Subject car is a 2002 Elantra, 2.0l, 5spd manual. ~70k
Major complaint is severe clutch slippage.
Tonight I helped the owner pull the transaxle out of the car. Unfortuantely I was unable to manuver the transaxle out of the car without first removing the pressure plate and clutch disc from the flywheel. I had to loosen the pressure plate bolts one at a time and that gave me just barely enough room to flip the transaxle over and get it out from under the car. Once we got it out and started inspecting it was obvious the pressure plate and flywheel are glazed. I think the pressure valve in the slave cylinder is to blame, when I drove this thing a few months ago it felt like I was riding the clutch for 1 -2 seconds between each shift.
Anyway, Is there a trick to getting the transaxle back in without pulling the engine? I would much prefer to install the new clutch without the transaxle in there so I can tighten the bolts evenly, and then put the transaxle back in and bolt them up. Do I need to remove the engine mount from the passenger side and hoist the engine to get enough clearance? Anyone have any suggestions?
Chris