1998 Neon clutch replacement

[nherbst454]

I'm looking at picking up a '98 Neon for a commuter/winter car and it appears to have a clutch issue (stutters for a bit in 1st gear) I'm assuming that I'll have to replace the clutch, or at least the throwout bearing so I'm curious if anyone knows of a link with instructions on doing the clutch replacement. I've done it before on a '88 Camaro, but of course that's rear wheel drive and I'm not all that familiar with the FWD trannies!

Thanks in advance for any support!!!

[RadarLove]

A Hayne's manual would help a ton. I used a Factory Service Manual along with the Hayne's, but the Hayne's would have been fine on its own.

You'll have to pull the axles, which means popping the spindles off the ball joints and removing the outer tie rod ends from the spindles. You might be able to leave the axles in the spindle end, but it really gets in the way. Then again, getting them out can be a pain... Drain the tranny fluid before taking the axles out... The starter, tranny end cables, clutch cable, speed sensor, and reverse sensor will all have to be taken off the tranny. Then it's just a matter of unbolting (make sure you get them all, they're tricky to find), sliding off, and dropping the tranny out the bottom (if you have the car up high enough). Clutch removal is pretty straightforward. You'll want to know in advance if you have the modular (car assembled in Belvidere) or non-modular/standard (car assembled in Toluca) clutch. The modular is a single unit that includes the flywheel and bolts directly to the crank shout (there's a hole in the dust shield to get to the bolts from behind). The regular clutch bolts to the flywheel, which you will probably want to replace (NOT resurface, it's a dished surface). It's good to have at least one extra person to help get the tranny lined up and back on. With just hand tools, you should be able to get it done in your driveway in a day. Spend the money on the proper Mopar Manual Transaxle Lubricant - runs $12-15 at the dealer for a bottle, and you'll need 3 (or save and reuse the stuff you drain out...). Don't tell them you have a Neon or they'll tell you to put ATF+4 in there. Tell them you have a PT Cruiser (exact same tranny). For a good laugh, see what they say if you ask if it's OK to put ATF+4 in the PT Cruiser tranny...

The Hayne's torque specs match the FSM for all the tranny stuff. I always recommend using a torque wrench for stuff like that. Well worth the $40 or so if you don't already have one.

Best of luck!

[nherbst454]

Thanks for all the assistance!