How hard is it to replace a clutch in a 5-speed manual transmission?

Not a fool at all - you did your homework.

The floor jack you have, with a proper attachment, is better than a $100 transmission jack

If you have only one floor jack, the second option is better. That will leave your floor jack free for general use. The second option would not suit my needs however - the load carrying capacity is too low.

There may be several oils that work "OK" and one that really screws thins up, or in some cases one oil that works well, and half a dozen that cause varying degrees of bedlam.

The secret? Use the recommended oil or one of the same spec (possibly enhanced)

A WHOLE lot more than 5 degrees - generally at least 15. Most good trans jacks give you at least 20, and in both directions. For the Yota you only NEED it to tip the one way.

Potato potauto - same thing.

They can bind. So can the linkage. The pivot ball on the release (throw-out) fork can also wear and stick - and so can the release bearing (where it slides on the "nose" of the transmission)

If the driver knows how to use the clutch, that is immaterial. My ranger had 307000km on it when I got it - with the original clutch - and the clutch was less than half worn - I had to replace the internally mounted release cyl/bearing assembly so we put in a new clutch at the same time. The truck was 17 years okd - it is now 22 with 354000km on it.

Like a Harbor Freight jack :) From the reviews t doesn't sound like it holds the transmission securely without some extra work. I don't rag on Harbor Freight often but I've had mixed success. I bought a floor jack and it does work but on the first use it spit the saddle out when the rivet failed. Nothing that couldn't be cured with a bolt but still not the greatest quality. China Freight is what it is as they say. The Pittsburg wrenches aren't bad and I carry them on the bikes. If somebody rips off the tool tube it isn't a major loss.

With HF, the less moving parts the better. I'd definitely go with the saddle adapter if you can find one.

You betcha. It's very unlikely the engine will be parallel to the floor and the clutch splines aren't very forgiving about coming in at an angle, nor is the pilot bushing.

I can't give you a concrete number but typically they're designed to use most of the travel of the slave cylinder. Obviously it can't bottom out on either end but you should see smooth travel throughout its range of motion, with a little play in the lever when it's fully retracted.

I'd definitely go with the adapter if you can find one that will work with your floor jack. It would be about half the cost and from the sounds of the HF reviews easier to use.

Yeah, there's always something. In the F150's it's a removable cross member that the tail shaft sits on.

That depends on how level you can get the engine.

That's no fun... ATF in particular keeps your skin nice and soft.

Hmmmm... this is another thing I never thought of. I will be on "adjustable" jack stands from HF. The 6 ton size. They have those gear teeth. That's the limit of adjustability.

How do you measure that the engine is "level"? I have levels, of course.

In fact, I "tried" to measure the level of the transmission when I did the lube change a few days ago. Here is a picture that I didn't put in the DIY of me trying to figure out if the tranny is level.

I gave up because I didn't have a good flat spot.

I knew the garage floor was level though.

So how do you check the level of the engine? Do you just try what I tried with the transmission and look for a suitable flat spot?

OK. I will look for 20 degrees then. There is forward, back, and side.

Are all three tilts needed? Or just two?

Well, then, I'm officially edified that tilt *is* the spec!

How much is the "minimum" tilt needed in degrees?

This $160 transmission jack, for example, says: Saddle tilt backwards (deg) 8? Saddle tilt forward (deg) 55? Saddle tilt side (deg) 30?

But this $100 one says: Saddle tilt forward (deg) 5 deg. This $300 one says: Saddle tilt forward (deg) 55? forward, 10? back, 12? side Obviously more is better in most cases, but what is a minimum required? Forward = ? Back = ? Side = ?

This is really good to know for a whole bunch of reasons.

One is that the saddle will be easier to store and less money than a complete transmission jack.

The other is that the floor jack is the beefiest one that Costco sold years ago (maybe ten years ago?) where the only thing I would change if/when it breaks is I'd go to aluminum instead of the heavy steel.

How does this "Floor jack transmission adapter" model 39152 look?

Unfortunately, it looks like it's no longer sold though.

OK. I'll look for more than five degrees of tilt.

20 degrees in fact. Forward and back. Is side-to-side necessary?

I'm ok with draining since it's easy enough. Plus it makes it slightly lighter. But less messy is more important. Plus, thinking forward, if I spill anything, I have to drain it anyway because I won't know how much spilled to replace exactly the spill.

So 20 or 30 front to back is good? What about side to side?

BTW, a friend said he can give me an unused still-in-the-box motorcycle jack from HF so I will take a look at that tomorrow to check out the spec.

If tilt is what I need, then I will have to get more tilt.

A friend is letting me have a motorcycle jack if it fits the bill so I'll check that out tomorrow.

It's the best Costco steel floor jack of about five to ten or so years ago so it does have a removable saddle. Dunno on the size.

On Thursday, September 21, 2017 at 3:41:52 PM UTC-10, snipped-for-privacy@snyder.on.ca wr ote:

Basically, the idea is to engage 1st gear with the least amount of slippage . My Subaru was geared so low that I could put it into 1st with no slippage . My wife would always heat the clutch up in my Alfa Romeo. This caused it to start slipping. I could drive that car with no problems because I never heated up the clutch.

Eventually, I had to do a clutch job. The good part was that it didn't need any jacks to do it. All that had to be done was to remove the driveshaft. The bad part was that it was an Alfa.

You need screw style jack stands for precision leveling:

I hesitated when I wrote that. The axis of the engine's crankshaft when it is supported has to be the same as that of the transmission's input shaft. The whole lashup could be at a 20 degree angle relative to the floor as long as both match.

Another way to look at is the perpendicular mating surfaces need to have matching angles.