McLeod Clutch Install
 
This install was donated to Install University by Brian (Fireball on LS1.com).

Special thanks to Kris (99WhiteSS) for donating his car for this install and David (99SilverTA) for his help.

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Perform all these installs at your own risk.  Know how to use all of your shop equipment and take necessary safety precautions when performing ANY modifications and or maintenance items to your vehicle.  Seek the advice of a paid professional and do not substitute this publication for the advice of a paid professional.  This product is how we accomplished our installs and is not meant to be carved in stone.  We are not responsible for a mistake, misprint, or any other error found in this guide.  This guide is intended as a supplement and not to be your only source of information.


NOTE:  All effort has been made to make this as accurate as possible.  Some intermediate steps have have been accidentally omitted.  Please consult a Helms manual or a professional mechanic if a problem not covered in this install arises.

Tools Required:
7 mm socket
10 mm box-end wrench
11 mm socket
13 mm socket
15 mm socket
18 mm socket
swivel socket adapter
Flywheel holding tool
Torque Wrench
A lot of Extensions
Brake Cleaner
Dextron III ATF
White Lithium Grease
Clutch alignment tool

Pictured below is the car that is getting a clutch transplant.


 

After removing the console (2 7mm bolts, 5 10 mm bolts)
Remove the 7 bolts (7mm) holding the cover over the shifter.


 

After Removing the boot, remove the four bolts holding the shifter down.  These will
vary depending on your particular brand of shifter.  Make sure the car is in neutral prior
to removing the shifter   Also remember to disengage the E-brake prior to
working under the car.

 

Remove the 4 U-joint bolts with an 11mm socket.  Note:  2 of the bolts are on the other side, just rotate the drive shaft around to access them. Once the bolts and straps are removed, pry the drive shaft forward by placing a screwdriver or extension between the drive shaft and the rear yoke.


 

Pull the drive shaft out of the transmission and either remove from the car or put out of the way.  Also, this is a good time to check for a leaky pinion seal.  Notice how this car is leaking.


 

Remove the 2 15mm bolts that secures the y-pipe to the transmission.  They have already
been removed prior to this picture.


 

Support the transmission with a jack and remove cross member by removing the 4 15mm bolts and the one 18mm bolt.  Put the cross member out of the way.


 

Remove the upper torque arm mount with a 15 mm socket (shallow socket).


 

Remove the 2 15mm nuts above the bracket and remove the torque arm mount and bracket.


 

Remove the 2 13mm bolts holding the transmission mount and put the transmission mount out of
the way.


 

Remove the 8 15mm bolts holding the transmission to the bell housing.  NOTE:  The top to bolts are easiest to remove using a long extension from the rear of the transmission.  Once these bolts are removed the transmission can be slid back several inches.  NOTE:  Not all bolts are shown in this picture.

 

Remove the 2 10mm bolts with a 10 mm box-end wrench.  Then pull the slave forward
and around the front of the input shaft and let hang freely.  The transmission can now be
lowered and put out of the way.

 

This is a picture of the 288 slave hanging out of the way.


 

Remove the 8 13mm bolts holding the bell housing to the engine.  The
use of a swivel socket is a necessity to get to some of these bolts.


 

Remove the 6 13mm bolts holding the pressure plate to the flywheel.  Be careful, the clutch disk will fall down once all the bolts are loosened and removed.


 

Remove the 6 15mm bolts holding the flywheel to the crankshaft.  Remove the Flywheel
and set aside.


 

This is what the engine should look like prior to installation of new clutch.


 

Install new flywheel and torque the 6 bolts progressively to 74 ft-lbs in a criss-cross pattern.  Use a flywheel tool (or equivalent to hold the flywheel during torqing. (sorry no picture) Clean the surfaces the clutch will touch on the flywheel and pressure plate with brake cleaner. DO NOT touch these surfaces after cleaning.  DO NOT touch the clutch lining!  Oil/grease will reduce clutch life and hinder performance of the clutch!
Use a clutch alignment tool to hold the clutch in position and then install the new pressure plate tightening the bolts to 52 ft-lbs in a criss-cross pattern.



 
Reinstall the bell housing using a 13 mm wrench and a swivel socket when necessary.  (NOTE:  from this point forward, I don't have any of the torque specs.  Consult a Helms manual for these values.)


 

Place some white lithium grease on the input shaft of the transmission at
the 2 locations marked.


 

Remove the TO bearing from the slave cylinder by twisting the plastic retainer until it stops and placing a small screwdriver behind the plastic and prying up.  Place the appropriate shim (consult your McLeod instructions, we found that red works best for this particular car) over the shaft, then install the factory shim over the aluminum McLeod shim).  We elected to leave the spring out. Snap the TO bearing back on the slave cylinder (see arrow).


 
These are the shims, spring and TO bearing.  The 4 shiny shims are the McLeod shims. the black disk is the factory shim.  I marked the factory shim with an arrow below since there have been a lot of questions as to what it looked like posted on LS1.com


 

Hoist the transmission back into position then slide the TO bearing back on the input
shaft.  Reinstall the 2 10mm bolts (see removal pic above)  Install the transmission on the bell housing by shaking and height adjusting until the input shaft has slid into the clutch. DO NOT FORCE Until the shim choice is confirmed, install the transmission with 2-3 bolts (15mm).


 

Note:  Refer to relevant pictures above for these steps.
Install the transmission mount finger tight and install the cross member with 2 13 mm bolts for shim testing.  Also slide the drive shaft into the transmission and install the u-joint staps on the rear end with a 11mm socket.  Install the shifter.  Start the car in neutral.  Try putting it in first gear.  If it doesn't go into gear, install a thicker shim.  If it goes into gear, test the engagement point by holding the brake and slowly releasing the clutch pedal.  Ideally you want the clutch to start grabbing immediately off of the floor since once the clutch breaks in it will move towards the middle of pedal travel    If it engages too high, install a thinner shim.  Change shims (if necessary) by removing the shifter, cross member, transmission mount, the 2-3 transmission-to-bell housing bolts then pull back the transmission far enough to remove the slave cylinder.  Change shims as noted above.  Reinstall partially as described above And test again.  Once the engagement point is correct, Remove the shifter, drive shaft and cross member and install the remaining 15mm transmission-bell housing bolts.  Install the torque arm mounting bracket and y-pipe mount bracket reversing the steps noted above.  Pull the torque arm into the mounting bracket and secure with the single 15 mm bolt.  Install the cross member (4 15mm bolts and 1 18 mm nut).  Install the 2 y-pipe support bolts (15 mm, see above).  Make sure all of the electrical connections have been re-established. This is what everything should look like now.




 

Reinstall the drive shaft and double check all the connections and bolts.  Lower the car.
Any transmission fluid lost during install should be replaced through the shifter housing at this point in time.  Place a little white-lithium grease on the shifter ball (the part that engages with the transmission)  and reinstall the shifter, cover and console.

Here are some pictures showing the old clutch (notice the hotspots) on the old flywheel
(marked by arrows).  The second picture shows the old clutch and new clutch side-by-side.