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Flywheel + clutch replacement, my DIY experience

beneverard

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2.2 CDTI
Hi everyone, I've just completed a flywheel and clutch replacement on my 7 gen 2.2 Tourer, I was adamant that I wanted to complete the work myself and as such I wanted to write up a little review on why, what I did and how I got on. I figured others could benefit from this.

Note, this is not a how-to, I didn't have the time or brain space to document the procedure fully, and either way, the Electronic Service Manual (ESM) set out the process relatively well.

Why was I doing this job?

Over the past year to 18 months I've been experiencing intermittent heavy vibration through the clutch peddle, recently the problem has been ramping up significantly until the point where it's introducing an obtuse rattling/grinding/knocking noise within the engine area.

After much research on the forum and elsewhere it started to seem to me that the Dual Mass Flywheel (DMF) had reached the end of its life.

The noise would present itself when off of the gas, if I were providing even a small amount of positive throttle we'd be fine, but anything less than this and I'd be waking up the neighbours, it was that bad!

The F6HAD review post

A very useful post on the forums here was F6HAD's review of Holdcroft Honda's work on his car. This was a very useful to me as it provided a lot of context, but highlighted that I needed to research further as it looked like it took 3+ mechanics to remove a split gearbox, and I was keen on doing this myself (without splitting the box).

Within this post, it was mentioned that they opted not to drop the subframe in order to maintain alignment. I decided against this because I didn't want to split the box to get it out.

On my travels researching this on the forum, there were some that were flying the flag for having a garage do the work for this. I respect this, of course, but I wanted to save some money, and I figured this would be a good opportunity for me to get some experience doing this type of job and learn a little.

I must thank F6HAD for documenting his experience with the garage doing his work. It gave me the foundational knowledge to be able to reach off in my own direction and complete the job. Hats off to you, Sir.

What did I have to work with

I've got a decent range of tools that I was able to throw at this job, mostly 1/2 and 3/8 sockets with plenty of extensions. I have two basic trolley jacks, one small and cheap Halfrauds version, and a high lift Sealey. I have a range of lever bars which were invaluable for persuading the gearbox back onto the engine. I have an air compressor with a large expansion air tank, and using air tools when needed was nice, but not essential.

I purchased the following tools:
  • 1/2 air ratchet, to speed things up a little
  • 1/2 sockets and extensions (saves on having to use adapters all the time)
  • Crow-foot spanner set for the anti-roll bar links
  • Ball end hex socket set, again for the anti-roll bar links
  • Propane torch to persuade a stubborn exhaust bolt off
During any DIY, I always see the purchase of tools as an added benefit to not having to pay for labour. So whilst this certainly eats into the budget (more about the costs at the end), I don't particularly mind. Also, I try and not spend money on tools I'm likely only ever to use once unless strictly needed. Case in point, the clutch installation tool, discussed below.

I'm fortunate enough to have a two-car garage (the workshop), and while the Honda just about fits in at a diagonal, it was enough so I could close the doors and work on it for as long as I needed.

My workshop is mainly used for woodworking; fortunately, everything is on wheels, and my wife was delighted when I told her the bandsaw and the dust extractor would be living in the conservatory for a few weeks.

I have an old computer that my wife uses, and I have this on the workbench so I can refer to the ESM whenever I need to.

How long did it take?

I started the job on a Monday evening, that week I spent a couple of nights (an hour or so each time) removing everything I'd need to get at the gearbox, including wheels, airbox and hoses, driveshafts, exhaust (small L section from the back of the cat to below the turbo) etc.

I then spent 1.5 of the weekend days removing the gearbox, pressure plate, clutch plate and flywheel. I had to stop at lunchtime on Sunday as I didn't have the parts to continue.

After I had confirmed that the flywheel was bad enough for me to change, I proceeded to order the parts. I could have pre-ordered these to save time, and probably should have.

I then reassembled in the nights of the following weekdays and completed on the following Saturday.

What issues did I encounter

The only big issue I came across was the exhaust bolts for the cat were toast... two came off without much trouble, but one of them took an age to remove.

In the end, I used plenty of RP-90 penetrating oil, lots of heat and a borrowed nut extractor from my neighbour, and it finally came off. I ordered a set of replacement bolts as the threads were still okay.

The process

I'm going to refrain from talking about every single step specifically, as I'm writing this as my experience using the ESM. I'd recommend that approach, and I'll sprinkle my experience on top for context.

Organisation

I'm keen on making sure everything goes back on properly and without any bolts leftover! When I'm removing parts, I store them in cut-up milk bottles that I'll use for each specific step, with a label on each for what's inside.

When hoisting the engine I borrowed two exhaust support mount bolts, so I wrote an IOU for that parts pot, so I didn't get confused later on.

Supporting the engine and gearbox

Because I wanted to remove the subframe, I knew I'd have to support the engine and gearbox from above. This video (at 3:57) shows a custom welded crossbar to support the engine.

I couldn't use metal in this way, so raided my scrap wood pile and made my own gantry from which to support things. On the driver's side, it's supported on the top of the suspension strut, on the passenger side, it's supported on the frame rail.

It may look a bit rough, and that's because it is! I have two cross members screwed together; this provided enough strength to support both the engine and the gearbox.

You'll see a clamp in the picture; this is just for holding the excess strapping out of the way, the two cross members are screwed together.



The ESM shows you where to support the engine from, two bolt holes, one on the front and one on the back. I borrowed two exhaust mount bolts and used some 3x20mm cold rolled steel that I hooked a ratchet strap onto.

For the gearbox, I used existing loops that I was able to hook the ratchet strap on to.

Note, I did not want to trust this technique, so I only used it for the minimum amount of time. After the subframe was out, I also supported the engine from underneath with my smaller trolley jack.

Cutting off the drop-links

As it turned out, the anti-roll bar drop links were so rusted I just cut them out, a replacement pair was £28 from Euro Car Parts with their never-ending discount code, so that helped.

Removing the subframe

The subframe was relatively simple to remove, the ESM shows the steps, and I used my larger Sealey trolley jack and two 2x4s to lower the subframe down.

Removing the gearbox

Now with the subframe gone, I started on removing the gearbox. I had supported the gearbox from above, but this was only as a safety net. Now my high lift Sealey trolley jack was not being used, I bolted an 18mm plywood to it so I could rest the gearbox onto this. Not shown in this picture is a block of wood on the backside supporting the slightly higher part of the gearbox.

I had to lower the engine slightly and incrementally along with the gearbox, otherwise, the gearbox wouldn't be able to clear the frame rail.



This doesn't show the support block of wood very well, but know that I was able to lower the entire box with this, and drag it around in relative safety.

Inspecting the clutch, pressure plate and flywheel

The first thing I noticed was the Self Adjusting Clutch (SAC) had fully extended, so I was glad this was being replaced. The clutch itself looks absolutely fine, it had loads of meat left on it, but I wanted to replace it all.

The DMF hadn't fallen apart, but it didn't sound good. It's meant to only have a set amount of play both rotationally and "wobble" across its surface (that's 100% the wrong terminology). It looks like this one had excessive play in all directions, and I wasn't happy to keep it.

I concluded that I was to order the entire kit, which cost £350 on eBay.

Installing the new clutch, pressure plate and flywheel

The new kit came with the clutch, pressure plate, flywheel, alignment tool (this wasn't used, read more below), but no grease! In some of the research I noted that a particular type of grease had to be used (heavier stuff, so as to not fling off and contaminate the friction surface), so I bought some on Amazon.

Installing the flywheel was easy enough, though it's a heavy piece of kit, especially when laying on your back under the car; I was sure not to lay under it while it wasn't bolted in.

The kit did come with replacement flywheel bolts, but I only realised after having re-used the old ones, and at that point, the pressure plate was going back on, and I wasn't going to go back now.

The kit did come with a clutch alignment tool, but it was a generic one and rather large, so big it'd never allow for the "special tool" to be used. Instead, I used a socket with gaffer tape to build it up to the correct sizes, and this worked a treat.

The "special tool"

During my research some people installed the pressure plate just by doing up all the bolts, in a star pattern, 1/4 turn at a time.

I wanted to try and replicate the "special tool" that hangs off of the engine and compresses the pressure plate fingers in. There was an example of this on YouTube that shows the tool's construction, and this gave me enough information to proceed.

I decided to use M12 threaded rod and 3x25mm angled steep to build my tool, you can see here two of the threaded rods already in place, I've circled the holes that I used.





The problem I had was I wanted to have two horizontal rails spanning each side, and then a loose vertical bar in the middle. All of the holes circled in the two pictures are threw holes, apart from the bottom left (arrowed) which is an M12 fine thread for the bell housing. I had to use a gearbox bolt and then a cross piece and two extra threaded bolts to make up for this.



I struggled to take any decent pictures of this on the car, so I made a quick 3D model and recorded this GIF to show you roughly how it was ***embled.

The main pressing part was made up of a small round of Ashwood, which I added a 3mm aluminium plate to the front. I wedged a 3/8 to 1/2 adapter in the backside that my centre bolt pressed on.

The entire vertical part and press was loose, so I could move this however I wanted, I would get it into the correct position and start to wind it up to press in the pressure plate fingers. When the pressure plate was sitting flat, I would torque up the pressure plate bolts.



I don't have any more pictures of my "special tool", and re-***embling it is difficult without an engine for it to hang off. I'll try and answer any questions should anyone wish to ask. For now, this tool hangs proudly on the "my car did not defeat me" part of my workshop... along with a home-made belt tensioner release.

Re-installing the gearbox

Getting the gearbox back on was difficult, lining it up correctly and getting it to mate with the engine took some time, and I employed my wife (on a zero-hour contract mind, I'm not stupid) to use a lever bar to help get it into position.

Again I used both the high lift trolley jack and my DIY hoist from above to help with this.

I was still struggling to get the gearbox to close into the engine, in the end, I started to thread some of the bolts, and it eventually started to come together.

Re-installing the subframe

Re-installing the subframe was going pretty well, I just wanted to line up the four main bolts and get them screwed in so they could take the weight of the frame.

It was about when I had three bolts in securely when I tried to lift the subframe further, and my 2x4 system snapped in half. Lesson learnt, I hadn't realised that I had lifted the frame fully in place and was effectively lifting the car! It came down with a thud, and I'm happy that I got away with this one.

When I had previously removed the subframe, I was sure to make notes (as per the ESM) on where the subframe was positioned against some helpful marks on the chassis; this meant that I could re-install it in the same place it came out from.

It was MOT time anyway, so I had the garage perform a wheel alignment for me.

Completing

Now it was all about reversing the process and re-installing all of the parts and equipment.

Post-installation testing

After the MOT I took the car out for a test, and as of writing I think I've put 150 miles on the car, so still early days.

The first problem I had was some creaking noises coming from the front-left suspension. I think this was the drop-link needing re-torquing.

One part that I originally ignored from the ESM was what they call an "engine mount positioning" procedure, which is undoing and then re-torquing the engine mounts in a specific order. Given the noises I was hearing, I was sure to go back and perform this task, and it made me feel better that the engine and trans mounts were set as per the manual.

Additionally, during the engine mount reset I had noticed that the upper trans mounts were loose! I wasn't happy about this at all, as I was convinced I had torqued these down correctly, regardless I was happy that this was picked up soon.

After these adjustments, the suspension noise had gone, though it's still early days.

I haven't had any major vibrations or noises from the flywheel / clutch area, and if for some reason it wasn't the DMF I'm sure it would have occurred by now.

I do get a small vibration through the clutch, I believe this to be normal, she's just ticked over 200k miles now, so probably to be expected.

Costs
  • £5 new exhaust bolts
  • £354 clutch and flywheel kit
  • £28 3x1 litre Honda MTF-3 gearbox oil
  • £18 crankshaft oil seal
  • £28 sriveshaft oil seals (left and right)
  • £14 (read it... £14 pounds!!) for a small tube of Sachs gearbox grease
  • £28 anti-roll bar links (left and right)
  • Total ~£475
And I think £200 in tools and other materials, including:
  • Propane torch
  • 1/2 air wratchet
  • 1/2 sockets
  • 1/2 extension bars
  • Crowfoot spanners
  • Ball-end hex sockets
  • M12 hardware
  • misc stuff
Conclusion

And that's pretty much it, looking back I'm glad I tackled it myself, and so far I'm happy with the end result. The car owes me nothing, and I want to get many more miles on her to give me time to save for the next one, which I'd like to be electric!

Anyway, I hope that helps someone, thanks again to the those who contribute to this forum, my knowledge on this is influenced by what I've read here, keep up the good work.
 
One last thing I wanted to address, with my "special tool" I used a 3/8 to 1/2 adapter to transfer the screwing action of the bolt to the ashwood, and thus, the pressure plate fingers.

Because the end of the bolt and the inside of the adapter are not perfectly flat there was some small oscillation which I wasn't happy with.

If I did this again, I'd lose the adapter and use a washer and a couple of "stuck" bolts (tightened against each other on the end of the bolt) instead, this would allow for a far better parallel installation.

 
Now that's how to do a write up. Full marks! You're braver than me :blush:
 
Great write up! Nice work.
 
Wow only just seen this, what a fantastic post. Thank you for taking the time to both document and share your experience in such a detailed way.

Not a surprise to see your pressure plate adjusting mechanism had extended to the maximum position, this is the single biggest cause of clutch slip on these cars.

No doubt you saved a load of cash and invested in new tools.. but I bet the satisfaction of knowing you successfully completed this complex job yourself is just priceless
 
Nice write up and well done I dont think I'll be tackling this though.
Does anyone know how much Honda would charge to do this job? Thanks
 
Amazing work. Crikey. I wish I could be brave enough to tackle something like this.
You must have given the car a new lease of life with a new clutch.


Nice write up and well done I dont think I'll be tackling this though.
Does anyone know how much Honda would charge to do this job? Thanks
Typically a clutch change like this would costs around £1100 ish including the DMF and clutch.
Labour is around £600 to £700 maybe more if there are issues encountered and the parts DMF and clutch kit are around £600 (check coxmotorparts)
 
accord_n22 said:
Amazing work. Crikey. I wish I could be brave enough to tackle something like this.
You must have given the car a new lease of life with a new clutch.



Typically a clutch change like this would costs around £1100 ish including the DMF and clutch.
Labour is around £600 to £700 maybe more if there are issues encountered and the parts DMF and clutch kit are around £600 (check coxmotorparts)
Thanks, crikey, my ictdi cost less than that.
 
Thanks, crikey, my ictdi cost less than that.
haha, thats one of the reasons too that I haven't changed my clutch.
Will just run it until the clutch becomes undriveable and call it a day with it.
Still at 208k miles and original clutch though :) - I have a wager with my brother weather it can make it to 238k on the original clutch (distance to the moon) lol
 
Thanks for the kind words everyone!

accord_n22 said:
haha, thats one of the reasons too that I haven't changed my clutch.
Will just run it until the clutch becomes undriveable and call it a day with it.
Still at 208k miles and original clutch though :) - I have a wager with my brother weather it can make it to 238k on the original clutch (distance to the moon) lol
I've just peaked over 200k, I was also hoping for 238k too (a Honda on the moon!) but bet my wife I'd get to 250k... I'm not sure I'll get that far, but worth a punt!


accord_n22 said:
Amazing work. Crikey. I wish I could be brave enough to tackle something like this.
You must have given the car a new lease of life with a new clutch.
Cheers, yeah changing the DMF specifically has helped, I've been driving it lots of late and the loud noises are gone.

There's still some minor roughness to the clutch, but that might be because it needs bleeding? I'll tackle that if it becomes a problem.
 
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