how to change clutch/gearbox, rebuild gbox, uprated clutch

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jacko

New member
Joined
Nov 24, 2007
Messages
2,840
i am changing my gearbox 2mrw (im soooo looking forward to it!!) and thought id hash together a quick guide. wont be loads of piccies but then i dont recommend you even try it if your not sure what im talking about as its not an easy job.

3 parts;

the gearbox and clutch swap
how to use an 'uprated' standard ford clutch; £140 for a 3 piece kit
how to rebuild a gearbox (brief guide) including how a gearbox works
 
the gearbox and clutch swap;

always refer to a suitable haynes manual; just cos monkey here has done it a couple of times doesnt mean im doing it all perfectly!

in the beginning.....

jack up car, support with axle stands as high as possible using inner box sections of chassis legs

remove;
front wheels
battery and tray
air inlet pipe
radiator fan (gives more room) no tools needed!
starter motor; carefull of plastic connector block) and undo at alternator
cat/ disconnect exhaust after the manifold
torque link (rear engine mount)
gear link and support rod
rhd side drive shaft bearing support (behind engine)

lower ball joint / hub carrier bolts (this can be fun!) have new/ spares ready!(i have made my own replacement stainless bolts to stop corrosion...not a standard size so i had to machine down a bigger bolt)

use crow bar to push lower arms down & therefore disconnecting them from hub carriers. can also jack up hub / brake disc if helps
replace nyloc nuts on rebuild

use crowbar to lever out driveshafts from gearbox; careful of seals
catch oil....

remove lid of brake fluid reservoir, cover with plastic bag, replace lid
crimp hydraulic line (rubber section!!!) with maul grips...
pull off quick release clip & remove clip on hydraulic line into gearbox,
cover end with bag and seal with rubber band. no oil should leak...but prob will a bit!
haynes manual refers to a pressure valve. puma doesnt have one

support engine with jack
undo gearbox bolts, earth wires, ancillaries such as speedo drive etc
lower engine and gearbox at an angle so end of box is below chassis leg
wiggle gearbox and pull off....

at home & on my own i tend to place 'something soft' (usually me!!!) under the gearbox and let it drop under control onto chest / arm.... this is the non health & safety way!!! gearboxes weigh prob more than a person, are very hard and have sharp edges....and could easily crush a set of ribs...
use a spare jack, axle stand, engine hoist etc to lower it carefully; it weighs a hell of a lot and is bl**dy awkward to handle.

[albumimg]816[/albumimg]

drag out of the way (old skateboard is good)
if reusing the same gearbox then remove 3 bolts from clutch bearing 8mm, replace bearing; 10nm
BE CAREFULL NOT TO HANDLE THE BEARING; THEY CAN POP OFF!
use supplied grease on input shaft (the only shaft you can see) to coat the splines & stop it rusting to the clutch

remove clutch cover plate and friction plate by undoing 10mm bolts; keep in same orientation....
to do this either make a tool that can be bolted to the engine and that locks into the teeth on the flywheel (the bit the starter motor turns) or place the wrench etc ACROSS the flywheel and use sudden but controlled bursts....this places the energy INTO the bolt and not into turning the flywheel (if your spanner etc was OUTSIDE the flywheel)

[albumimg]817[/albumimg]

clean clutch with solvent; grease etc will kill the friction material...
place new clutch on...friction pad (black) must have thicker side of springs facing out; theres more room under the silver cover than there is against the solid flat flywheel!
with silver cover plate located (ish) on metal dowels locate a clutch centering tool into the centre of the friction plate (black). when it is in the centre tighten the cover plate (silver) like a road wheel; progressively doing opposite bolts....to ****nm

[albumimg]818[/albumimg]
old & new(ish). its an frp box i have rebuilt with a quaife diff. all the steel items have either been painted or bolts etc have been replaced with stainless to stop corrosion issues. this is standard practice with most things i do...also the v naff plastic speedo drive has been replaced with a 1990s metal version; much tougher
also; look closely at the new clutch; you cant really see its much bigger but you can see that it is a lot 'thicker'...

replace gearbox and everything else as you took it apart....!
it will take some doing to lift the gearbox (thats hard enough!) and to locate it onto the dowels, get the input shaft to mate into the friction pad and get the bolt holes to line up & all whilst trying to hold the weight of the box with the diff (side off box / back of engine bay) not falling down & moving everything...its the heaviest part...
use a few long bolts and a friend to wiggle the little sod into position...

took me 3 lifts to get the sod into rough place with some longer bolts JUST holding it in place... then from the wheel arch give the end a dam good shove / wiggle to get it all to engage.

replace bolts etc

lift engine and gearbox fully into the engine bay...
this is fun! takes a lot of lift a bit, move the engine mount a bit, lower a bit, move.....etc etc...
undoing the engine mount to give some play helps
engage studs and use new nylocs
do up all bolts to fully place engine correctly...

replace ancillaries as removed.

bleed the hydraulic line with a pressure system (£15) and use a tyre at no more than 20psi to act as the pressure.... whilst that is working pump the pedal slowly a few times for good measure....

[albumimg]832[/albumimg]

replace transmission oil (75w90). i use an old section of garden hose thinned at one end & pushed hard into the fill plug (facing radiator; 8mm allen key) and a funnel. takes a long time to add 2.8L but id rather it hurt my arm than spill it; it bl**dy stinks!

check operation of clutch and gear linkage (adjust if needed)

at this point i bolt on the wheels and 'test drive' whilst the front end is still in the air...check all gears etc. BE CAREFUL; IF THE CAR FALLS OFF THE STANDS AT 70MPH IN 5TH.................!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

if all is well lower the car and test drive properly.... remember to pump the brakes to make sure youv not disturbed anything.

thats about it... test anything youv removed...lights...fan (run engine til warm & ENSURE the fan comes on....), starter (er; engine starts!), alternator (no red lights on dash).......

oh and make sure all the earth wires are attached... i had to swap a starter at 5am on route to hols, left off an earth wire...called out rac....what a plonker i felt!!!! but could have caused an electrical fire.....

i am also replacing all low tensile bolts with stainless steel copies to reduce corrosion issues in the future....
 
'uprated' clutch info

i am using a 219mm ford focus 1.8 clutch; this has been tried before so im not taking any credit....
the standard clutch is 210mm so the larger focus clutch should cope better with the torque from the frp; time will tell...

its a 3 piece (everything you need) valeo clutch im using which go for £140

[albumimg]818[/albumimg]
old and new; look closely. you cant really tell its 'bigger' but you can see it is a lot 'thicker'

fitting issues;
fits straight on. i will put a pic up soon which shows its not only a larger outer diameter but its a much smaller inner diameter than the puma clutch which gives a massive increase in friction area therefore making the clutch much tougher....see above
the one iv removed was supplied and fitted by a certain mids based specialist. on removal the whole friction plate rattled! there are also NO manufacturer marks anywhere....so no idea how good a quality it was. it certainly wasnt as good as the one my car went in there with....

how it drives;
bl**dy awesome! i can now wheelspin 8 inch wide wheels! (damp today tho...) feels a little lighter but might be imagining it; its def not heavy tho. really nice bite too it which is going to take quite a while to get used to after the rubbish that was in it.

1 month update;

absolutely brilliant!!!!!! still feels really light, its got great grip; can wheelspin in the dry. really impressed.
will see how long it lasts.....if its a good few years then i wont even bother with an APRacing one.....im that happy with it at the mo!
it might be a little too light and vicious for most 'normal drivers' tho....

6 month update;

been a bit longer than 6 months but sarahs driven the car & she says the clutch is definetely lighter. still going strong even after i broke a driveshaft being a bit 'enthusiastic' with the clutch!! completely forgoten about ap, very happy with this one now.

ps; paddle clutches are not for road cars.....use one of these, just as powerful and a lot cheaper


an AP RACING clutch is on the cards but they do not make any cover plates for use with a hydraulic bearing.... they have offered to 'uprate' a clutch cover that i supply so if this ford one works well enough i will send another one off to them....
APRacing make all the formula one clutces. i had one in my fiesta & it was actually slightly softer to operate the clutch pedal but completely bomb proof! between it and my quaife diff i could snap engine mounts doing 4000rpm hard starts!

as far as i know all the other uprated clutch options mean you get a clutch that is tougher to press down so thats why im so keen to get an AP one sorted.
 
how to rebuild the ib5 gearbox / fit a quiafe diff.

to fit a new diff to a 'good' gearbox you will need the 2 diff bearings. there different sizes (!!) and can cost upto £25 each from ford, a lot less from a good bearings supplier but you will need to take the old bearings with you so they can look up the serial numbers....
other than that you simply undo the diff gear bolts and swap the gear to the new diff (on same orientation!!!!) technically replacing the bolts and torquing up correctly; see haynes

to fully rebuild a gearbox you will need;
all 6 bearings
gaskets & seals
new baulk rings (brass rings that act as a mini clutch to slow a gear to allow the synchromesh to engage the next cog)
a few circlips; FROM FORD
gear puller
masonry chisel
big hammer
circlip pliers

bearings, gaskets, seals 'can' be had in a kit for around £60 from good bearing suppliers or upto £25 EACH from ford!
baulk rings are 5x £13 iirc from ford
circlips are specialised and pennies from ford

(for the diff seals i use different ones; there about 2mm smaller ID and it gives a better seal for a lot longer....)

the gearbox i am using is a standard 1.7 with a 3.8:1 final drive ratio iirc...
i had a spare frp gearbox who's casing managed to get damaged & the frp final drive ration is a much more spritely 4.25:1 ratio making it a faster accelerating car but in theory a lower top speed (corrected by having more power). the frp shafts are also 'shot-peened' on 1st and i think second to add strength. (the ib5 box is not very strong & hence anything over 1.8L has an mtx box; which is longer & wont fit the puma engine bay).

the gearbox in the pics is being rebuilt with my frp shafts for elvin's red frp as his xmas pressie.

if you wanted to replicate the frp's acceleration then get hold of a puma 1.4 (4.25:1) gearbox or a fiesta 1.25 (not sure of exact ratio)....the lower power means they need all the help they can so the ratios are very favourable in a high power car....

for the ultimate then you need a 4.29:1 but if you find one of these i will be amazed....iv been looking for years & iirc they come on a 1.4 orion & thats it! you would need to modify to accept the ib5 bearing tho as its a bc gearbox (older ib5) in the orion....
strength wouldnt be as good as frp tho unless you had the parts shot peened; talk to competition transmission services


clean as well as possible......
remove end tin plate

[albumimg]833[/albumimg]

remember the location, orientation and depth of the shaft (5th gear / reverse selector) and remove clamp

[albumimg]834[/albumimg]

remove 5th gear circlips; special pliers needed

[albumimg]835[/albumimg]

remove 5th gear selector index on casing
remove 5th gear with synchro and selector fork

[albumimg]836[/albumimg]

use a 5th gear puller etc to remove 5th gear

[albumimg]837[/albumimg]

remove 5th gear housing and giant circlips on both shafts; use a large flat head screwdriver and a hammer; careful they fly a long way!

[albumimg]838[/albumimg]

remove selector index for 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th

[albumimg]839[/albumimg]

remove casing.....change trousers!!!!!!!

[albumimg]840[/albumimg]

this is how it should look.....there are 3 selector shafts, a plate, 2 very heavy shafts and a loose reverse gear that all need removing and replacing TOGETHER to get it all to go back properly and work again!!!!

[albumimg]841[/albumimg]

top left is hole to clutch / flywheel / engine
middle hole is main shaft bearing
right hole is for driveshaft to drivers side
red cog thing is your speedo drive & tells car how fast your going
silver 'h' gate and mechanism is your gear selection; bottom left is 1st....pic shows gearbox in 3rd

[albumimg]842[/albumimg]

the gears
top is input shaft and its speed is governed by engine
middle is mainshaft; all its gears bar the far right 'float' and stay at a constant speed as meshed to the input shaft.....when you engage a gear you are actually pulling a synchro onto the gear...it locks on with teeth and the synchro itself is permanently loked to the main shaft
bottom is the diff gear

[albumimg]843[/albumimg]

the mainshaft gear and diff gear are matched and create the final drive ratio

to engage a gear smoothly the synchro has a brass ring inside it...when the synchro forces its self onto a gear it must match speeds so the brass acts as a mini clutch to slow the gear and allow the 2 to engage.....

if you have to force a gear to engage it the brass has almost worn out as it isnt slowing the gear......

there are 4 gears shown and the straight edged teeth are for reverse....they are on the 1st / 2nd gear synchro but reverse doesnt use a synchro to engage.....thats why it can grind a bit...the middle gear (not shown) is physically pushed onto the teeth

main shaft broken down; you can see all the brass 'baulk' rings (mini clutches)
and note all the gears have smooth insides as its the sychros that are locked to the shaft

[albumimg]844[/albumimg]

5th gear and synchro ('engaged')

[albumimg]845[/albumimg]

removal of bearings requires some brute force, sometimes an angle grinder (carefully) and a gear puller

new ones should only be tapped on by the centre race, never the outer

replace as removed; make sure everything works by using the selector rod

refit

well i hope youv all learned something.....and that is....?

answer; why most mechanics are terrified of gearboxes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

this is only a very brief guide!!!!!!!!!
 
any question just ask......

no i dont do gearbox rebuilds; havent the time im afraid!

the 'gears' you see in the piccies are now spare...any ideas for a modern art piece?
 
How about rear disc conversions? how much money would i have to throw at you for you to do it? :D
 
buy me a house with a double garage & we'll call it even!!!!!!!!!

converting to rear disks is a doddle except for the abs.......

get a focus 2.0 or st170 set with handbrake cable.......
only problem iv heard is the abs ring is different so wont talk to your ecu...so its either down to modding the ecu program or changing the abs ring........

either way the rear discs are too powerful even for an frp as there designed for a fat focus.....
 
well thats what you need to sort for me! I will literally throw £20 notes at you if you can make it work!
 
Hey thanks for this guide - My clutch is getting replaced this weekend and will use some of this info :)
 
good stuff; thats why its here. it is really nice to have a forum that appreciates info rather than 'putting it down' like other forums. after all were all here to try & help each other.....
 
hell yea :)
I enjoy reading other peoples work theyve done helps me do mine properly hehe! :D

Fankoo :)
 
Hi Jacko, great thread. Me and my friend are currently in the process of fitting a Ford LSD out of an RS turbo to my gearbox. We've had a few issues that were unexpected but have been addressed. Such as the crown wheelof my standard diff did not fit onto the RS turbo diff. It was 0.3 mm to small. That has now been machined to take it. However next problem we came across was that the diff bearings on the RS turbo diff didn't fit the IB5's original diff bearing outter race. So the bearings have now been taken off and the right ones fitted. Then when we have fitted it into the IB5 casing, the edge of the LSD housing is catching on the box. The only way I can see around this is to grind a little of the gearbox casing off, as dodgy as that sounds. It is only fractions that need to be taken off. Have you heard of this being done before when retro-fitting an LSD to an IB5 box?

Thanks in advance :)
 
er...........no!

as far as im aware the frp lsd is the rst lsd.......! & everything bar one diff bearing & the mainshaft bearing is interchangeable between bc & ib5....uv def got the spring washers in havent u?

if the gearbox / bellhousing is on the bench u would put these in first, the diff bearing outer race second then the diff with bearing on last.....
as you bolt down the 2 gearbox halves the spring washers compress to keep the diff located centrally no matter what thickness of gasket u use...

or uv compressed them 2 much?

u have used new races with the new bearings? (they come together and are paired) ie u cant put a new bearing on the diff & not replace the outer bit still in the gearbox casing......

dunno! bit baffled.....but it does sound like the diff has gone into the box 'too far'....

beware the rst lsd diff; 99% of them are WAAAAAAAY past there best by now. if your steering is heavy get it out straight away or youl be snapping driveshafts like theres no 2mrw....and cv joints
 
jacko said:
er...........no!

as far as im aware the frp lsd is the rst lsd.......! & everything bar one diff bearing & the mainshaft bearing is interchangeable between bc & ib5....uv def got the spring washers in havent u?

if the gearbox / bellhousing is on the bench u would put these in first, the diff bearing outer race second then the diff with bearing on last.....
as you bolt down the 2 gearbox halves the spring washers compress to keep the diff located centrally no matter what thickness of gasket u use...

or uv compressed them 2 much?

u have used new races with the new bearings? (they come together and are paired) ie u cant put a new bearing on the diff & not replace the outer bit still in the gearbox casing......

dunno! bit baffled.....but it does sound like the diff has gone into the box 'too far'....

beware the rst lsd diff; 99% of them are WAAAAAAAY past there best by now. if your steering is heavy get it out straight away or youl be snapping driveshafts like theres no 2mrw....and cv joints

Can you explain what you mean by the spring washer? At the moment, we have removed the standard diff, removed the bearing off that and placed it onto the RS Turbo diff. Therefore, the outter race still in the gearbox is matched to that bearing on the diff as the orignal bearing is still being used. Do you get me? I'm not sure what the spring washer is. Have you got a picture? I don't think I took one out of the gearbox.

Yeh it just seems to be a little too wide for the gearbox casing and is just cathcing.

Thanks for the reply! :eek:k:
 
its 2 cone washers, sort of angled....to give a bit of spring. there below the outer race so u might want to tap the race up a little from the outside & give that ago....

other than that im a bit baffled!

sounds crap but you are sure its a rst lsd.....so many ford 'enthusiasts' are unknowledgeable a&*s! (even some 'specialists'!)

as far as i know it should fit straight in.....my quaife does & its same part number for bc and ib5 & i actually had it in my old bc fiesta! & the quaife is a v similar shape to the rst lsd (iv fitted both myself).....bit worried it needed machining....wont affect strength but the fact it didnt fit in the first place....

give cts a ring (competition transmission services) hes the daddy!

i will be amazed if the frp uses a dif diff to the rst.....but still no reason y they shouldnt be used......(the bc does have a thinner dif gear but.....)
 
jacko said:
its 2 cone washers, sort of angled....to give a bit of spring. there below the outer race so u might want to tap the race up a little from the outside & give that ago....

other than that im a bit baffled!

sounds crap but you are sure its a rst lsd.....so many ford 'enthusiasts' are unknowledgeable a&*s! (even some 'specialists'!)

as far as i know it should fit straight in.....my quaife does & its same part number for bc and ib5 & i actually had it in my old bc fiesta! & the quaife is a v similar shape to the rst lsd (iv fitted both myself).....bit worried it needed machining....wont affect strength but the fact it didnt fit in the first place....

give cts a ring (competition transmission services) hes the daddy!

i will be amazed if the frp uses a dif diff to the rst.....but still no reason y they shouldnt be used......(the bc does have a thinner dif gear but.....)

Yeh, the crown wheel is thinner on the Rs turbo than on the FRP, but once machined to fit, it doesnt make any difference to the overall length of the combined unit, so i can't see why i wouldn't fit. I assumed it fitted st8 in too, a little baffled myself.
Which Fiesta did you have? Did you have a Zetec S then? I've got 2 of them myself :D
 
This is the diff thats going into the box. As you can see, its a ford LSD.
fordlsd.jpg

26112008081.jpg


Stnadard on the right, LSD on the left...
Diffs1.jpg


We have 2 of them as me and my mate are fitting them at the same time. They both came out of RS turbo boxes but the internals are slightly different. Fitment is stil the same though as diff casing is the same.
04122008153.jpg

04122008154.jpg

04122008156.jpg

04122008157.jpg


Does that clarify a little better?
 

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