Dont use the jacks to support the engine use the lifting eyes and a beam across the

top strut mounts instead.

Giving totally clear access below.

 

I agree with purple_2L. I changed a clutch once on an astra and believe me trying to work under a car with a jack in the way because its supporting the engine isnt easy. I wish at the time i used the beam and lifting eyes and kept the space underneath clear.

 

I did my wife's car last week, thought the CSC was leaking so removed the gearbox.

No need to remove grill. you can cable tie the rad without.

Jack up car and support on axle stands just behind the sub-frame.

Remove wheels.

Remove bolts holding wishbone to sub-frame pull out wishbone and rotate 180 degrees.

Loosen top strut nuts a few turns.

Drain gearbox oil. Remove drive-shafts from gearbox, clamp on the drivers side, it takes a good sharp jolt to free them.

Remove exhaust flexi and bottom gearbox mount. Unclip the coolant hoses form the subframe.

Undo steering joint in drivers footwell.

Remove 4 bolts holding inter-cooler pipe to sub-frame at front. No need to tie up the pipes wont go anywhere.

Remove 4 bolts and lower sub-frame a few inches, remove 2 bolts on the steering rack. to ground. Its not too heavy, you can mange to lift it but easier with 2 trolley jacks. Move it out from under car

Remove air filter battery and earth lead to gearbox.

Disconnect gear cables (easy when you know how, frustrating when you don't). And reverse switch & speedo drive if fitted.

Support engine. Either with beam or I used car ramps and a quickly fabricated wood cradle underneath.

Remove Gearbox mount. Remove starter motor.

Remove 13mm gearbox bolts. 2 are tricky to get at, I had to get at hem from under car and reach up at back of box, I could only get a 13mm combination spanner on one of them, luckily it was not too tight. With all bolts out slide gearbox along to clear shaft and lower to floor. It best to have some help lifting the gear box, its heavier and more awkward then the subframe.

Now I know how to do it I reckon I could change a clutch in a day.

 

Been searching the internet on ways to remove the Mk3 2.2 Gearbox, not much information about it apart from lowering the subframe fully. The DMF, CSC, Clutch needs changing on this thing, it value is around £1200-1500 which is great when the garage want to charge you £900 for the privilege. Considering the option of a DIY attempt, over several evenings, on axel stands, in a nice garage with lighting/power etc.

From what I can gather the process is -

• Remove airbox/battery
• Disconnect CSC hydraulic pipe, reverse sensor connector, earth lead?
• Remove NS driveshaft nut, jack car and remove front wheels.
• Remove drop link, track rod ends and NS ball joint bolt
• Remove gearbox linkage
• Inside the car, disconnect the steering column
• Remove front grille, secure radiator with ty-wraps
• Disconnect intercooler pipes from front of subframe
• Place jack underneath OSF subframe, loosen (but not remove bolts), lower jack
• Place jack underneath NSF subframe, remove bolts, lower jack.
• Support subframe
• Remove gear linkage
• Disconnect driveshafts
• Move jack to support engine
• Remove gearbox mount bolt
• Remove 13mm gearbox bolts
• Remove pull gearbox off onto subframe for enough access to flywheel
• Replace CSC, DMF and Flywheel

Anything else?

Removing the subframe fully, unsure on the weight of it and getting it to the ground, or even back in when working on the floor. Even if I get it down with the assistance of 2 jacks, and gravity....how would I raise it back into place....when leaving the bolts in gives me a chance to get it up with the jack..

It is a bugger of a job and certainly no fun if you are outside this time of year.
The only real comment I've got on your initial post is that £900 is too high. You should be able to get the change done for £650 including fitting LUK parts for all three components and a good oil in the gearbox. I know it's still high but gives piece of mind for a lot of miles, and adds to the resale value.
I've paid £650 for the clutch/DMF/slave on my diesel and paid £750 for the same on my 3.0 petrol which is a lot tighter job than your 2.2 diesel. The diesel clutch takes 4 hours labour while the 3.0 petrol takes 6 hours.

 

I concur. You should be looking no more than £750 for a full clutch and DMF. I was quoted £700 on my 2.0 TDCI but as the value was £950 and it has other bits, I scrapped it.

You should shop around a bit, ask the questions about the brands of parts, and any warranty. You don't need a clutch specialist for the job, just a reputable garage.

 

Thanks all,

Will give a few garages a call and see what they say, i have the price of the DMF, Clutch and CSC as £445 if i purchase from ECP sister site

 

Only thing I can add, jic somebodyelse reads this later, is I'm told a long reach 13mm socket makes a handysubstitute alignment tool if needed. ..

I shall remember this topic - handy guide...

 

hi mate im doing the same thing in the mk2 v6 section...

not too ridiculous so far. the 6 small rack to subframe bolts were the biggest buggers so far.

like you, I have concerns on howto get the subframe back up into place, but tbh the gearbox looks ALOT worse. gulp.

 

We've had the battery out to see if jolting it will free the starter motor to turn the engine, instead it makes a clunk or sometimes has a "whine"...The best price I've had to far is £744, which breaks down to £300 for labour roughly.

Looking at Engine Support Beams today, this is an easy £40-70...therefore the £300 for labour is soon looking at £230...I suspect if I can lock in a price on the DMF, Clutch, CSC & Starter Motor (if worn), it maybe heading off to the garage...

More tomorrow..

 

DO NOT buy the parts and supply them to a garage.

If something goes wrong they can blame your parts and charge you to look at it

or do the job again.

There is a risk the bill could double. Use the parts prices to haggle the price down

and let them supply and fit. If anything goes wrong they are fully responsible.

Avoid Techniclutch..... no matter how cheap...

 

DO NOT buy the parts and supply them to a garage.

If something goes wrong they can blame your parts and charge you to look at it

or do the job again.

There is a risk the bill could double. Use the parts prices to haggle the price down

and let them supply and fit. If anything goes wrong they are fully responsible.

Avoid Techniclutch..... no matter how cheap...

I definitely agree with Purple buying the parts makes no sense. You are not going to be able to buy parts any cheaper than they can. Your just taking a lot or risk for no gain. Sometimes they make money on the parts they supply, if they are not making the money they will add it to the labour bill.

 

A bit of closure to this thread, we had the LUK DMF, Clutch and Slave Cylinder replaced on the Mondeo ST at 193,000 miles.

The was £774, however we included a Starter Motor whilst the car was in pieces. This brought the total cost to £812 and a a few fence. The garage is in North East Lincolnshire and called Redfern Garage Services.

They claimed for 6hrs Labour @ £35, therefore you could probably drive up and down in a day.

Link - http://www.redferngarageservices.co.uk/

 

£35 an hour is very cheap! Is that £35 plus vat?

 

£35 an hour is very cheap! Is that £35 plus vat?

That is very cheap indeed. My local independent charges £50 an hour, but I often get discount

 

A bit of closure to this thread, we had the LUK DMF, Clutch and Slave Cylinder replaced on the Mondeo ST at 193,000 miles.

The was £774, however we included a Starter Motor whilst the car was in pieces. This brought the total cost to £812 and a a few fence. The garage is in North East Lincolnshire and called Redfern Garage Services.

They claimed for 6hrs Labour @ £35, therefore you could probably drive up and down in a day.

Link - http://www.redferngarageservices.co.uk/

Tell them to put their address on their website, a legal requirement.

I couldnt find the address.

If i stumbled across that site i would think no obvious address and to avoid them.

 

Just read about unhappy customers at RAC approved garages so best to double check where you take your car.

 

Just read about unhappy customers at RAC approved garages so best to double check where you take your car.

You could say that with any garages, a positive thumbs up from this one.

 

You will never keep everyone happy, and one unhappy customer can do lots of damage..

 

You will never keep everyone happy, and one unhappy customer can do lots of damage..

What annoys me are customers who are unhappy despite nothing being wrong. The kind of people who always find a hair in their food at a restaurant or the food tastes bad.........they eat it all, and then say they want a refund.

All of us make mistakes now and again, but some customers are looking for problems IMHO.

 

All bad reviews are from those with a whinge/grudge and all good reviews are SPAM.

It is amazing how many people want to blame anyone else rather than take

responsibility for their own actions.

Just read a thread on another forum that basically says ive just bought a car for £1000

and its broken down, i cannot work without my car can i claim compensation..

Im just thinking how will they work when its being serviced and MOTd etc?

Some people just looking for trouble when the answer is simple, hire a car or ask for

a courtesy car, although with a cheap car its going to be pot luck on reliability.

 

You will never keep everyone happy, and one unhappy customer can do lots of damage..

What annoys me are customers who are unhappy despite nothing being wrong. The kind of people who always find a hair in their food at a restaurant or the food tastes bad.........they eat it all, and then say they want a refund.

All of us make mistakes now and again, but some customers are looking for problems IMHO.

I had exact described customer the other day, kept talking about eBay parts, moaning about price of ford parts, scrutinised every aspect of my invoice including the price of the fuel filter, £40 ford RRP, I charged £22 plus vat, he says they are £20 from ford)

Then he had a fit after I explained the garage which charged him £500 to fit a timing belt (1.8 Lynx TDCi Mk4 Mondeo) hadn't replaced the wet belt.. I quoted him to replace Wet belt and it finished him off!

He was just looking for an excuse to moan..

 

Is it just the 1.8 with the wet belt?

 

You will never keep everyone happy, and one unhappy customer can do lots of damage..

What annoys me are customers who are unhappy despite nothing being wrong. The kind of people who always find a hair in their food at a restaurant or the food tastes bad.........they eat it all, and then say they want a refund.
All of us make mistakes now and again, but some customers are looking for problems IMHO.

I had exact described customer the other day, kept talking about eBay parts, moaning about price of ford parts, scrutinised every aspect of my invoice including the price of the fuel filter, £40 ford RRP, I charged £22 plus vat, he says they are £20 from ford)
Then he had a fit after I explained the garage which charged him £500 to fit a timing belt (1.8 Lynx TDCi Mk4 Mondeo) hadn't replaced the wet belt.. I quoted him to replace Wet belt and it finished him off!
He was just looking for an excuse to moan..

When you say it 'finished him off' that made me chuckle as I know exactly what you mean.
I can't remember more than one or two awkward customers in any of my trades, but for plumbing lots of people would ask if I could charge less if I fitted second hand parts that they supplied. They were always a bit miffed when I explained the job would take just as long and the pipe etc would cost the same as if their stuff was new.

 

Is it just the 1.8 with the wet belt?

Yes, however the 1.0 fox (ecoboost) also employs it

Crap idea

 

You will never keep everyone happy, and one unhappy customer can do lots of damage..

What annoys me are customers who are unhappy despite nothing being wrong. The kind of people who always find a hair in their food at a restaurant or the food tastes bad.........they eat it all, and then say they want a refund.

All of us make mistakes now and again, but some customers are looking for problems IMHO.

Agreed. The real test of a company's service is how they resolve problems. If someone screws up but does all they can to put it right, I'd happily go back over and over again.