TxBmbleBee's Tranny Swap Complete(...sorta)! 2/7/10

[TxBmbleBee]

this is the clutch ass im installing in my solara about $1700,
Clutch Masters is proud to offer the finest and most economical multi-plate clutch systems, the FX600 and FX700 Series. Clutch Masters' Twin Disc systems are pure racing technology that also works well in high performance street applications. They are designed to hold tremendous torque ratings, while retaining a very smooth operation. By using a smaller diameter clutch assembly, Clutch Masters Twin Disc systems have a reduced rotational mass, meaning quicker and smoother shifting and much better throttle response. By slightly increasing the clamping force of the pressure plate and adding to the square inches of usable disc area, CM Twin Discs significantly increase clamping values. The cover assembly is machined from billet aluminum with 25% more tensile strength than the competition's cast unit. They are available in three specific pressure ratings as well as several types of friction surfaces. The flywheel is machined from billet 6061-T6 aluminum to meet SFI spec 1.2 for competition in NHRA, NDRA, IDRC, IHRA, SCCA and NASA.

jet where did you order your clutch online?

you're going to both need the tranny plate and the tranny mount for your tranny


as for making those holes for the clutch and master cylinder....have fun....lol...it's a bitch.

dang it i figured that, i will go order the plate and mount tomorrow

i didnt get the clutch pedal in tonight, hope to have it in tomorrow, its such a PIA haha, very awkward positioning under the dash, i hope to buy a unibit tomorrow for the big center hole, other than that i am tapped out of ideas. i have the 2 smaller holes finished.

also someone who has a 5 speed, would you please take a picture under your dash of the clutch pedal assembly, i would greatly appreciate it!

[jetbtkng]

this is the shop thats doing my work,
Location:
GT PRO Performance Tuning
740 E. Walnut Ave
Fullerton, CA 92831

Phone: (714)447-1697
Fax: (714)447-1696
my custom exaust came in today too, went and saw it it lookks bad ass, going to post some pics hopfully 2morrow, look them up on the web, or givem a call ask 4 dennis, tellem frank sent u and he'll hook u up.....

[KILLA CAM]

i didnt get the clutch pedal in tonight, hope to have it in tomorrow, its such a PIA haha, very awkward positioning under the dash, i hope to buy a unibit tomorrow for the big center hole, other than that i am tapped out of ideas. i have the 2 smaller holes finished.

also someone who has a 5 speed, would you please take a picture under your dash of the clutch pedal assembly, i would greatly appreciate it!

Cutting the holes for the clutch pedal is the easy part. Now the hard part and the real PIA is placing the bracket for the top mount of the clutch pedal. If you didn't get this part from the junkyard yet, go back and get it. However, be prepared. The bracket is welded in to the firewall. I had to cut out part of the firewall then I cut each weld off. The bracket is hardest to place as it is in the highest location and there are no cutouts or reference points. I'll take a picture tonight of the bracket.

Also, the lower mounting point for the clutch pedal is missing a stud on your firewall. You'll need to cut a whole in the exact location and place a bolt through the firewall in place of the missing stud to mount the clutch pedal. I'll take a picture of that also.

I see that you picked up the clutch line from the clutch master cylinder. There is a bracket that mounts on top of the brake lines that attaches on the other end of the clutch line. Did you also pick this up? If not, go back and grab that.

You look like you're off to a good start. Keep us updated on your progress.

[TxBmbleBee]

Cutting the holes for the clutch pedal is the easy part. Now the hard part and the real PIA is placing the bracket for the top mount of the clutch pedal. If you didn't get this part from the junkyard yet, go back and get it. However, be prepared. The bracket is welded in to the firewall. I had to cut out part of the firewall then I cut each weld off. The bracket is hardest to place as it is in the highest location and there are no cutouts or reference points. I'll take a picture tonight of the bracket.

Also, the lower mounting point for the clutch pedal is missing a stud on your firewall. You'll need to cut a whole in the exact location and place a bolt through the firewall in place of the missing stud to mount the clutch pedal. I'll take a picture of that also.

I see that you picked up the clutch line from the clutch master cylinder. There is a bracket that mounts on top of the brake lines that attaches on the other end of the clutch line. Did you also pick this up? If not, go back and grab that.

You look like you're off to a good start. Keep us updated on your progress.

the lower mounting point, yea i tried to take that out off the firewall and couldnt, so yea i was just gonna drill another hole and put a bolt through

as far as the clutch line, i know what bracket you are talking about b/c i disconnected the hose from it, but i did not grab that damn it, its still on the firewall in the junkyard

now here is the part that has me confused...when i look under my dash, i see the fre fab hole cut in the firewall foam for the very top mount, but there is no cut out like the other. i have no idea what bracket you are talking about, i never looked up in the car in the junkyard, if i go today how will i get this bracket off?

thanks for the info!

[KILLA CAM]

The insulation will have to be cut out. I would do this as carefully as possible so you can reuse it when you've mounted the clutch pedal. You won't see anything in your car, but if you go to the junkyard, cut out the insulation, you'll see there is a bracket at the top. And you're really going to have to stick your head underneath everything because it's at the very top. I cut the firewall out and part of the channel below the windshield to get the bracket off the donor car. To do this, you'll need to take off the brake master cylinder, and the windshield wipers/windshield channel cover. Then after I had the firewall piece with the bracket, I sawed off the welding spots. I believe there were seven or eight spots.

One more thing to grab while you''re at the junkyard is the bracket that goes behind the shifter column. It supplies the screw holes to connect the trim around the radio bezel to the center console. The screw holes are located on the automatic shifter. So when you switch shifters, you'll also need that bracket for your interior trim.

[TxBmbleBee]

The insulation will have to be cut out. I would do this as carefully as possible so you can reuse it when you've mounted the clutch pedal. You won't see anything in your car, but if you go to the junkyard, cut out the insulation, you'll see there is a bracket at the top. And you're really going to have to stick your head underneath everything because it's at the very top. I cut the firewall out and part of the channel below the windshield to get the bracket off the donor car. To do this, you'll need to take off the brake master cylinder, and the windshield wipers/windshield channel cover. Then after I had the firewall piece with the bracket, I sawed off the welding spots. I believe there were seven or eight spots.

One more thing to grab while you''re at the junkyard is the bracket that goes behind the shifter column. It supplies the screw holes to connect the trim around the radio bezel to the center console. The screw holes are located on the automatic shifter. So when you switch shifters, you'll also need that bracket for your interior trim.

just any old saw?? and are you talking about the black trim that goes around the shifter that has the cig lighter in it? if so do you mean that it holds down the shift boot?

one last question what did you use to cut out the large hole? im thinking using a unibit maybe

*edit* oops sorry i just went outside and looked at my automatic shifter and saw the two screw holes you were talking about, i dont remember seeing this piece, but when i go back ill look for it.

[KILLA CAM]

The insulation will have to be cut out. I would do this as carefully as possible so you can reuse it when you've mounted the clutch pedal. You won't see anything in your car, but if you go to the junkyard, cut out the insulation, you'll see there is a bracket at the top. And you're really going to have to stick your head underneath everything because it's at the very top. I cut the firewall out and part of the channel below the windshield to get the bracket off the donor car. To do this, you'll need to take off the brake master cylinder, and the windshield wipers/windshield channel cover. Then after I had the firewall piece with the bracket, I sawed off the welding spots. I believe there were seven or eight spots.

One more thing to grab while you''re at the junkyard is the bracket that goes behind the shifter column. It supplies the screw holes to connect the trim around the radio bezel to the center console. The screw holes are located on the automatic shifter. So when you switch shifters, you'll also need that bracket for your interior trim.

just any old saw?? and are you talking about the black trim that goes around the shifter that has the cig lighter in it? if so do you mean that it holds down the shift boot?

one last question what did you use to cut out the large hole? im thinking using a unibit maybe

The finer the teeth the better. And the trim I'm talking about is the trim that goes around the black trim. The part that's in between the dash and the floor. It connects to the center console. You'll see on the each of the ends they have two screw holes. You'll need the bracket for the screws to function and stay in place.

When I was 16 I put a big stereo system in my car so I cut through the firewall through the clutch location to route the power wire through. So when I did the swap I already had a hole there, so I just dremeled to exact size.

[TxBmbleBee]

^^^^one last question, concerning the very top clutch pedal bolt, why cant i simply drill a hole and just run a nut bolt. your way sounds a lot more difficult hehe.

oh yea and i remember seeing that trim now, thanks for the heads up i would have never thought about it, ill go back and get that and the clutch line holder on the firewall

[TxBmbleBee]

today was def a disappointing day, i didnt get near as much done as i thought i would. but here goes for day 2...

thanks to killacam for pointing out a piece i did not even think of, notice how the auto shifter has two areas for the screws, and the stick shift does not, i will have to go get this mount at the junk yard tomorrow


i managed to get the inner firewall mount with 2 screws out, it holds the auto cable, holy crap i was lighting up the air with curses and swears haha


here is a tip, for the drivers side, cut the foam and pull it up, and it allows you to reach the bolt much easier, common sense i know but youd be surprised at my lack of it sometimes


the speedo cluster is changed out, notice no prnd2l (thanks to gibson99, it was his idea)


my drilling tool for the large hole, $20 at ace hardware


woohoo


another set back, the cv boot is too close to tearing for my comfort, gibson has confirmed this. i will have to order another one, at least i dont have to pay a core charge right


can anyone recommend what clutch to get with a fidanza flywheel, will stock be alright or should i go aftermarket. i dont want the car to be to terribly hard to drive, but performance is still a must. in other words i want a good trade off lol.

also what are the thoughts on the standard trd shifter? i did a search and surprisingly didnt see much on it.

thanks again to everyones input and all the helpful advice. i hope i can get the car on jackstands tomorrow

[Eye8Pussies]

sounds like you're coming along pretty well there!


as for the clutch....if you want to keep easy drivability for daily driving, don't go with a stage 3 clutch.

if you're going with a fidanza flywheel, I wouldn't see why you would go with just a stock clutch. you'd want to go with a stage 1 clutch at least

[TxBmbleBee]

^^^eye8 i cant seem to decide if i want to go with a spec stage 1 or 2. anyone else feel free to chime in as well

[Midias]

^^^eye8 i cant seem to decide if i want to go with a spec stage 1 or 2. anyone else free free to chime in as well

I might have missed it earlier but what are your plans for the car? How much boost, engine build, ect... ?

[TxBmbleBee]

I might have missed it earlier but what are your plans for the car? How much boost, engine build, ect... ?

im thinking most likely not more than 6 lbs of boost

[Eye8Pussies]

the stage 2 will do fine. the stage 1 will hold the power fine as well, just the stage 2 will shift harder.


when I do hard driving, I love my stage 3 and the way it slams into gears....but during traffic....oh man....then I wish otherwise....4 hours of nyc traffic one time....it was brutal...

[eugene5786]

Clutch masters is no good. Believe me, I went through two of them. The clutch wears out in about 6000 miles. This had happend on the two diffrent occasions that clutch master was used on my car. The second time it took out my findenza flywheel as wheel. My Advice is to use an ACT clutch and combine that with the findenza flywheel. Good Luck!!