CAT145

Installing a new clutch is an exercise in frustration, mainly because you have to manhandle a giant transmission underneath your car. The last thing you want to do is have to start all over because the clutch plate slipped out of alignment and won't engage with the input shaft. Save yourself some time and effort and use a clutch alignment tool to make sure this does not happen to you. The tools are very simple, made from injection moulded plastic or nylon, you need the tool that matches your transmission. This is a matter of knowing the spline count on the input shaft. If the splines don't line up, it won't work. Do not try to fudge it with a tool that does not fully engage the spines. If your clutch alignment tool does not fit the pilot bearing/bushing, it is the wrong one, you need to get the correct one. On the back of the engine, the flywheel bolts to the crank. Inside the crank is a recess for the bearing. The tip of the clutch alignment tool locks into the bearing, keeping your clutch in place. First, insert the tool into the clutch plate. Make sure the clutch is facing the correct direction. The tool should stick all the way through the spines on the plate. Then place the clutch on the flywheel, and engage the alignment tool into the pilot bushing or bearing in the centre of the crankshaft. Push the clutch tight to the flywheel. The tool goes into the clutch plate, and then the tool is installed into the bearing on the flywheel. It should not move around at all. With the clutch on the flywheel, install the pressure plate to the flywheel and start the bolts. Wiggle the alignment tool to make sure it is fully engaged and seated in the pilot bushing/bearing. Tighten the pressure plate bolts in a criss-cross pattern and then torque to spec. The clutch alignment tool stays in the clutch until you are ready to install the transmission. While the pressure place should hold the clutch from moving, don't take the risk of pulling the tool out too soon. Once the transmission is ready to install, pop the tool out, and slide the transmission into place. Every application has a different clutch tool. These three tools look similar, and may even mesh together, but they are all different.