Clutch rebuild Options

[the_jaydog]

Hello All. This is my first post so please forgive me if this question has been asked elsewhere. I searched and didn't see anything that answered my questions exactly.

I am a pretty busy guy and my wife and I only have two vehicles. I have a 95 Celica ST with a manual trans and it has the 1.8 in it. For starters the motor runs like total crap as far a power is concerned but that is another issue. The clutch has become the more important issue right now. I have known it was going out about a year ago but wondered how long it would hang in there. Well...a year. That's about how long.

At any rate, on to my questions. First, I'm not new to auto repair. I know that sometimes on older vehicles 3 things will break while you are fixing one. Are there any parts on my particular Celica that I should repair or replace while I have the clutch out? I have honestly never worked on a standard transmission before but I have a cousin that is helping me and he is well versed. I'm just afraid something will either be broken when I take things apart, or something will break while changing it and then get a comment from some genius like, 'hell, I could have told you that". I'm just not really in the mood, lol. Aside from that, having to wait 2 weeks while something ships from BFE.

Thank you so much all.
Jason

[slavie]

Hi, and welcome to 6gc. Clutch is a pretty straight forward job on these cars, no nasty surprises. Couple of pointers:
1. Get an OEM throwout bearing. Aftermarket ones that come with clutch kits are known to fail early. If you can afford it, go for OEM clutch, pressure plate, and bearing - it's not much more expensive, and you don't have to worry about squeaky TOBs or clutch pedal that is out of adjustment range (with some aftermarket stuff).
2. If the engine is higher mileage, consider replacing the rear main seal. There will be no better time than during a clutch job. Many say if it doesn't leak don't fix it, but they all eventually leak and the clutch has to come out to replace it.
3. It's a good idea to resurface the flywheel, though some folks skip this step if the old one is in good shape. Hard to tell until you see it.

Don't break and bolts and you'll be fine.