I tried this thread and while it is very helpful, I had no pictures to go by, and to me, they mean a lot!
Thanks to @red97rum for his contribution here:
https://www.dsmtuners.com/threads/1g-automatic-kiggly-front-clutch-pack-replacement-upgrade.447777/
Then, I just decide to jump in and do it!
So after looking and looking for a write up on replacing the front clutches in my W4A33 auto trans in my 92 Eagle Talon TSI, I decided to just jump in and start the process, all while following the service manual and tagging a good buddy on questions I wasn’t sure about.
The pictures that follow show the trans in the car. I take the converter off and remove the 6, 12mm bolts that hold the front pump in. I noticed in the service manual there were pump removal tools and pump install dowels. I decided to try it without those tools since it was a Holiday and nobody was open to even by a few bolts. I bet I worked for an hour, gently prying, tugging wiggling all to no avail. Then I saw the two holes that the pump had in it for the pump removal tool to go into. I went to the random metric bolt can, pulled out a random bolt, got lucky it was the perfect thread and pitch which is a 12 x 1.25mm. I has to be longer than the original pump bolts and one size larger. I only had 1 of these random bolts so I hand screwed it into one pump hole until it bottomed out. I then took it out and moved it to the other hole with threads in it on the opposite side of the 1st hole and did the same. After maybe 5 minutes of alternating back and forth BY HAND, so as to keep from messing up the pump hold down bolt threads, the pump popped right out, so have a bolt or two ready for that and save yourself an hour of cussing and sweating!!!
Once the pump was out, the manual said to remove the front clutch and rear drum together as a unit. I was worried that some thrust washers or shims might move or fall, but I pulled the whole assembly out together and then removed the front basket from the rear drum (which has a band that wraps around it, so gently pull the whole thing straight out and let the band sit exactly where it was). After that, I sat the front clutch drum down and used a screwdriver to remove the snap ring that holds in the steels and clutches, making sure to lay it all down in the exact same order it came out in. Surprisingly, my original clutches were in very good shape but I needed more holding power so I was going with a Kiggly 5 pack unit. It was very straightforward as long as you have a common sense head on your shoulders and the service manual was handy too.
The clutch pack will have
I soaked my clutches in trans fluid overnight to let them absorb as much fluid as possible, and you NEVER want to put anything in as automatic trans together without it having fluid on it or transmission assembly lube, or Vaseline, which is what I used to hold thrust bearings in place and to put around the circumference of the front pump which got a new oring on the outside and a new gasket on the case where the pump mounts up at.
I reassembled my 5 pack clutch set in the same order as the 4 pack came out, only adding 1 extra clutch and steel for a total of 5, increasing holding power in 3rd gear by 25%, which is the whole reason I took apart a perfectly good auto trans in the first place (and did all of this while it was in the car, but the motor was out). I lined up all of the clutch pack disk teeth with a pick and put it all back together the same way it came out. It took a little wiggling to get the front pack to go all over the splines in the rear drum, but it wasn’t bad. Once all of the front clutch/rear drum assembly was back together just like it came out, I slid it back into the trans and twisted it ever so slightly and it seated back in like it was before I pulled it out. Make sure to Vaseline the thrust washers and anything else that may want to move around. I put it on the circumference of the pump, the hub of the pump that goes into the front clutch/rear drum assembly and a bit to hold the new pump gasket onto the pump itself. I put a new oring on the pump before I lubed it with Vaseline then used a phillips screwdriver to align the pump to go straight back in with the bolt holes lining up. I was worried that if it wasn’t exactly on the money that I would have to pull the pump again and try to re-stab it. That isn’t the case. I tapped my pump in gently with a dead blow hammer until the threads for the pump bolts would catch, making sure not to pinch the outside oring. It wasn’t perfect, but the screwdriver allowed me to rotate the pump a little bit left or right since I had coated it with Vaseline. Don’t worry, Vaseline will dissolve with the fluid and not plug up anything!
Once aligned, I put all 6 bolts in place and alternated tightening them down, little by little, sucking the pump into is place. Torque those six bolts to 16 ft/lbs and check them 3 or 4 times to be happy with yourself.
Next, you have to index the converter. It will make 3 distinct “thunks” as it goes into place correctly. I took a scribe before I removed the converter and scribed the inside of the trans bellhousing so I could know when it was seated completely. When indexed properly, it should be just less than ½ inch from the trans mounting face to the torque converter bolt pad. Mine gave me a little trouble but after cussing for about 15 minutes, it all “clunked” into place exactly as it was before I tore it apart.
Now follow along with the pictures I took, sorry no video, my videographer was working so I had to do this all myself. I hope it helps others and eases their minds on how hard it is to do…..it isn’t that hard, you can do it!
Marty
Here are as many pictures as I can post, but I took a total of 44.
Go to page 2 HERE to follow the pictures along until the end........
https://www.dsmtuners.com/threads/w4a33-front-clutch-replacement-page-2.523220/
Thanks to @red97rum for his contribution here:
https://www.dsmtuners.com/threads/1g-automatic-kiggly-front-clutch-pack-replacement-upgrade.447777/
Then, I just decide to jump in and do it!
So after looking and looking for a write up on replacing the front clutches in my W4A33 auto trans in my 92 Eagle Talon TSI, I decided to just jump in and start the process, all while following the service manual and tagging a good buddy on questions I wasn’t sure about.
The pictures that follow show the trans in the car. I take the converter off and remove the 6, 12mm bolts that hold the front pump in. I noticed in the service manual there were pump removal tools and pump install dowels. I decided to try it without those tools since it was a Holiday and nobody was open to even by a few bolts. I bet I worked for an hour, gently prying, tugging wiggling all to no avail. Then I saw the two holes that the pump had in it for the pump removal tool to go into. I went to the random metric bolt can, pulled out a random bolt, got lucky it was the perfect thread and pitch which is a 12 x 1.25mm. I has to be longer than the original pump bolts and one size larger. I only had 1 of these random bolts so I hand screwed it into one pump hole until it bottomed out. I then took it out and moved it to the other hole with threads in it on the opposite side of the 1st hole and did the same. After maybe 5 minutes of alternating back and forth BY HAND, so as to keep from messing up the pump hold down bolt threads, the pump popped right out, so have a bolt or two ready for that and save yourself an hour of cussing and sweating!!!
Once the pump was out, the manual said to remove the front clutch and rear drum together as a unit. I was worried that some thrust washers or shims might move or fall, but I pulled the whole assembly out together and then removed the front basket from the rear drum (which has a band that wraps around it, so gently pull the whole thing straight out and let the band sit exactly where it was). After that, I sat the front clutch drum down and used a screwdriver to remove the snap ring that holds in the steels and clutches, making sure to lay it all down in the exact same order it came out in. Surprisingly, my original clutches were in very good shape but I needed more holding power so I was going with a Kiggly 5 pack unit. It was very straightforward as long as you have a common sense head on your shoulders and the service manual was handy too.
The clutch pack will have
- Snap ring holding the clutches and steels
- A thicker steel as the first steel
- The next thing out is the 1st clutch disk
- Next is a thinner steel, 2nd clutch disk, another thin steel, 3rd clutch disk, 1 more thinner steel, 4th clutch disk and finally a thicker steel as the back steel, like the front one.
I soaked my clutches in trans fluid overnight to let them absorb as much fluid as possible, and you NEVER want to put anything in as automatic trans together without it having fluid on it or transmission assembly lube, or Vaseline, which is what I used to hold thrust bearings in place and to put around the circumference of the front pump which got a new oring on the outside and a new gasket on the case where the pump mounts up at.
I reassembled my 5 pack clutch set in the same order as the 4 pack came out, only adding 1 extra clutch and steel for a total of 5, increasing holding power in 3rd gear by 25%, which is the whole reason I took apart a perfectly good auto trans in the first place (and did all of this while it was in the car, but the motor was out). I lined up all of the clutch pack disk teeth with a pick and put it all back together the same way it came out. It took a little wiggling to get the front pack to go all over the splines in the rear drum, but it wasn’t bad. Once all of the front clutch/rear drum assembly was back together just like it came out, I slid it back into the trans and twisted it ever so slightly and it seated back in like it was before I pulled it out. Make sure to Vaseline the thrust washers and anything else that may want to move around. I put it on the circumference of the pump, the hub of the pump that goes into the front clutch/rear drum assembly and a bit to hold the new pump gasket onto the pump itself. I put a new oring on the pump before I lubed it with Vaseline then used a phillips screwdriver to align the pump to go straight back in with the bolt holes lining up. I was worried that if it wasn’t exactly on the money that I would have to pull the pump again and try to re-stab it. That isn’t the case. I tapped my pump in gently with a dead blow hammer until the threads for the pump bolts would catch, making sure not to pinch the outside oring. It wasn’t perfect, but the screwdriver allowed me to rotate the pump a little bit left or right since I had coated it with Vaseline. Don’t worry, Vaseline will dissolve with the fluid and not plug up anything!
Once aligned, I put all 6 bolts in place and alternated tightening them down, little by little, sucking the pump into is place. Torque those six bolts to 16 ft/lbs and check them 3 or 4 times to be happy with yourself.
Next, you have to index the converter. It will make 3 distinct “thunks” as it goes into place correctly. I took a scribe before I removed the converter and scribed the inside of the trans bellhousing so I could know when it was seated completely. When indexed properly, it should be just less than ½ inch from the trans mounting face to the torque converter bolt pad. Mine gave me a little trouble but after cussing for about 15 minutes, it all “clunked” into place exactly as it was before I tore it apart.
Now follow along with the pictures I took, sorry no video, my videographer was working so I had to do this all myself. I hope it helps others and eases their minds on how hard it is to do…..it isn’t that hard, you can do it!
Marty
Here are as many pictures as I can post, but I took a total of 44.
Go to page 2 HERE to follow the pictures along until the end........
https://www.dsmtuners.com/threads/w4a33-front-clutch-replacement-page-2.523220/
You must be logged in to view this image or video.
You must be logged in to view this image or video.
You must be logged in to view this image or video.
You must be logged in to view this image or video.
You must be logged in to view this image or video.
You must be logged in to view this image or video.
You must be logged in to view this image or video.
You must be logged in to view this image or video.
You must be logged in to view this image or video.
You must be logged in to view this image or video.
You must be logged in to view this image or video.
You must be logged in to view this image or video.
You must be logged in to view this image or video.
You must be logged in to view this image or video.
You must be logged in to view this image or video.
You must be logged in to view this image or video.
You must be logged in to view this image or video.
You must be logged in to view this image or video.
You must be logged in to view this image or video.
You must be logged in to view this image or video.
You must be logged in to view this image or video.
You must be logged in to view this image or video.
You must be logged in to view this image or video.
You must be logged in to view this image or video.
You must be logged in to view this image or video.
Last edited:
