240 General: How to change a 240 clutch

[Mike_Brace]

A 240 clutch can be difficult to change depending on available tools and the facilities you have for removing it. The sequence shown here were done in a garage with a pit which gives good access for lifting the box down and back up. Even then it is really a 2 person job due to the weight of the box.

Ideally for undoing the clutch bell housing from the you will need two or three wobble extension bars to undo the top two bolts. If you don’t have these you can try loosening them with a spanner first but are likely to find that they won’t undo in which case the ½” drive wobble extension bars are essential and you will need to buy or borrow some.

The first job before you get your hands dirty are inside the car. If you leather gaiter this needs unbuttoning and removing.



Next remove the plastic plugs from the rubber gaiter and move it up the gearlever.



Next use circlip retaining the gearlever with circlip pliers>




There is also wiring going under the carpet normally to the left hand side of the centre console (later cars to the other side). This needs disconnecting and feeding back to the gearlever hole.





Disconnect the battery.

It’s now time to get under the car - a pit is ideal but otherwise you will need some good ramps that will allow you plenty of clearance underneath.

The first job is to undo the four bolts that hold the cross member up. The box will drop when the last bolt is removed. If working off ramps it might be a good idea to use a jack to support it.



Next undo the engine mount which will allow removal of the cross member.



The next job is removal of the prop by undoing the four bolts holding it on.



You will not be able to reach all of them so it is necessary to jack up a rear wheel and turn it till the prop is in a suitable position.



The prop will now drop down.



However it may need some gentle persuasion:



Next comes removal of the gear lever. An allen key (socket) is needed to loosen the pin.



The pin can then be pushed or drifted out freeing the gear lever.



The gearlever can then be pulled up inside the car. I always fit the pin back into the gearleaver so it will not get lost and the retaining screw will not fall out.

The wiring now needs pulling through onto the gearbox if not already there.

The next job is to remove the clutch cylinder. This is retained by a circlip which needs removing.

PHOTO MISSING

If seized in a good soaking with WD40 may help. Sometimes depressing the clutch pedal may help. If it is in solid they can take a lot of removing so you may be better off undoing the pipe and remember to bleed the clutch on reassembly.

Next job is to undo the bolts around the bell housing and remove the starter motor. (Either support it or remove the cables that are attached.)



The top two bolts are only accessible over the top of the gearbox and need several wobble bars connected together to be able to undo them.

Early cars have a speedo cable which will need detaching. You are now ready to remove the box. It is heavy. If you are doing this on your back ensure that it will not be able to drop and crush your hand. It really is a two person job. It will need moving backwards first.



Sometimes it will be stuck to the engine. If this is the case the first check is to make sure that all the bolts are out - obvious but easily overlooked. Wobbling the box about may be enough to free it. If it is still stuck some careful tapping may help but it may be necessary to use a pry bar to help them separate.

Once the box has moved back a short distance it is ready to come down. It needs pulling back and twisting to lower. If working on the ground a trolley jack may be useful to help support it. Even a block of wood placed in the right position can be helpful.

At this stage the box can be removed and the bearing swapped for the new one. It is a good time to also check the clutch fork is in good condition and not worn.



It is now onto removing the clutch assembly. The cover plate is held on by allen head bolts (ordinary on earlier cars).


The cover plate then comes away with the clutch plate.



Now inspect the spigot bearing in the centre of the flywheel, if it is stiff or noisy it will need replacing.



Whilst the clutch is off it is a good time to consider replacing the rear crankshaft oil seal. Essential if there is any sign of a leak from behind the flywheel.

To do this the first job is to remove the flywheel. Firstly mark the position of the flywheel and keep the engine locked while undoing the bolts. With the flywheel off the oil seal can be removed using a thin screwdriver or some sort of hook. The new one should be lightly coated with oil and pushed in until slightly recessed. Not always an easy job but one there is more detail about in my article on replacing the front oil seals.

Refit the flywheel to the correct torque.

It is now time to fit the clutch plate which is held in position by the cover plate it is essential to centre the cover plate. If the cover plate is tightened evenly till the clutch plate can be just moved it can be positioned up. We normally do it by eye using a torch:





If not correctly centered the box will not refit. Once you are happy with the position tighten up the retaining bolts.



Now it is basically a case of reversing the disassembly process. The first one is getting the box up which is not easy due to the weight and needing to be wiggled into position. The rest is relatively straightforward.

The one area which may cause problems is refitting the cross member . Initially only put the bolts in by a couple of turns with a jack taking the weight. If there are problems aligning holes due to the rubbers use a screwdriver or punch to align them first.

I think I have covered the important points but do check one of the manuals for any torque settings. I must admit to rarely using aa torque wrench but have a good feel for the appropriate torque.

I would be grateful for anyone to add there own comments are ask any questions so as to improve this guide.

[stephend]

Great 'how-to' - thanks! I don't think I'll be tackling that job myself...

One question: when removing/refitting the prop-shaft, is it a good idea to mark the original position and preserve it? Or doesn't it matter at that attachment point?

[Fridazadilak]

You should mark it and refit it in the same orientation but if you don't, it doesn't matter. I think it is more important with the rear prop section.

[minesa240x3]

Well done mike as usual a fantastic write up complete with experience which the manuals rarely describe.
The only gearbox I ever removed was on my 3 Litre Austin(land crab but rear wheel drive)and that was huge! It was on a jack and car on drive on ramps,it slipped off the jack and landed on my chest which meant I was stuck,eventually help arrived and all was well.putting it back up took three of us plus jack and long timbers lol to wiggle and shove it home.oh yeah it had a big steel overdrive unit on it as well.Unipart had to have the clutch specially made as it was no longer available and their slogan at the time was"yes we have it! Now what do you want."
Take care mate.
Brian.

[wooble]

Good guide, Mike - It's really not as hard as it looks, the only two parts that are 'hard' are physically manhandling the 'box about as it's a heavy old lump (although I have managed to remove one on my own, it wasn't fun, like Brian I ended up on my back in the drive with a gearbox restricting my breathing, and I certainly couldn't have refitted it alone without a transmission jack), and getting to the top two bellhousing bolts can be a pig, though again once you've dropped the crossmember it's really just a matter of locating enough ratchet extensions - took me 3 12" extensions and a wobble joint last time I think.

The only thing I'd add, though it was touched on anyway, is that if you remove the flywheel to replace the crank oil seal, you MUST replace it in the same orientation, as the engines on some models ('F' engines, 'K' engines with electronic ignition) use a crank position sensor which reads a pattern of machined holes on the flywheel. If the flywheel is removed and replaced in the wrong orientation the car will not start and you'll have to take it all apart again, work out where the flywheel goes, and re-position it.

[volvobaggen]

Thank you for a great DIY. Did this on my car this summer, wish I had read this guide first :-)

[Stephen Edwin]

Very useful how to thanks.

The only clutch I have replaced myself was a Triumph 2000 with overdrive, in about 1975. So fairly similar in weight. A very helpful garage lent me two great tools.

Firstly an oblong frame of Dexion on castors, with two scissor jacks mounted on it one at each end and shaped metal on each scissor jack. That made controlling the gear box a slice of gateaux. No dropping it on to my ribs. EEK.

Secondly, they lent their clutch plate alignment tool to me. A wow one. A true sonic screwdriver.

Sadly I had to do the job twice. The motor factor provided the diaphram for a Triumph 2.5 PI instead of the 2000. Right dimensions, the wrong distance of travel ....

And of course whilst spending so much time under the car, I had a good poke round inspection at stuff and found some other work to do ...