A guide to changing the clutch.

It is inevitable that at some point you will have to face changing the clutch. It dips in and out of the mud on a regular basis as the bell-housing is not sealed. Eventually the clutch thrust bearing will start rattling and the action will become stiff and heavy. Changing the clutch on a Jimny seems to be not for the faint hearted. It’s a very physical task and it is not pleasant struggling with the gearbox under the car, it is a very tight fit in the transmission tunnel.

No special tools are required, but a good toolkit is needed. You will need extension bars for a socket set as some of the bolts are well hidden and difficult to access. A breaker bar is also needed as some bolts are very tight.

If this hasn’t put you off then its time to start work. It goes without saying that you should jet-wash the underside of the car if possible to remove as much of the muck before it drops on you! There are two ways of changing the clutch, one is to take the engine and gearbox out and the other is to drop the gearbox off. The Suzuki factory manual suggests the gearbox dropping method so that is the way I have gone.

The factory manual suggests it is not necessary to remove the transfer box, but I have removed it as you will need all the space you can get, I thoroughly recommend that you also remove the transfer box.

If you have the luxury of a bit of time then spray the visible bolts with WD40 a day or so before. In particular you should try and spray the bolts holding the exhaust front section and the bolts around the gearbox housing as these are difficult.

Starting inside the car it is necessary to remove both the gear lever and the transfer box lever.

To remove the gearbox lever you have to remove the centre console. This is held on by four screws on the side at the front and back.

File:Figure 1. Removing the Centre Console.png

Figure 1. Removing the Centre Console

The console then lifts out. Mine was more of a problem as I have a switch panel fitted so I then needed to remove the gearlever before the console would come completely away, but this has to be done at some point anyway. Pull the gaiter away to reveal the three bolt heads around the base of the gearlever, undo the bolts and carefully lift out the gearstick, note that there is a small spring and a cup that should not be lost!

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Figure 2. Removing the Gearlever

With the console removed you will then see a frame that holds in a second gaiter. Simply undo the bolts and lift the frame clear.

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Figure 3. Removing the lower Gaiter

If you are removing the Transfer Box then you need to remove the gaiter etc. around the Transfer Box Level. First locate the small screw at the rear of the transfer knob and remove it.

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Figure 4. Removing the Transfer Lever Knob

Unscrew the frame around the gaiter and pull the frame and gaiter clear.

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Figure 5. Removing the Transfer Level Gaiter

Move outside the car and disconnect the negative cable at battery. Now drain the oil from the gearbox and transfer box, if you are not doing any work on the transfer box then it is not strictly necessary to drain the oil providing you keep it upright to stop the oil coming out of the lever hole.

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Figure 6. Gearbox Drain Plugs

On my Jimny the drain plugs are square and therefore the square end of a 3/8 socket driver fits. Always undo the filler plug first because if the filler is stuck you do not want to drain the oil and not be able to fill it again. The gearbox filler is hidden up the side of the gearbox and lack of space is a problem

On the Transfer Box disconnect the 4WD switch wire at coupler and unclamp harness. Then disconnect the speed sensor coupler.

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Figure 7. Transfer Box Fillers and Connectors

Now remove the front section of the exhaust pipe. This is held in place by pairs of springs with bolts inside. Due to the heat and stress the front bolts were really, really difficult to move. So much so I think there is real possibility of shearing them on some cars. There is a pair at the front and a pair at the back.

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Figure 8. Exhaust Bolts

Do not lift the exhaust of the rubber hangers yet. There is a Lambda sensor connected to the top of the catalytic converter.

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Figure 9. Lambda Sensor on Converter

This needs to be disconnected. The Suzuki manual shows the sensor being unscrewed from the top of the converter. However, the sensor has been subject to red hot heat, water and mud, therefore mine was firmly rusted in. Instead I followed the wiring back up to behind the engine. Just behind the head on the passenger side is a set of connectors, unbolt the connector mounting bracket and prise the Lambda connector apart (this is very stiff as well!).

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Lambda Sensor Connector Behind Here

With the Lambda sensor disconnected you can pull the front exhaust section off the rubber mounts.

Now remove the propshafts. On each shaft paint some marks so they can be rebolted to the flanges in the correct position when you are re-building it. Paint all the flanges and also mark the sliding joint in the front propshaft. Remove the FRONT propshaft FIRST, followed by the Gearbox/Transfer box shaft SECOND. Where possible do the REAR propshaft LAST. Why! – because all the propshaft bolts are quite tight and therefore you need to hold the propshafts in place whilst you try to undo the bolts. As the front hubs are vacuum operated there is no easy way to lock the props if you have disconnected the rear first. With the rear prop still on the rear wheels keep the system locked. I found out this trick the hard way.