clutch slipping

[marvinjansen]

I have a 1989 Camry 4 cyl 5 speed. The clutch is weak and may need replacing. I have replaced many rear wheel drive clutches. How much trouble is it to replace my Camry clutch? The shop wants $900-$1000, says it's a 10 hour job.

[toyrolla]

Hi Marvin,

The work of accessing, removing and managing the tranny is the time constraint part of performing this for a number of reasons.

I was in the same dilemma about 6 months ago (I have a '89 V6 5sp) and made the ungodly choice of having it done; mostly because time was definitely not on my side and my car is my transportation for my work commute.

Since I don't have access to a lift, my only form of lifting the car was using ramps & stands.

With my car on 2 different sets of ramps, I wasn't able to ascertain if I would have enough clearance to maneuver the tranny in/out from under the car; let alone to have a means to raise it back up from the ground while underneath the car.

For the work itself, probably 6-8 hours if you're going from start-to-finish and you have everything you need at hand to get it done.

Most of the work involves getting to the tranny and putting it back up.
You would need to remove the wheels, axles, etc...

My quote for my car was based on 8 hours of labor; which to me sounds like BS because shops have air tools to speed up the process of removing the larger components in order to access the tranny. If I were you, I would (at least) put them to commit to 8 hours max of labor to get the job done.

If you have access to a lift and time on your side; then you could probably do it yourself.

If it does turn out that there is enough clearance to do this with the car supported, I would be very interested in knowing this myself by anyone who has done it this way...

Hope this helps....

[white90dx]

Originally Posted by toyrolla

Hi Marvin,

The work of accessing, removing and managing the tranny is the time constraint part of performing this for a number of reasons.

[snip]

If it does turn out that there is enough clearance to do this with the car supported, I would be very interested in knowing this myself by anyone who has done it this way...

Hope this helps....

You can take the transmission out from the bottom without too much trouble (though the V6 5-speed is heavier than the 4-cylinder 5-speed). I had room to drop my transmission out the bottom with only jackstands set up 2 notches, enough so I could still somewhat reach things in the engine bay from the top. You will have to drop all the lower supsension parts and the front swaybar mount on that side to fit it out the bottom. You will have to find a good way to hang the motor since it will only have one mount left.

-Charlie

PS. The Alltrac Celica and MR2 guys both drop complete engine/transmission assemblies out of the bottom of their garages.

[TBayToyotaBoy]

Ugh, I had the car up on jackstands to do this abour four months ago (V6 5-speed). After half the disassembling was done just to get at the transmission, I gave up and decided to pay a $30/hr mechanic to do it. Too heavy and bulky, I only have a gravel driveway.

The I4 tranny is smaller and there's more room to work under the hood; find a shop that rents garage bays/hoist time in your area and do it yourself. It's not rocket science, just time consuming.

[boi_si]

i never use engine hoist for tranny swaps. jus jack the tranny up and make sure it lines up with the shaft. RWD are more easier to replace clutches.

[Wangan]

I dropped my tranny in the garage with the car on jackstands. If you want to do it yourself and you are dropping a v6 tranny I'd recommend. Two jack stands and two floor jacks.(I may be calling it the wrong name but basically the jack with wheels.)

Pull off the starter
Pull out the cross members
pull the sway bar out
Pull out the driverside axle
place one floor jack with a block of wood under the oilpan
Place another floor jack under the transmission
pull the bolts on the driverside tranny mount
pull the bolts that hold the tranny to the block
remove the shield in the back of the tranny exposing the flywheel(you'll be prying from here later)
Pry the tranny off the block slowly
You'll need a friends help now
lower the engine slightly while still prying the tranny off
when the tranny is completely off lower it slowly with the jack

All in all it should take you about 2hrs at most to drop that tranny to the ground.

[Mike Gerber]

Originally Posted by marvinjansen

I have a 1989 Camry 4 cyl 5 speed. The clutch is weak and may need replacing. I have replaced many rear wheel drive clutches. How much trouble is it to replace my Camry clutch? The shop wants $900-$1000, says it's a 10 hour job.

That price sounds high. Call around to shops in your area to get competitive prices. Check to see if you have any trans specific shops in your area and call them. I have found that independant trans shops usually offer the best prices and do the best work, IMHO.

Mike

[TBayToyotaBoy]

Originally Posted by boi_si

i never use engine hoist for tranny swaps. jus jack the tranny up and make sure it lines up with the shaft. RWD are more easier to replace clutches.

I wasn't referring to an engine hoist, I meant a hydraulic hoist--to lift the car while you drop the tranny out the bottom with a proper transmission jack.