top hidden bolt…

Also, I hooked up the bleed nipple to a vacuum pump and bled it from the back and then did the pump and bleed method… No issues getting great pedal..

With everything back in place I had to check the fluid level… There is no dipstick on this car and the proper trans fluid level is when the top plug on the trans is open and is at the level of the opening…

Here is what I used…

[IMG]http://i1173.photobucket.com/albums/r584/karlh2345/20140421_144602_zpsf070e6e4.jpg[/IMG]

The plug location on the drivers side…
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Filling…

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Once filled, I put the tire back on and took her for a spin… Worked Great!!! No more slipping clutch… I also told my nephew not to go hard on it for 500 miles and let the clutch break in… Also, I told him since he saw me do it, the next time it went bad it was going to be him replacing it..…

Cheers!

-Karl

[Bill]

Hey T.K. Just an outstanding job. Great pics too. I’m just glad it was you and not me doing that job. 😛

[Author]

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