Clutch replacement without removing engine.on S3

E-Type
1

At the risk of repeating others. Much to my amazement it really is possible and not that difficult to replace the clutch of S3 Etype without removing the engine.

The bit that made it straightforward and not mentioned on other entries that i’ve found is to bite the bullet and remove the cowel above the gearbox. It involves removing a bit of carpet, a few screws and unsticking some mastic.

So…

Step 1 undo picture rail bolts and lever rail up to free it. no need to remove any pipes or the expansion tank.
Step 2 undo and remove the front engine mounting bolts (2 bolts on each mount)
Step 3 undo the clutch pipe union that’s attached to front bulkhead being careful to prevent fluid dripping.
You’re now finished under the bonnet!!!
Now move inside the car…
Step 4 remove radio part of the dash
Step 5 remove centre console, this is fiddly but with radio etc removed it just needs patience
Step 6 remove the cowel above gear box. Once done you’ll see how everything is exposed enabling easy access to bellhousing bolts and cluch slave cylinder
Now under the car…
If you haven’t got one, buy a gearbox/transmission floor jack…I promise you wont regret it.
Step 7 remove the chassis strengthening pipe that runs under the bellhousing, there’s one bolt in the front of each footwell.
Step 8 using gearbox jack, jack up transmission as far as it will go, this reduces the tension in the mounting spring
Step 9 undo and remove the bolts holding gearbox mounting bracket
Step 10 remove gearbox mounting bracket from gearbox (i’m not actually sure this bit is necessary but i did it.)
Now from inside the car,
Step 11 undo the bolts attaching driveshaft to gearbox. It makes life much easier if the rear wheels are free to rotate and you have the gearbox in neutral. You can now rotate the driveshaft as needed to access the bolts, all from inside the car.
Step 12 undo all 10 bolts that hold the bellhousing to the engine. make sure you note which bolts go in which place as several lengths are used.
back under the car…
Step 13 Using a trolley jack under the oil cooler, gently raise the front of the engine about 10cm, being careful to ensure you’re not snagging anything. and allow the gearbox jack to lower the gearbox. All will now be at an angle Stop when the rear gearbox flange is below the chassis and you can lever the bellhousing off.
Step 14 Once the bellhousing is free, you will need to rotate it a little because of the slight bulge for the starter motor to allow it to come out.
Step 15 Now the gearbox and bellhousing are out, you have easy access to the clutch plate bolts etc.
Bobs your uncle!

2 Likes
2

Hey John - welcome to J-L.

Thanks for posting a detailed description. I enjoyed reading your procedure though all it did for me was a case of LWB envy - with an S2 the laws of physics must be obeyed and the engine has to drop out.

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3

@Wiggles

Would this be applicable to our S 1.5 (IF) this would be our worst case scenario w/clutch issue we discussed?

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4

No…engine and gearbox out im affraid on all S1 and S2 models… Steve

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5

Nope… As Steve says, if there’s an issue with the clutch, it’s an engine-out operation.

6

Well glad they rectified that for the S3 :rofl:

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7

Just curious. What clutch issue, maybe i missed this?
Tom

8

You didn’t: it was a private conversation that we had.

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9

Was not posted on forum.

Recently bled brakes and added fluid.

Difficulty getting into 1st gear. Will be looking into items Wiggles suggested this evening.

Everything crossed :pray: that this is an adjustment/fluid issue and not pull engine (AGAIN) issue. :crossed_fingers: :crossed_fingers: :crossed_fingers: :crossed_fingers:

10

Good luck! Hope it works out easily.
Tom

1 Like