so i decided to muster up some balls and save a few bucks at the same time and install my latest parts myself....now that i'm done i wish i would have did a how to, cause it would have been really good....but i'll give some highlights of my adventure.   

first of all, you definately need two people, gloves, at least 2 jacks (decent-good ones), fucking huge breaker bar/pole, torx plus 50 and 55 (i needed both!), RED HIGH TEMP. LOCTITE, air tools and PB BLASTER / TORCH!!!

i found that almost all of my suspension pieces/wheel pieces were rusty as fuck, so a great technique is torching said bolt/nut for about 2 min then soak it with PB...then air gun that shit loose!

ok, heres a quick summary...

1. Dis-connect all sensors/cables from engine bay...battery, 2 clutch cable buchings, starter, slave cylinder, 3 sensors, 2 brackets and a ground wire...maybe some more, but pretty sure thats it. and drain tranny fluid(do it now cause if u dont it will pour out when u remove pass. axle shaft)

2. Jack up car high as fuck(enough to drop tranny) Remove wheels and remove cotter pins from axle shafts...now both of mine were rusted so we cut them enought to get the axle nuts off and then just drilled them out and put brand new ones in!  Make sure u soak axle nuts in PB and use an air gun to break loose, breaker bar is dumb and almost dangerous imo. btw, the axle nuts should be 32mm...but i had one like that and one that was 30mm....so beware jic

3. Remove sway bar end links via 14mm bottom bolt....i highly recommend torch/PB these bottom bolts because i didnt on one of them and the end link just twisted right in half..even with impact! ya, 30 bucks a piece from nissan/napa/autozone

4. Remove cotter pins from ball joint (same advice as axle nut cotter pins) and loosten nut until it is like 2mm from the CV boot...now heres the easiest/safest way to seperate a ball joint...you get like a 4-5 foot breakerbar and slide it on top of the control arm and wedge it under the sturdy underbody of car and the end will just stick out thr front of the car...then one person applies downward pressure on it and another person hits the control arm perpendicular to the ball joint with a hammer...a few good whacks and it will pop out with the boot perfectly in tact! then finish taking off the nut!

5. Remove axle shafts, driver side is pretty easy have someone gently pull on the end & middle of it while another person jiggles/taps the closest portion to tranny with a hammer..and passenger side, take 3 bolts out that hold it to the support...then give that union some good hammer taps then pry it apart with a screw driver...then use similar moves to remove it as the driver side.

6. SUPPORT TRANNY(from the passenger side of the bolts you will be removing) AND MOTOR(from oil pan)...then remove the crossmember...2 front bolts and mount, 2 rear bolts and mount, 2 exhaust hanger bolts...and 2 more misc bolts that connect it to the tranny(includes 1 of 10 tranny bolts)

7. Now you unbolt the tranny from motor. 6 bolt under car and 4 from engine bay on tranny. also, dont forget the 4 tranny mount bolts that are under the stock intake box location (look at schematics from the how to's)

8. Now pry that bitch bit by bit till it is free from motor...take bell housing out and set aside

9. ok MAKE SURE U HAVE TORX PLUS t50 and t55 sockets!!! first remove pressure plate with 12mm socket...bolts are easy 9 total. then the dreaded 6 flywheel bolts..make sure u use impact and tighten first a lil bit then loosen till they come out...make sure u have correct torx plus socket and u have air gun straight...the sockets are 25 a piece...so dont break one!

10. once FW is off get your new one, i had a Fidanza 11lb FW..and i found that the best way to put it on(because it was too snug) is to torque the bolts *in a star pattern* 30lb-ft, then loosen and torque 60lb-ft, then loosen and torque 90ft-lb..then take bolts out...now u gotta be fast and smart...get your HIGH TEMP. RED LOCTITE and run a line from head to end of bolt, and put it on and impact it snug in a star pattern of course! then torque all bolts to 90lb-ft!

11. Hardest part is done! have friend hold alignment tool in place while u put 9 bolts on pressure plate...once all bolts are on, torque in a star pattern all bolts to 15lb-ft..then go around again and torque all to 25lb-ft...MAKE SURE U REMOVE ALIGNMENT TOOL..duh!

12. mmk now go to bell housing and take a screw driver and slide the little gold clip on fork towards the shaft...then pull off fork and release bearing...replace release bearing with new one..my ACT Stage 1 clutch set came with a new one, and make sure u put bearing grease on the inside of the little dome on the fork and put lithium grease on the shaft that the release bearing goes on.

13. now all you have to do is simply remember how everything went back together! easy right? and dont forget to refill your tranny with BG Syncroshift II...if you don't then fuck you!

Ok, so i guess i just did a quick how to, but oh well...if anybody has any specific questions jus pm me, everything went really well and i learned a lot!

Impressions:

now you are supposed to break the clutch in...a.k.a. normal driving/shifting for 200-300 miles...i definately recommend that..but its ok to run hard through the rpm's just shift normal! but for the first ride around the block, don't be an idiot!

-I noticed better sounding/ quicker start-ups
-quicker rev drops when clutch is depressed
-"heavier" feeling clutch
-springier clutch pedal
-quicker acceleration through powerband
-smoother shifts(thanks BG Syncroshift)
-overall baller statusness

any lightweight FW/sprung clutch is a definate must have and if you have a whole free day and the right tools, you can EASILY do it with a friend if you can take things apart and put them back together!

hope this helps anybody out, if there are any questions, feel free to ask!

Last edited by SpecV FTW (2008-12-01 17:16:54)