Clutch DIY

This is a general DIY for a clutch replacement in the Nissan GQ Patrol and is my own experience in performing this task at home.
If you are performing this for the first time you will need to allow at least a few days for this job and during some critical times will need the hand of a couple of mates (do not try to do this job on your own)
This is not a technically hard job but a very heavy job and can be dangerous .
You will need mostly basic tools but good quality tools help as there is some very heavy use on them.
Also a clutch aligning tool.
You will need some way of suspending the gearbox/Transfer case through the car down into the gearbox tunnel eg: I used an engine crane and found this to be perfect.
Also a transmission jack is very helpful but you can get by with a normal jack but be very careful as this unit is very heavy (around the 200kg mark) and you will need a second jack.
I had the use of a modified jack borrowed from a mate.
Another thing is it is a great help if you can get the car up higher, I sat my car on top of a spare set of wheels I had and even with this and a 2inch lift it was still not high enough to get the gearbox from under the car.
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Now the first thing is to disconnect the battery and take the bolts out for the starter motor.
If you plan to replace the main seal then you will need to drain the oil as you have to remove the sump.
Now remove the front and rear drive shafts and pay attention to how the bolts will go back (take photos), if you need to replace uni joints this is a good time, you may need to lock and unlock hubs and put in gear to undo bolts.
Remove the clutch slave and just leave it hanging.
Ok get cleaned up and lets start on the interior, start by removing the seats and once this is done start to disassemble the centre consol. First take off the gear knobs and then the plastic surround (if you have a Ti).
There are 2 sets of plates you need to remove from this to give you lots of room to manoeuvre the gearbox , take out the centre storage console as it is easier to disconnect the handbrake from here.
You will need to remove the gear selector, this is done with a sirclip and the whole unit comes out.
I undid the 6 bolts and broke the gasket then relised I did not need to do this.
I could not completely remove the 4wd select so just undid the bolts holding it to the gearbox and moved it so it did not get in the way.
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Now if you managed to get an engine crane bring it through the front passenger door and you will need a very heavy duty strap, I used a tree protector and lashed it around the gearbox twice making sure you don’t go over the top of oil feed lines and electrics .
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There is no exact spot it just make sure when you do take the weight the whole crane does not come forward and start pulling against the console where your radio is.
Now is the time to take some weight with the crane (only a bit) and then start undoing the cross member bolts, first undo the nuts from the gearbox mounts through cross member then undo the 8 bolts 4 either side.
Be very careful at this stage as there will be a lot of weight on the strap.
Now is the time to lower the gearbox down , don’t worry it can take it but the engine fan should be touching the plastic guard.
Once this is done you should have enough room to remove the 2 top bolts holding the bell housing to the engine, you need to go through from inside the car and there will be two 17mm bolts about 11 oclock and 1 oclock and you will need long extensions to reach.
Once they are removed undo the wiring loom from that runs along gearbox and also the oil feed to the top of the gear selector ,Now you can lift the gearbox back up to normal level and start to undo the rest of the bolts from below.
While under the car look up toward the spot either side of the bell housing to see if the transmission tunnel has signs of having the sides bashed out. Mine had, it is a sign this job has been done before.
If you have not already disconnected the handbrake from inside do so now.
You should be ready for the next big step and this is where mates come in handy.
Before you start trying to separate the gearbox from the engine have a good look around for any cables or so you might have missed as it can be a pain trying to undo later.
Now you need to have a jack towards the front of the engine to help get the tilt you need but try not to use the sump as I did, I bent the sump and when I started the car there was an awful clacking noise as the conrod was hitting it. I then had to remove the sump and bash it back out!!
This is the really hard bit and I wish you well, some come easy some just don’t.
You need to start working the gearbox back enough to be able to turn it on an angle so it will fit past the firewall on the starter motor side,you need to use the transmission jack to take the weight off the straps so you can twist the gearbox. I spent ages struggling with this then it was like magic it just popped out, bloody hard though.
You will need to support the gearbox with a transmission jack, I used ratchet straps to hold the gearbox to the jack.
It is now you should be able to undo the straps from the crane but leave them still on and manoeuvre the gearbox around so you can get access to both the back of the engine and the bell housing.
Start with the clutch itself , a rattle gun comes in handy about now and start undoing the clutch just watch the last bolt as these are also heavy, I had a mate hold it from above.
Now the flywheel is very heavy so be careful you don’t get donked with this or it could be a trip to the hospital.
Now the bolts are going to be hard to undo and the engine is going to want to turn over, you need to put a bolt back into the engine where the bell housing bolts up and one through where the outer clutch bolted in and use a prybar to hold it while you crack the main bolts for the flywheel.
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Once this is removed you can start to remove the sump and mail seal holder if this is what you want.
Now you need to send the flywheel off to get machined, do not remove the thrust bearing until you are ready to put it all together as it does not take long to do this job and you don’t need to go losing bits or struggling to remember how it goes back together.
If you are doing the main seal follow the factory service manual as this is an easy part but undoing and doing back up the sump is very tedious .
Once the flywheel is done you need to start re-assembly and you need to make sure the flywheel is clean of contaminants and you do not go touching the friction plate with dirty hands.
Now install the flywheel with the help of a mate and follow torque settings then put in the clutch aligning tool and fit the friction plate then the outer plate and do up bolts in a even criss cross pattern then follow torque settings now remove aligning tool.
Remove thrust bearing from bell housing and clean all parts, the grease must be of the specified type and must be used carefully as you do not want it to get on the clutch.
Install the new thrust bearing and add grease.
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If your actuator rubber that goes through the bell housing is worn or cracked it is really a good time to replace it as water and mud find there way in through here.
You will need to make a call on whether you want to remodel your transmission tunnel to make it easier to get the gearbox back in, I tried for ages to get mine back in and ended up pulling the gearbox back again to allow room to bash the wall in to give me the room needed.
It is a good idea to make up 2 bolts that will thread into the back of the engine as a guide and need to be long enough that they stick out so you can remove after, you need to cut the heads off and make a slit to fit a flat blade screw driver so you can undo then after gearbox is in.
Thanks to Silver for this tip.
It seems to be common and have even heard of people cutting the wall away and making a plate that goes back (nuts)
This part is really hard and all hands are needed, you need to get the angle right and the gear box should be slight off alignment so as the get the starter motor part of the bell housing in.
Make sure you do not damage tongues of the clutch.
This is constant playing with jacks plus crane to get the right position and can get frustrating.
You will need to take slack off the crane once in close enough so you can twist the gearbox level.
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Hopefully you now have it lined up, you may need to take the weight while a mate cranks the engine so the shaft goes in nicely as if it is not lined up properly or the angle is not right it will not go in.
I had a mate at the back of the gearbox pushing it toward the front while I took the weight of the bell housing and tried to guide it in.
Now if all has gone well it will be in and you will be in joy!!!
Now start fitting the bolts in from the bottom but don’t do them up tight just yet, you still need to get those 2 top ones in.
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Once done you can do them up tight and reconnect cables and so on.
Lift the gearbox up when you are sure all bolts are done properly and start to install the cross member.
Once this is done then the rest is just a reverse of the removal procedure by installing the drive shafts clutch slave electrics oil feed.
You can now remove the straps from the car and start to put your interior back in.
This is my experience and yours may differ to mine, this should be used as a guide only.
Use your manual for torque settings and where to grease and not to, study your manual before performing this to give you an understanding of the parts involved.
Cheers!!!

Great job mate & thanks heaps for your post, this is exactly why I love this forum & all the ppl that go into making it.

This post will be able to help many Patrol lovers world wide.

Love your work.

top job mate! thanks!!

should sticky this!

No worries, it proves to me I could not sit in an office typing all day!!!

Hi mate,

I have moved this into the DIY, Mechanical Section of the forum

Excellent write up, thanks for sharing :)

What a well piece of documented work. Well done.

thanks . im looking at changing my auto for a manual . this will help

Great write up BA, well done mate.

Great work mate. Good info for planning to do a clutch job at home. Preparation for this job is a must such as equipment required and enven more importantly my mechanic mate. This is going to cost more than a 6 pack.LOL

Nice write up! Some great info here. Wondering if anyone has found it easier to just pull out the engine to replace the clutch?

Might be easier if you have a stock car with no mods but I could not even find a spot for a winch solenoid with all the extra crap under my bonnet.

It would take for ever to pull all the stuff out let alone the engine.

I have taken a few motors out rather than gearboxes but most have been diesel and some carby motors, just depends whats quicker to remove on the car. Keep in mind the more electrics a car has, the more complicated it will be to dismantle and remove.

I have just finished doing the clutch on my TB42.

I pulled the motor as I have a gantry block and tackle etc.

I also wanted to replace my exhaust manifold and check / replace the welch plugs.

While I had the motor out I replaced the rear central welch plug as it had signs of corroding. I also pulled the big one on the left - had to get a replacement 55mm plug from Nissan ($2.0) as NO one had a 55 mm plug - was cheap in the end.

By pulling the motor - I was able to refit by my self with out any modifications to the transmission tunnel.

I did not need to use an alignment tool as I found the clutch was the same size as the machined part on the fly wheel - just had to make certain that it was in the same position on all edges.

Thanks that was very good info, will try to translate the tecnical information to Swedish


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Thanx!! .... I am just doing a RD28 to TD42 Conversion and am replacing clutch .... should be a lot easier seeming a will have everything out but its good to have some detail as to how all goes!

Did the clutch over the past few days, must say it is rather difficult until you work out the tricks, but wouldn't hesitate doing it again now I've worked it out.
Read all the info on the forums and it wasn't all that helpful in hindsight.
Bought a transmission adapter for the 2T trolley jack to take the box out = bloody useless,
Attachment 72335

so I made my own to put it back in and it worked a treat.
Attachment 72336Attachment 72337
You need to be able to adjust the support angle of the adapter to allow for the tilt of the box during removal.


To remove the gearbox from a stock standard TB42E GQ 5 speed on jack stands, here's the wisdom of hindsight.

1 - The gearbox is about 550mm high sitting on a jack, but if you lift the 'Trol high enough to get the gearbox out from underneath - make sure the jack has at least 600mm travel, most don't.
Because of my jack and the height of the box I had to fiddle around with wooden blocks under the car to get the box on and off the jack.

2- Remove the transfer case first. The gearbox/transfer/bell housing/cross member is seriously heavy.. think around 150kg+.. similar in size to a bus or 10 tonne truck box.
After you drop the tailshafts, remove the handbrake cable from inside the cab- not the brake shoes. The cab end involves taking out the centre console between the seats = easy, the cable at the brake end is a fiddly, awkward, pain in the arse where you might lose bits or bugger them completely.
If your transmission jack adapter has a flat plate, you'll need a bit of wood packer to suport the transfer flat and stop it from rolling. Undo the wiring, breather and shifter link end pivot and all the bolts that hold the transfer to the 5th gear extension housing except 1 each side and position the jack and adapter. Remove your last 2 bolts and the transfer will slide back pretty easy off the input spline.

3- Disconnect battery, Remove exhaust flange bolts & exhaust bracket near crossmember, wiring, clutch slave, starter. Drain gearbox oil. Position Jack and Adapter supporting gearbox in front of crossmember.
Remove crossmember. Get a helper to lower the box until the rocker cover touches the firewall - keep an eye on heater hoses and vac pipes when you do this to avoid pinching or damage. Losening engine mount bolts will help avoid possibility of tearing the engine mount rubber.
You can now get to the upper bell housing bolts and shifter cover bolts. remove shifter and all the bolts except the 2x bell housing bolts each side of the bell housing.
Check position and support of your jack and adapter.
The engine will rest fairly comfortably on the mounts and the firewall/rocker cover - but not with the weight of the box as well.
Lift the jack up about 2cm and remove the final 2x bell housing bolts. If you have the box supported on the correct angle it will slide back 10mm once the silicone lets go, and the engine will rest against the firewall. Don't be tempted to put a bit of wood as packer between the firewall and rocker cover or the engine won't tilt back far enough to remove the box.

4- TRICK = getting the bell housing past the clutch/firewall gap.
Slide the bell back until it hits the firewall. This should pull the gearbox input shaft out of the clutch spickot and splines. Shine a torch up to check. NOW INSTEAD OF TILTING THE GEARBOX DOWN, TILT IT UP (FLAT) WHILE JACKING IT UP to keep the input shaft central in the clutch pressure plate.
Once the gearbox is flat, it will slide back far enough (before it fouls the firewall) for the input shaft to clear the pressure plate - then simply lower it down.
No beating of firewall/trans tunnel, no damage to spickot, not even any swearing ! EASY-PEASY. Put it back in easily the same way without force or dramas. When you put the box back in, engage 4th gear so you can turn the input shaft splines to align with the clutch splines by turning the output shaft.

5- Other things I learnt - No need to drain transfer case oil, Late GQ's (97) have the same 5th gear short spline problem as early GU's. Range shifter levers are different between early and late GQ's = not interchangeable without modifications due to machining distance of 5th gear housing socket, Fill the gearbox through the gearshift housing while the console and shifter is out if you don't have a decent gear oil pump. EFI GQ's have a neutral sensor on the front of the box.

Thanks heaps for this great presentation. I have a TB45 Auto Petrol GU Y61 Wagon and am looking for tips on how to rebuild the clutch. Your post should really help
Cheers
Gasman