[kennebraun]

All,

I have finished replacing the clutches in my car, and there were a lot of points that didn't have clear direction, so I went ahead and made a rudimentary instruction manual. For anyone who is considering doing this job, I'll tell you it isn't for the casual weekend DIYer. There are a LOT of steps, and several steps where you can damage things if you don't do them right. That said, if you have access to a lift and both mechanical and some computer know-how, along with a buddy who can help and a couple weekends available, then read on.

I'll start by saying that I had to do this not once, but twice. It was brutal. I had a leak coming out of my transaxle input shaft, which caused my odd gear clutch to slip. I took everything apart, replaced the input shaft seal and clutch pack, and then after putting it all back together, it immediately started leaking again, ruining my brand new clutch. The leak was caused by a bad inner bearing inside the input shaft. Since I didn't replace that, I had the issue all over again. See my video here for the symptoms of a bad bearing: Alfa Romeo 4C Bad Input Shaft Bearing

Special thanks to my friends Bill and Jeff for all their help in this long journey, and also to @Alfa9 Supply @jamiealfa for supplying the parts and advice when I got stuck!

In addition to my DIY, you'll also want to have the 4C service database available at your fingertips (The 4C Cloud - Table of Contents) at the very least, though I actually recommend buying the official TechAuthority manual USB stick (Buy Mopar Approved Service Information). This is from Alfa corporate and all the hotlinks work, making it much much easier to navigate for a challenging procedure like this one. You'll also need to have the AlfaOBD software up and running to do the calibration procedure before starting your engine.

Here's the link to the DIY:
ClutchReplacement.pdf

EDIT: I have also added the LuK repair procedure PDF as it has some great photos and procedure notes, such as where to use loctite and some information on expected values out of the calibration procedure at the end. Special thanks to @rikiduc for supplying this!

EDIT 2: Here’s a great video tutorial of the clutch removal and installation:

 

[flyt100]

Thanks for the effort putting this together!

 

[2016Spider]

This wouldve been helpful 2 months ago

 

[kennebraun]

This wouldve been helpful 2 months ago

I take it you did this yourself a couple months ago? If so, anything you can add that I missed?

 

[2016Spider]

I take it you did this yourself a couple months ago? If so, anything you can add that I missed?

I would say that you got all of the important stuff. We didn’t have any issues that wasn’t on the list/ is an easy fix. Thank you for putting this together to help anyone doing their own DIY clutch replacement.

 

[johnso21]

Year and mileage of your car? Nicely done.

 

[kennebraun]

Year and mileage of your car? Nicely done.

Mine's a 2015 with around 24k miles.

I think I understand the failure mechanism at this point.
About a month before the clutch started slipping, I heard and felt a violent CHONK go through the engine and then heard something pinging around, so I shut the engine off. Then, as someone turned it on for me while I looked underneath to see what was making the noise, something flew past my face about the size of a small rock, and the noise ceased and the engine ran normally. I was worried, but figured a rock had gotten caught up in the brake rotor and then kicked into the engine bay and flung by the belt.

However, as I said, a month later my clutch started slipping. There are two M6 Allen socket screws that hold the shroud plate against the engine block while you mate the bell housing. After taking everything apart, including taking the flywheel off the crank, I found that one of these bolts was missing altogether and the other, while still in place, was backed out and its head was sheared off. Only thing I can think of is that the AR assembly crew must not have torqued them down enough or forgot to install Loctite or something, so they backed out with vibration until the flywheel weights caught them (see pics). That shock must've been what damaged the inner bearing of the input shaft. I'd never had the engine out before, so I know it must've been a factory defect. I attached shots of the flywheel w/damaged weights (that's the side of the flywheel that faces the engine block), the sheared bolt head (and you can see the other one missing), and lastly in the transaxle housing you can see all the metal shavings from the bolt being chewed up as it bounced around in there before escaping out the vent hole.

A real bummer.

 

[rikiduc]

All,

I have finished replacing the clutches in my car, and there were a lot of points that didn't have clear direction, so I went ahead and made a rudimentary instruction manual. For anyone who is considering doing this job, I'll tell you it isn't for the casual weekend DIYer. There are a LOT of steps, and several steps where you can damage things if you don't do them right. That said, if you have access to a lift and both mechanical and some computer know-how, along with a buddy who can help and a couple weekends available, then read on.

I'll start by saying that I had to do this not once, but twice. It was brutal. I had a leak coming out of my transaxle input shaft, which caused my odd gear clutch to slip. I took everything apart, replaced the input shaft seal and clutch pack, and then after putting it all back together, it immediately started leaking again, ruining my brand new clutch. The leak was caused by a bad inner bearing inside the input shaft. Since I didn't replace that, I had the issue all over again. See my video here for the symptoms of a bad bearing: Alfa Romeo 4C Bad Input Shaft Bearing

Special thanks to my friends Bill and Jeff for all their help in this long journey, and also to @Alfa9 Supply @jamiealfa for supplying the parts and advice when I got stuck!

In addition to my DIY, you'll also want to have the 4C service database available at your fingertips (The 4C Cloud - Table of Contents) at the very least, though I actually recommend buying the official TechAuthority manual USB stick (Buy Mopar Approved Service Information). This is from Alfa corporate and all the hotlinks work, making it much much easier to navigate for a challenging procedure like this one. You'll also need to have the AlfaOBD software up and running to do the calibration procedure before starting your engine.

Here's the link to the DIY:
ClutchReplacement.pdf

Here is an interesting document fromLuk Repair Solutions. This gives you more information on the clutch assembly using a special tool. Just FYI

 

[kennebraun]

Here is an interesting document fromLuk Repair Solutions. This gives you more information on the clutch assembly using a special tool. Just FYI

That is a fantastic find, rikiduc! Thank you for sharing.

 

[4CMEISTER]

Kennebraun

Thanks for this write up.

I have an oil leak between the engine and transmission. I'm thinking the Rear Main Seal has failed. This makes little sense at 11k miles however?

So it's engine and trans out. Per above car has done 11k miles. The clutch is fine.

If I split the engine/trans and do not go near the clutch and simply remove the flywheel and swap out the seal can I just bolt the engine/trans back up and then refit to car without getting involved in any other adjustments etc?

The rear main seal is listed as this part (see below) which it clearly is not!







View attachment 133724

 

[Ed Saenz]

All,

I have finished replacing the clutches in my car, and there were a lot of points that didn't have clear direction, so I went ahead and made a rudimentary instruction manual. For anyone who is considering doing this job, I'll tell you it isn't for the casual weekend DIYer. There are a LOT of steps, and several steps where you can damage things if you don't do them right. That said, if you have access to a lift and both mechanical and some computer know-how, along with a buddy who can help and a couple weekends available, then read on.

I'll start by saying that I had to do this not once, but twice. It was brutal. I had a leak coming out of my transaxle input shaft, which caused my odd gear clutch to slip. I took everything apart, replaced the input shaft seal and clutch pack, and then after putting it all back together, it immediately started leaking again, ruining my brand new clutch. The leak was caused by a bad inner bearing inside the input shaft. Since I didn't replace that, I had the issue all over again. See my video here for the symptoms of a bad bearing: Alfa Romeo 4C Bad Input Shaft Bearing

Special thanks to my friends Bill and Jeff for all their help in this long journey, and also to @Alfa9 Supply @jamiealfa for supplying the parts and advice when I got stuck!

In addition to my DIY, you'll also want to have the 4C service database available at your fingertips (The 4C Cloud - Table of Contents) at the very least, though I actually recommend buying the official TechAuthority manual USB stick (Buy Mopar Approved Service Information). This is from Alfa corporate and all the hotlinks work, making it much much easier to navigate for a challenging procedure like this one. You'll also need to have the AlfaOBD software up and running to do the calibration procedure before starting your engine.

Here's the link to the DIY:
ClutchReplacement.pdf

Who trained your Transmission? Did you do that also?

 

[Ed Saenz]

Mine's a 2015 with around 24k miles.

I think I understand the failure mechanism at this point.
About a month before the clutch started slipping, I heard and felt a violent CHONK go through the engine and then heard something pinging around, so I shut the engine off. Then, as someone turned it on for me while I looked underneath to see what was making the noise, something flew past my face about the size of a small rock, and the noise ceased and the engine ran normally. I was worried, but figured a rock had gotten caught up in the brake rotor and then kicked into the engine bay and flung by the belt.

However, as I said, a month later my clutch started slipping. There are two M6 Allen socket screws that hold the shroud plate against the engine block while you mate the bell housing. After taking everything apart, including taking the flywheel off the crank, I found that one of these bolts was missing altogether and the other, while still in place, was backed out and its head was sheared off. Only thing I can think of is that the AR assembly crew must not have torqued them down enough or forgot to install Loctite or something, so they backed out with vibration until the flywheel weights caught them (see pics). That shock must've been what damaged the inner bearing of the input shaft. I'd never had the engine out before, so I know it must've been a factory defect. I attached shots of the flywheel w/damaged weights (that's the side of the flywheel that faces the engine block), the sheared bolt head (and you can see the other one missing), and lastly in the transaxle housing you can see all the metal shavings from the bolt being chewed up as it bounced around in there before escaping out the vent hole.

A real bummer.

View attachment 131005 View attachment 131006 View attachment 131007

[/QUOTE]
Wow! what is interesting is the bolt went through the flywheel to the other side and squished through, shot out at the right moment for you to see it. What the Odds of that? 40k left on those disks which is what I think I don't have on mine. Good job!

 

[kennebraun]

howdy @4CMEISTER,

sorry that I didn’t respond sooner to your questions. I didn’t see the notification.
In my case, I was also worried about a main seal leak, but once I opened it up I could smell that it was transmission fluid and not engine oil. I happen to have a new RMS sitting around, so let me know if you’d like me to ship it to you! At the least, I can send you a link to where I got it. The big thing about the RMS is that it requires a special press to install, and I couldn’t find one anywhere here in the States. I fear it’d require someone to tool something up. It’s critical that it is seated evenly or else it will leak. So, once you get the engine and trans split, only replace the RMS if you absolutely have to.
As for your main question, I think that is correct that you don’t need to recalibrate if you don’t touch the clutches, but I do recommend double checking with a dealership or master mechanic to be sure, as I’m just a DIY guy. The one thing you’ll definitely need to do no matter what once you split the engine and trans is to reset the flywheel preload. I believe I included how to do it without expensive tooling in my write up. It’s straightforward, just make sure to do it. It’s critical. Lastly, if you remove your flywheel, make sure to get new bolts for it as they are single use. Alfaworkshop has them available.
Good luck and let me know if any other questions pop up!

 

[kennebraun]

Who trained your Transmission? Did you do that also?

Hi Ed,

yes, I did it myself. I used the OBDLink MX+Bluetooth reader and the AlfaOBD software to do it. However, I’ll say that my odd gear clutches slip now until I get them up to temperature, and we are working through why. I should learn more this winter after pulling the transmission out again and inspecting it for anything out of tolerance. That said, once it’s warmed up, it works great and I’m still able to track it no problem after a couple gentle warm up laps.

 

[Turbowned]

DUDE!! I just encountered this same problem with my 2015 LE! In Sept, I was on the track doing an HPDE when a huge plume of smoke started billowing out of the engine compartment. Long story short, I just got around to removing the powertrain to investigate, and the exact same bolt freed itself from the block, bounced around in the bellhousing for a while, and got snagged by the flywheel weight and wedged into the oil pan, breaking a small hole in the pan.

We're a wee bit past the warranty period and I don't think they'd cut my modified car any slack anyway, but that's so crazy to me. Is yours a Launch Edition also? I wonder if they ran out of Loctite at the factory that day 🙃 Anyhow, as far as I can tell the damage seems to only extend to the oil pan in my car, so I'm going to double check the clutch assembly and put everything back together, this time with Loctite on those stupid bolts!!

Mine's a 2015 with around 24k miles.

I think I understand the failure mechanism at this point.
About a month before the clutch started slipping, I heard and felt a violent CHONK go through the engine and then heard something pinging around, so I shut the engine off. Then, as someone turned it on for me while I looked underneath to see what was making the noise, something flew past my face about the size of a small rock, and the noise ceased and the engine ran normally. I was worried, but figured a rock had gotten caught up in the brake rotor and then kicked into the engine bay and flung by the belt.

However, as I said, a month later my clutch started slipping. There are two M6 Allen socket screws that hold the shroud plate against the engine block while you mate the bell housing. After taking everything apart, including taking the flywheel off the crank, I found that one of these bolts was missing altogether and the other, while still in place, was backed out and its head was sheared off. Only thing I can think of is that the AR assembly crew must not have torqued them down enough or forgot to install Loctite or something, so they backed out with vibration until the flywheel weights caught them (see pics). That shock must've been what damaged the inner bearing of the input shaft. I'd never had the engine out before, so I know it must've been a factory defect. I attached shots of the flywheel w/damaged weights (that's the side of the flywheel that faces the engine block), the sheared bolt head (and you can see the other one missing), and lastly in the transaxle housing you can see all the metal shavings from the bolt being chewed up as it bounced around in there before escaping out the vent hole.

A real bummer.

View attachment 131005 View attachment 131006 View attachment 131007

 

[kennebraun]

I’m sorry to hear you had the same thing happen - it’s nuts to me that they would make such a basic mistake on assembly.

Mine is a non LE, so I guess it’s just a crapshoot. Hopefully no one else will experience the same!

While you’re in there, make sure to check your transmission for any play. Specifically, the threaded rod that comes out from the clutch assembly. If you see any play in it at all, you’ll need to replace the inner bearing or else you’ll spring a leak in your transaxle, ruining your clutch. The shock from the bolt shearing against the flywheel caused that issue for me.

 

[Turbowned]

I’m sorry to hear you had the same thing happen - it’s nuts to me that they would make such a basic mistake on assembly.

Mine is a non LE, so I guess it’s just a crapshoot. Hopefully no one else will experience the same!

While you’re in there, make sure to check your transmission for any play. Specifically, the threaded rod that comes out from the clutch assembly. If you see any play in it at all, you’ll need to replace the inner bearing or else you’ll spring a leak in your transaxle, ruining your clutch. The shock from the bolt shearing against the flywheel caused that issue for me.

Duly noted, thanks! Hey, when you bought the replacement parts, did they provide you with plastic fasteners in place of the metal ones to secure the upper dust shield (the bolts that backed out)? They sent me these; I'm not sure if it's in error or intentional. Checking with the dealer now, but...

 

[kennebraun]

Very interesting - I just bought some bolts from McMaster carr that were the right size and Loctited them in.