So the clutch replacement has been completed successfully. I want to thank everyone that was so helpful in getting me on the right track. Interesting to think I just got this car 2 months ago and had no idea that the Maserati Coupe even existed let alone an f1 transmission. Looking back at it now, yes it was a bit of a pain in the ass to do. But I can assure you, besides the old Saab 900's, this job is easier than 99.9% of the cars out there. No need to pull the engine/transmission, radiator, A/C, etc to get the clutch out. I was able to do the job in my garage by myself with only assistance needed a couple times. It honestly took me about 4 solid days to do the entire procedure. Special thanks to Lambertius and Craig Waterman for providing the critical information to get the job done. I'm going to just provide my own personal take away from the guides/videos these gentleman have provided.
How to change a Clutch in a F1 Maserati
Lambertius's Clutch Change Video
1. I don't have access to a lift as I haven't wrenched in 30 years. So I constructed a vehicle stand out of 2x4's, super sturdy and worked great.
2. Since I wasn't using a lift, the first job was to remove the mufflers and half-shafts
FIRST as I needed all 4 wheels on the car for my jenga blocks. After getting the rear on jack stands, i found the rear wheels were literally fused to the hubs. Even a sledgehammer on a block of wood would not budge the rims off. So to avoid damage, I had a neighbor help me with a bottle jack and stud to press the rims off hydraulically.
3. I carefully reviewed Craig's blog and Lambertius's video. For me, I found there was
No need to remove the gearbox. I followed the procedure but simply slid the transmission back far enough for the torque tube to clear. The front of the gearbox was supported by the subframe, the rear with a transmission jack.
4. The rest of the removal was straight foward. Definitely need 2 guys to pull the torque tube, it's quite heavy.
5. My old clutch was definitely toast.
![134349]( "134349")
6. For the reinstallation, I had the flywheel machined at my machine shop which cost me $75. New parts included the clutch assembly, pilot bearing, clutch shaft bearing, Hill Engineering throwout bearing, preload springs. I have an image of the Scuderiaparts invoice earlier in this thread if anyone wants the part numbers. Craig mentioned there's a TSB on the clutch shaft bearing and it should be loctited in using retaining compound. Napa was the only local parts supplier that carried it. In my rush to get this done, I had forgotten to use the clutch shaft to align the friction disc and bolt in the clutch assembly. The clutch shaft was already installed with the retainging compound and I wasnt about to undo it. Craig said it should be fine to just install it, but I found it was a no go. Getting that clutch housing isnt easy and it must be perfectly aligned. I tried for over an hour to get the clutch housing in, it just would not go. I coated the nose of the input shaft with marine grease, you can see where it was contacting the pilot bearing (thats leftover bread inside from driving the old bearing out btw):
![134351]( "134351")
Amazon to the rescue, this worked perfectly:
7. Everything else went back in very easily now that I was familiar with it. I Used the transmission jack to get the torque tube back in. Next was to replace the hydraulic hoses on the gearbox. One of the reservoir hoses had already failed so I decided it would be a good time to replace all the accessible low pressure lines. They were all hard as a rock:
![134352]( "134352")
8. With everything buttoned up, I used the X431 to reading clutch configuration which mine showed as (19.7mm) and then wrote that value. Read again to confirm it had written. Turned the ignition off then back on to save. Craig has a very specific way he sets up the initial PIS which allows for thermal expansion and bed in. This is still a work in progress as the PIS is being fine tuned as the clutch breaks in. We started at 4.5mm, Im now at 4.9mm which stalled once in sport mode. I will be adjusting again until it's perfectly tuned with the X431. It's an invaluable tool, I wouldn't own this car without it. 300 miles now on the car and I'm pretty thrilled. Thanks again to everyone that helped!
!
