The factory service manual is imperative to successful complete clutch installation. Bolt torques and "Service Points of Installation/Removal" diagrams are located in this manual.
This install was performed on a 1990 AWD Talon with cruise control and without ABS.
NOTE Items 1-7 should be performed before raising car.
1. Disconnect battery terminals and remove battery and battery box.
2. Disconnect mass air sensor and waste gate solenoid valve wiring connectors. Remove vacuum hose pointing towards back of car off waste gate solenoid valve (this hose leads to turbo wastegate). Remove air canister/mass air sensor and intake tube that runs from sensor to turbo inlet.
3. Remove cotter pins on both the shift cable and select cable. There is a washer on either side of each cable connection (4 total). Remove 2 bolts from shift cable bracket on top of transaxle. Move cables toward back of engine compartment and out of the way.
4. Remove (2 bolts) clutch release cylinder hydraulic line bracket on top of transaxle.
5. Remove speedometer cable and reverse light switch connector off transaxle.
6. Remove transaxle bolts that can easily be accessed from engine compartment. Remove starter bolts. Move starter away from flywheel.
NOTE The starter wires do not have to be disconnected
NOTE The cruise control cables or ABS hydraulic unit are located between the battery and airbox. They should not have to be removed.
7. Loosen front wheel lugs.
8. Raise the entire vehicle high enough to allow transaxle to be lowered onto a floor jack and pulled from under the car while still on the floor jack.
NOTE Do not put jack stands under any part of frame forward of the steering rack. Some of the frame members under the engine/transaxle must be removed.
9. Drain transaxle and transfer case. Transfer case fluid can be left in if it was recently changed. The fluid will leak out at rear driveshaft once driveshaft is disconnected. To avoid this always keep back end of transfer case higher than the front.
10. Remove 1 bolt holding clamp near the front/top of exhaust downpipe. Remove 2 large nuts from the front/top end of downpipe. Remove 2 small bolts holding exhaust to floorpan slightly ahead of catalytic converter.
11. Remove 5 bolts from transfer case. Push transfer case towards drivers side until splined shaft going from transfer clears the transaxle.
12. Remove "Right member" (long structural member running front to back on drivers side ) 2 bolts rear, 3 bolts front. Remove the "Gusset" (small triangular structural member on passenger side), 3 bolts front, 2 bolts rear.
13. Remove front wheels and "Under Cover" (Cover is located on inner side of passenger wheel well, it is plastic and covers the side of transaxle).
14. Remove 1 bolt from the bottom inspection cover on bottom of bell housing. Cover can stay bolted to engine block.
NOTE Usually Japanese based vehicle platforms allow the lower ball joints to unbolt from the lower control arm allowing the strut/hub/drive axle assembly to swing away from the lower control arm. On DSM's the lower ball joint does not unbolt from the lower control arm, it has to be pressed out. Halfshafts can removed one of two ways without removing ball joints
Method 1
15. Remove the drive axle nuts, tie rod ends, and lower strut bolts. Then slide the hubs away from the outer axle spline leaving the axle shaft still connected to the transaxle. Then remove the whole axle shaft. If this works for you use it. If your axle is frozen to the inside spline of the hub or you do not want to remove tie rod ends, you can use method 2. If you use method 1 skip to 19.
Method 2
16. Disconnect the lower control arm from the subframe (2 large bolts and two small nuts at the rear, 1 long bolt and nut at the front). Start with the passenger side. The control arm has one thick and one thin rubber washer at the front attachment point.
CAUTION Be careful of rubber washer orientation and do not lose them.
17. Disconnect the bracket that holds the brake line to the strut.
IMPORTANT DO NOT disconnect the brake hoses.
18. Support the brake/hub assembly and remove the 2 lower strut bolts. The whole assembly (lower control arm/brakes/hub/drive axle) can be pulled out disconnecting the inner CV from the transaxle. Turn steering wheel so tie rod is fully extended towards the side you are working on. A pry bar must be used in between the CV joint and the transaxle on the passenger side.
19. On the driver side everything is the same except an intermediate bearing assembly (half way down the drive axle) must be unbolted from the back of engine block (2 bolts). After unbolting this bearing assembly tap the bearing assembly slightly away from the transaxle until the inner CV joint is disconnected.
20. Remove 2 bolts holding clutch release cylinder to bellhousing. Move clutch release cylinder towards front of vehicle and out of the way.
IMPORTANT Clutch release cylinder hydraulic lines DO NOT have to be disconnected. Do not push clutch pedal in with clutch release cylinder unmounted.
21. Remove 2 large bolts on upper transaxle mount and any remaining transaxle bolts.
22. The transaxle can now be removed towards passenger side of vehicle. The transaxle does not have to come away from the engine block very far before lowering it down. Actually the subframe does not allow the transaxle to be moved very far away from the engine block. The back of transaxle can be pointed slightly down after it is a few inches away from the engine block. The transaxle will come out by yourself, but putting it back requires 2 people.
23. Remove throw out bearing from transaxle and install new one.
NOTE Throw out bearing has a small steel spring clip holding it in place. Note it's orientation to facilitate reinstallation. Grease inner hole of throw out bearing and release fork fulcrum pin.
24. Disconnect 6 bolts holding pressure plate to flywheel. Remove pressure plate and clutch disk.
25. Remove 6 bolts (maybe 7 for 93-94) holding flywheel to crank. Remove flywheel.
IMPORTANT Flywheel should be resurfaced to ensure correct seating of new clutch assembly. Flywheel is stepped and should be cut on clutch seating surface and pressure plate mounting surface the exact same amount. This will ensure pressure place finger travel will remain at original level. This is extremely important with Center Force Dual Friction units.
26. Reassemble in reverse order. Torquing all bolts is important, but flywheel and clutch assembly bolts MUST be torqued properly and Loc-Tite applied to them. Clutch hydraulics/release cylinder may have to be bled after install is done. My personal install did not require this. If you installed a CF-DF, turn your boost all the way down and do a lot of very moderate city driving for the first 500 miles.
Written by James Oxley.
Last updated March 26th, 1996.