98 V70... needs new clutch

fn42 · Post by **fn42** » 03 Aug 2011, 13:04

Went out to my car one day and found that the clutch pedal was extremely light, it also engages high and slips a lot. Car has 190k miles on the original clutch so it wouldn't surprise me if the disc is just worn out.

I see some fluid on the bottom of the trans, the brake fluid has also turned black so it looks like the slave cylinder is going as well. I was quoted 1700 from a shop, they want to do the disc, plate, slave cylinder, and flywheel, all which makes sense to me.

Anyone have luck doing this themselves? I see ipd has a clutch kit w/ the slave for 450, is there anywhere I should look for a flywheel? Chassis number is in the 470000 range so it looks like I have the internal slave/throwout bearing combo. What are my chances of doing this without taking the engine out? It looks like I might be able to get the trans out by lowering the engine a little and removing it from the bottom but I've never done it in this car so I have no idea.

Post by **Ozark Lee** » 03 Aug 2011, 13:43

Welcome to MVS,

You can either pull it along with the engine from the top or drop just the transmission out of the bottom. I replaced a clutch last year on one of my 850's with just typical tools and a homemade engine support that I made out of a 4x4 and some other hardware like all-thread and some channel steel that all came from the Lowes down the street.

Your slave cylinder may not actually be bad, mine acted like it was bad but I had eaten up the throwout bearing which in turn ate the fingers off of the pressure plate. The result was that the slave cylinder extended further than it should have and, at the end, it started to leak as bit. With the new clutch parts the slave cylinder bled just fine and has worked flawlessly since.

The Haynes manual is of some help but the VADIS instructions were the most helpful. What I also found to be very helpful was ratcheting straps like you would use to secure a load to your roof racks - they worked well to help lower the transmission out and then raise it back up and align it back to the rear of the engine.

As far as the flywheel goes I just paid the local O'Reilly Auto Parts shop to surface it - it was around $20.00 as I recall. I bought the Sachs clutch kit (clutch, pressure plate, and throwout bearing) from the same place for around $325.00.

...Lee

Post by **JimBee** » 03 Aug 2011, 21:38

Lee: do you have any pictures or more detailed description of the 4x4 support, channel stock, how you rested it from above, used the ratchet straps, etc.

fn42 · Post by **fn42** » 04 Aug 2011, 07:12

Thanks Lee, did you need any special tools? It looks like a few people have needed a tool to reset the self adjuster. I would replace the plate too so I don't know if this is required (I have never done a clutch with a self adjuster, I'm not even sure how it works).

Also has anyone used the LUK clutch set, it looks a little cheaper so I might go for it. Is the 22-027 what I'm looking for?

Post by **Ozark Lee** » 04 Aug 2011, 07:37

As far as the brand goes, this is such a huge job that I wouldn't use anything but OEM Sachs but that is just me.

I didn't take many pictures of the clutch change as we hit the monsoon season just after I started and I had a very big job that was over 100 miles away. In the end I gave up on documenting things and just finished the job.

I do have a picture of the engine support.

: Volvo April 29 020.JPG (228.41 KiB) Viewed 1689 times

...Lee

Post by **jimmy57** » 04 Aug 2011, 08:56

When you checked IPD for the clutch did you verify the kit by VIN? It sounds like you have the concentric slave cylinder but that doesn't assure you have the SA type cover.
Early 98 had solid flywheel with the cheaper clutch kit which is NOT the self-adjusting (SA) cover type.
Later VIN range is the dual mass flywheel with SA cover that needs the SA reset ring and compressor.
Both styles are supposed to use compressor for install but small incremental steps of running bolts in for cover works for the standard cover. The self-adjuster cover is a great idea as it makes disc last longer and keeps feel the same though the life of disc. The floating diaphragm spring that can make for problems if the cover is mishandled since the spring can move out of center and you end up with clutch chatter on engagement.

Post by **renns** » 04 Aug 2011, 13:47

There are some other items to replace as well, while you are in there:
Rear main seal
Axle seals
Turbo coolant line, oil return line gasket and seal (if turbo)

If you pull the engine/trans assembly out the top, you'd have easier access to timing belt, water pump, PCV, oil sump o-rings, etc.

fn42 · Post by **fn42** » 05 Aug 2011, 08:30

ipd says "1998-1999 V70 Non-Turbo w/ chassis number between 395002 and 555740" for the more expensive kit (w/ internal slave)... my chassis num is in the 47xxxx range. I guess I'll have to look into finding a SA reset ring and compressor (VADIS has part numbers so I'm sure I can find these somewhere) Is there a way I can tell for sure w/o actually taking the clutch out?

It has almost 200k miles on it so I was considering doing the RMS, it seems like a pain to get out though. Depending on how it looks I may replace it.

I would rather not invest in tools to pull the engine out the top (I am a poor college student), I have plenty of trailer tie downs and heavy wood so I think lowering it would be the easiest (and cheapest) way to go.

Thanks for the advice

Post by **Ozark Lee** » 05 Aug 2011, 11:45

Is there a way I can tell for sure w/o actually taking the clutch out?

Look at it. The external slave cylinder models have the slave cylinder mounted on the bell housing, just above the starter as I recall but on the other side (the transmission side). It mates up with the throwout bearing fork.

If you don't see the slave cylinder and the fork yours is the internal slave version.

...Lee