My biggest DIY attempt yet - V40 1.9D clutch change #yikes

[Umski]

Hello folks,

It's that time of year again when something major starts to play up - seems to happen every summer This time it's the clutch - slipping when accelerating at high speeds e.g. 60>70.

Anyway, I read all I could (thanks to Gatos as usual plus tips from elsewhere) bought the clutch kit and got to work starting yesterday evening with the ancillaries (couldn't get the battery tray off due to rusty bolts but didn't seem to matter) and then this afternoon on the big stuff

Numpty me forgot that the hub nuts needed removing and realised that the largest socket I had is 32mm - panic set in but there's a repair shop round the corner and the chap there lent me their 36mm over the weekend (definitely some beers on return on Monday!)

So off with the drive shafts at least the driver's side came off easily but how on earth does the passenger side come off - I pried and pulled to no avail?

Getting fed up and with time on my mind, I started on the gearbox bolts which are a pain to get to on the driver's side - Gatos' tip for removing the entire support bar made me figure that this was the way forward by removing the entire rear engine/gearbox mount which reduces the count by four

That done and having counted the bolts removed versus an image of the bellhousing side online I figured it should be free. After a couple of hours of wrestling I finally managed to get the sodding gearbox off (with drive shaft still attached). Not sure how I'm going to get it back on even with a jack to hoik it up

On the plus side, the clutch was indeed fried (pics later) but need to get the new one aligned and replaced plus the concentric slave cylinder tomorrow. I think the DMF is okay.

So any tips on 'reassembly is the reversal of disassembly' please - particularly the drive shaft as it's getting in the way bit on the turret that meets the chassis Oh and managed to tear a lower balljoint boot that stretched a bit too much - balls

Thanks in advance as always

P.S. Last time I had to get to a clutch was on a MkIV Spitfire which was a lot simpler (carpets out, tunnel off, bolts off, hoik it into the passenger footwell ) - oh apart from then having to remove the entire engine because I couldn't align the two in-situ - although with a rented engine hoist it only took a few hours

[canis]

The shaft is held with a roll pin. Pull it out (might be two, one inside the other) and the shaft will pull out easily.

[neanderthal]

i know it sounds rough,but i carefully( if you can call it that)got a narrow chisel in there and tapped it with a hammer,and then managed to get a crowbar in,but never had much room for manouvre.WHATEVER YOU DO.....dont let the ball bearings(6) fall out of the passenger driveshaft when working on it,otherwise you will have a nightmare getting them back in.....i had a right job too trying to remove the gearbox....the framework on the car was in the way. glad you got tips from gatos,as i had a right job with the support bar trying to line it back up...on my behalf a lot of work for a clutch slave cylinder,but could not afford to change the clutch at the time..can you post up how you do the clutch with pics and what tools needed.good luck with it.lol

[Umski]

Thanks chaps, I didn't take the passenger drive shaft off in the end - it was before canis mentioned the roll pins but I couldn't tell or see where they might be as there was an inner cover very close to the diff #confused. It made things a bit trickier but was just about do-able!

I got it all done in the end (pics will follow) but I was in a bit of a pickle come Saturday - new clutch went in fine (using a 3/4" reamer in the hole to line it up - fnar, fnar), slave cylinder also fine but come trying to get the 'box back in and lined up was a nightmare on my own. I had removed the rear diff bracket which had been impossible from underneath but would be much easier to put on afterwards. I fashioned an overhead 'lift' with a long piece of pallet wood to get the whole lot elevated and slide the jack underneath but since it wasn't a pulley system it really needed another pair of hands. Swinging it into position is much easier than trying to manoeuvre a jack on gravel! The splines lined up but I couldn't get the thing to rotate into position to slide the dowels in and if I let the jack down or lifted it up the whole thing would shift :grr: I resorted to phoning a friend and the threat of that somehow made it go together after re-positioning the jack and hoist position. Gently locating and then hand turning the bolts one by one pulled the two together nicely Unfortunately the friend had already left by then so turned up after I'd then started bolting it all back together! Anyway, having some help passing sockets and spanners as well as lifting or shifting was quite useful. We got all the main bits, drive shaft, mounts etc in by the end of Saturday afternoon. It was just the hoses, battery, airbox etc that needed finishing on Sunday

One snag though - I had, I thought, sensibly put the retaining clip for the CSC hydraulic line back where it goes before connecting it on the car but all that wrestling with the 'box had caused it to fall out on to the gravel (f***) - I tried improvising a piece of wire but it wasn't man enough (leaving the fluid to make its way into the CSC, bleeding, gentle squeeze of the pedal and repeat - it popped off ) So I thought I'd sleep on it. Next day I was looking at a photo I'd taken of the 'box under the car and saw that the pin was still there so it must have fallen under the car. Found some magnets and yee-hah I found the bugger (couldn't find those clips online - phew!). So that done I bled the clutch again and a few bubbles made their way out. It felt normal though (don't fully depress the clutch until sure that fluid is in the CSC and the bleed nipple is closed - slightly more cautious method than with the brakes as the air will make it's way out eventually when opening the nipple again)

That done the hoses, battery and airbox went back on and time for a test whilst still on stands. Hooray, it started and the clutch disengaged/engaged as it should (hub nuts still needed torquing up however). Home straight now, wheels back on, off the stands and torqued up the hub nuts to 120Nm+. Quick 10 mile test run and the clutch feel was bliss - after 5 years of putting up with such a heavy pedal, it's now nice and light (CSC was a Volvo OE whilst the clutch was Luk so I guess the latter has been replaced before but not the former). Will need to get used to the lower bite (maybe another bleed needed) and the new found grippiness but that was a relief! I've left the under-tray off for now to check for leaks - it has had a very long term leak from a blowing pipe I think as everything was caked in oil and crud which I cleaned off loosely - has kept the chassis nicely oiled mind! I'm wary of the intercooler hoses as they've popped off a couple of times when really hot outside - just the jubilee clips needing tightening but always a bit cautious not to over-tighten and strip the thread!)

I reckon it took a total of 10-15 hours to do in total - far longer than on paper but that was on my own mostly and having to constantly ponder things or re-try and curse! Every bone, muscle and limb was aching from crawling underneath and just general spannering as usual

I'll stick some photos up and a list of tools - far more variety needed than I expected but that was a mix of 1/4", 3/8" and 1/2" socket sets in the same few sizes for access more than anything.

Satisfying to get it done and fingers crossed it's all okay now even for 20k but not something I'd like to do again in a hurry!

[canis]

Yeah, i seem to remember the same problem with the gearbox being on the shaft alright but in a slightly "rolled" position.

And, yes, it's quite normal to end up with the entire toolbox scattered around under the car. It's a volvo thing, never use a 13mm where an 11,12,14,18 and any other bizarre numbers can do instead.

[Umski]

So here are some pics and a description as best as I can remember - I was keen to ensure I got it done and got through about a dozen pairs of disposable gloves due to the inherent filthiness of this job so didn't take a many pics as I could have

1. Start with the ancillaries - airbox, battery (tray if possible), intercooler hoses+sensor, MAF connector, crank sensor (in green). I also realised later that there is a small airbox that feeds from the main airbox and lives under the battery tray which gets in the way when removing the gearbox (I had to drill out one of the rusty screws)

Tools needed - 7mm for the jubilee clips, 10mm for the battery/airbox, crank sensor, screwdrivers as needed (flat+Philips)



2. With the car still on the ground, take of the hub caps and loosen the 36mm hub nuts (a log brace would be ideal as these were super tight). Jack it up on to axle stands (I put them just behind the lower suspension arms under the chassis - higher isn't necessarily better once the gearbox needs to be lifted! Remove the under tray if fitted (plus the left-hand side panel) in the wheel arch.

3. Wheels off, remove the hub nuts completely and then undo the two bolts holding the strut to the hub (18mm) - I didn't need to remove the struts to get the drivehshafts out but this is what's suggested elsewhere. Make sure the brakeline isn't taking the strain of the now dangling suspension!

4. On the RH side (driver's for RHD) there are two bolts holding the bearing for the shaft which supports the extra length - 12mm, pop those off and keep safe. Pull the shaft out and crawl underneath to pop a rag or similar into the hole in the diff to prevent leakage. The LH shaft can be removed but I couldn't do this and wasn't needed in the end.

5. Whilst under there, remove the lower brace and get it out of the way. Get some support under the engine and gearbox as the mounts will be removed.



6. Next I focused on the 'box itself. The slave cylinder feed in (behind the red circle) has a spring clip which can be popped off with a small screwdriver - pop the rubber dust cover over the end of the feed to prevent drips. Next the linkages (green) - there are spring clips holding these on, pop them off and then re-attach. I couldn't get to the main clip on the side so had to remove the top mount (x3 13 or 14mm) shown in blue. There was then a bracket holding both linkages on which could be removed and put out of the way near the bulkhead.



7. At the front of the 'box is a a bracket with x3 13/14mm bolts which holds it to the lower mount - these can be undone and the bracket angled forwards. There is a similar one at the rear that sits on the front-rear mount under the car. This one is a pig as it needs the central pivot bolt undoing and then pushing out (14mm again I think). If you're looking up at this bracket you will see how the diff is mounted to another substantial bracket with 4 bolts into it and then this attaches by the bolt just removed from the mount (sorry no specific pic).

8. Remove the large front to rear mount which is held on by x4 17mm bolts. May be worth having another jack to take the weight as it's a heavy lump!

9. At this stage the box is only held to the engine by the bolts on the bellhousing so make sure that both are supported - it is worth allowing the whole assembly to drop down a few inches first and then fix in place. These bolts are all 14mm if I recall except the lowest which was a T40 I think (weird). First take off the two starter bolts (in red) then loosen off the others which are accessible from the top (don't remove just yet as the diff side needs loosening too). I found a picture of the gearbox online to check if I'd missed any!



10. Now the not so fun bit lying on your back under the beast. The ones in red were impossible for me to loosen but they are attached to a bracket which will come away. The ones in green (all 3 I think) are 14mm and can be removed easily (top is the last starter bolt). The one in blue as I discovered later on finding a random shaped piece of metal is a cover plate as there is a small gap in the ring-gear (took two of us ages to figure this out from the dirt marks!)



11. Once all those bolts are off completely, in principle the gearbox should come free of the engine - be careful to try and bring it out level and straight. Of course with the LH driveshaft still attached it was a pain and got caught on all manner of things like the turret for the strut and then the main shaft itself snagged on the clutch plate. Ease it down gently - I had enough clearance to hoik the whole thing out using a piece of old carpet! You can see the large diff bracket in red and the 4 pesky bolts that were on a bit tight highlighted green. That can be removed now if needed and replaced later when the 'box is back in.



12. On to the actual clutch now! The old clutch was pretty fried (removed using T35 or T40). The DMF looks bad but didn't seem to have any lateral play (see YouTube) and 'normal' circular motion albeit needing a clean up as it was covered in friction material. I couldn't justify a new one at a further £200+odd so fingers crossed. A quick blowout with the compressor and some brake cleaning fluid.



New vs old (below)





13. I found a perfect tool for lining up the new plates - a 3/4" (19mm) reamer Nothing else I had seemed to match - fortunate I acquired this with a lathe but have never used it in anger!



14. Clean the friction surfaces with brake cleaner then line it all up and re-attach, going round to check all the bolts are tight.



15. Onto the CSC (concentric slave cylinder, sorry no pics). There are x2 10mm bolts holding this on. The pipe has a spring clip which can be popped out with a small screwdriver. Remove and replace if changing (recommended)

16. I cleaned everything up as it was caked in crud from oil and road dirt. Ideally I would have pressure washed it but was anxious to re-assemble. It's probably worth topping up the gearbox oil or replacing it but I didn't think of this beforehand 24mm spanner for the drain and fill plugs (the fill plug is on the harder to reach side so I checked I could at least undo it if needed in the future!)

17. Time to get the 'box back in position - you could jack the car up to slide it under or get it under and then jack it. This led to a dilemma which needed improvisation with a large piece of pallet wood and a circular strap. Took a few attempts but levering on the top strut was the easiest way to get the 'box dangling and then supported by the jack. The driveshaft didn't help matters again!







18. Once lined up it was the rotation that was the problem as the dowels wouldn't quite line up (make sure it's in neutral - top lever in black in the middle position). Turns out the jack needed a slight re-position as it was pushing the back end up. Once the bolt holes were close, I gingerly fed the bolts in and started to hand tighten which drew the two together - not fully tight just yet but enough to close the bellhousing to the engine.

19. Get the starter bolts back in (2 from above, 1 underneath and behind)

20. Re-attach the diff mount (4 bolts). There's also a heatshield which has x2 10mm bolts

21. Tighten up the bellhousing bolts all the way round and double check.

22. Now the engine and gearbox are reconnected you can jack up the whole arrangement in order to replace the lower mounts (front and rear) and the upper mount (remembering that the side-linkage needs attaching first).

23. Then it's just a case of replacing the driveshafts and connecting the hubs and then replacing all the ancillaries (reversal of removal etc ). As I mentioned above, don't lose the spring clip for the hydraulic line to the CSC!

24. Top up the brake fluid reservoir and open the bleed nipple (9mm spanner) and allow the fluid to make its way in. Close the nipple and give the pedal a gentle squeeze (not all the way) to get some pressure into the system. Open the nipple again to let the air out and repeat until the pedal feels harder. I did this several times but as it feels so light it was tricky to gauge. Once bled no air should bubble out of the top and you can push all the way down as normal.

25. Start up the engine and check everything still works!

26. Breathe a sigh of relief and hope you've not broken anything else! Have a stiff drink

Hope this is off help to others - I always find the pictorial guides on the forum invaluable whenever I contemplate doing such jobs! This was by far the most challenging and hope not to have to do it again in a hurry

[ITSv40]

I salute you for getting stuck in and getting the job done. Not easy physically and a lot to think about. I also salute you for taking the time to photograph and post up a very useful guide. I think I would have been more concerned about getting everything back together again.

I love your 'engine hoist' and am glad I am not the only one who improvises. My son calls me a pikey for keeping a collection of odd lengths of timber, metal tubes and random salvaged items etc, in the corner of the garage - but often he will be working on his car and say 'dad, how is the best way to do this' I then quietly go to the 'pikey corner' produce the perfect random tool and say 'poke this in there and move that bit up there, drop the bolt in and job done.

[Umski]

Originally Posted by ITSv40

I love your 'engine hoist' and am glad I am not the only one who improvises. My son calls me a pikey for keeping a collection of odd lengths of timber, metal tubes and random salvaged items etc, in the corner of the garage - but often he will be working on his car and say 'dad, how is the best way to do this' I then quietly go to the 'pikey corner' produce the perfect random tool and say 'poke this in there and move that bit up there, drop the bolt in and job done.

Thanks, thinking up a solution on the fly is always tricky for me, having random bits lying around is helpful - I like to know what I'll be facing! I have a load of 'working at height' kit but none of that seemed to be appropriate for easy lifting and progress capture so the plank was the easiest to set up. Ironically I also have a full on 'Tirfor' type winch but with nowhere to hold it up and small distances it was no use - same for a smaller cheapo winch. On reflection a proper engine hoist would have been better but for such occasional use it's not justified to buy one (yet ). HSS and the like do hire them out but that would involve a bit of pre-planning and additional cost.

I forgot to add that a long crowbar and hammer/mallet were also just for jimmying and whacking as appropriate

[Petey80]

Amazing work!! Well done!!

No way I could tackle anything like that.