Hey guys,

I have an 02 WRX with a little of 100k miles and i am starting to smell something burning if i slip the clutch at all or if i accelerate hard i am assuming this is the clutch which has never been replaced. Now, i know this can be pretty expensive if i take it to the dealer i would expect somewhere around $1,200 so my new thought is that i would purchase an exedy OEM replacement clutch kit http://www.exedyusa.com/oe/Clutch_Specifications and then my next plan was to possibly try and do this myself. Here's the catch i don't know much about cars i have a friend who knows a bit he has a 2001 Honda Civic EP and he has put on his own exhaust, cold air intake, and suspension. How hard would it be for the 2 of us to crank this one out. My friend has a very well equipped garage for working with cars because his dad is owns a car dealership. If this would be possible for the two of us any advice from people who have done it themselves before would be awesome.

Thanks,
Scott

 

Well, its a bit more intense than suspension and exhaust work (you have to remove the transmission) - but if you have the proper tools, plenty of time, instruction manual and most importantly, the will power, I'm sure you can do it.

 

Dude pay the 400 bucks and have it installed

 

+1 No offence but sounds like you and your buddy might be a bit over your head on this one. You can do it, but if you can afford to pay someone to do I would.

 

You'll never learn if you dont don'ttry. I did my own clutch in my old se-r when I was 19 with just basic wrenching skills (oil changes, intakes, spark plugs, etc) just because I wanted to learn how. I made a few mistakes but nothing big, and great lessons learned.

I say go for it. I will give you a few pointers where I messed up my go around. Get a factory service manual, not a crappy chilton or hayes. Those are so vague its rediculous. If you take out a fastener put it back in the place it goes (unless it would be in the way of course). If you can't, bag it in a ziploc baggy seperate and label it where it goes. Also detailed pictures before you start ripping it apart could end up saving you from making a mistake if your unsure. The most important one is having the proper tools. When I did my clutch I was in the army so I had a nice craft shop with a lift and tranny jack air tools and all. Nice impact swivels and extensions are a must.

I say go for it and get yourself some free life experience!

 

for 400$ i would have it done

just too hard if you are on your back

 

agreed. think of it this way. A 16 year old can do a cold air intake and an exhaust... would you want a 16 year old to work on the 2nd most important part of your car that makes it go.

dealership you are looking at $1600 or so, i know cuz i am in the market myself

go to one of the shops here on i-club. i am sure they will do a better job for a better price. plu sif you dont pay soemone to do it and you **** it up its gonna come out of yoru pocket to fix. if you pay a shop to do it and they **** something up they have to pay for it, so in the long run it is probably way cheaper to pay for it to be done.

 

nuts to the stealer!!!

independent shop is the way to go

i like our vendors here on i club, they are subaru specialist and knock these out all the time so they know what they are doing

 

feel free to give us a PM or a call

-Noah

 

i did it at my house, never had done it before. took one and a quarter days, got started late. it was inrteresting, saved the 600 hundred bucks, but it is a pain, had 2 jack stands insted of 4, had 2 ramps. fun part had to lift the backend to spin the tires, to get at driveshaft bolts.

i dont want to do it again, but probabley do it faster this time. would be easier on a lift. but had bare minimum of tools. got it done.
gettting dwn pipe off and the intercooler off was the biggest pain.

getting it apart (engine from tranny)and the old one off, the new one on, anyone can do.

2 things that will make your liffe easier, one get a ratchet strap, tie down, hook it through where the pitch stop goes, the other end through the "hook" or "eye" next to the alternetor, makes it easy to slide tranny back on.

the other is some string to tie up the front wheell assembly, when you take it apart to allow the driveshafts to come off, you need some room to slide them out.
tranny is not heavey either. my gfreind and i put the tranny back on, in like 5 ten minutes.

it is not complicated, just time consuming, i did it on an 06 wrx. the front drive shafts are different though, no pin to hold them on they just pop off like a socket, off a ratchet. plus a ireplaced the oil seals on driveshafts too. 5 bucks a piece.
if you are serious i will give you the whle run down on how i did it.

 

one other thing if you are going to by a clutch, price around and get the act street lyte flywheel, and the street full faced clutch. Now i know you have an 02, but here is what i did , i have an 06.

get a sprung hub, and full face, less drivetrain, shock. better on the gears.

the part numbers for your year.

sb3-hdmm pressure friction throwout bearing and
needle bearing, plus alignment tool.
600175 streetlite flywheel

just check your build date on panel of car, it also plays a role in the choice too. (http://www.jscspeed.com/wrx/clutch/flywheels_02wrx.htm)

this combo i have, works great, but for an 06, no problems, check out the act line, i liked it. check on ebay, too, i did got cheap price, and free shipping.

 

two things- one do you have the proper spring tensioner if sthen go ahead pull the transmission back. two i found if you got a cherry picker or rent oe for the day its easier to pull out the radiator and jack the transmission and engine up at the same time seperate the transmission leave it on the jack then pull the motor up in like 4-5 inches forward towards the front. then you can just put the alignment tool and everything on from the top between the gap. it only took like 6 hrs from start to finish