I've noticed a sort of spinning/clanking sound whenever i push the clutch in while coasting while in gear, such as slowing down for a stop sign with just putting in the clutch and leaving it in 2nd. Quiets down after a few seconds or if I put it in neutral and let the clutch out. I'm thinking its the throwout bearing, does that sound about right?

 

Yep. TOB

 

Ok after a long drive and the car gets hot this is what happens. I'll be cruising around fine then I start slowing down for say a stop sign. Put the car in neutral and come to a stop. When I go to put it in first gear, there is alot of effort required and it sounds like squirrels are being chewed up inside my drivetrain. I'm thinking this might be the clutch as well, going off how much effort is needed to get the car into gear. After it gets going, all is well and shifting between gears while moving is not hindered. Should I just replace the whole shebang? (tob, clutch, pressure plate, ect)


Also, quite separately, my low coolant light comes on every now and then, but when I pop the hood and look in the tank, its up to the FULL line where it should be. Should it be at the line when cold or when hot?

 

Ok I'm ordering my clutch from Mazdatrix. Anything I'm forgetting?

Clutch Align Tool
Clutch Pilot Seal
Clutch Pilot Bearing
Centerforce Clutch Assembly (pressure plate and disk)
Clutch Throwout Bearing.

Is that everything? This is my first time ordering clutch parts (done two clutches though)

 

Yep, you're on track.

 

Is there a writeup somewhere for doing the job? I couldn't find anything in the FAQ's.

 

Procedure is in the FSM. Once you've done a couple, the task is straight forward. Be careful when tightening the slave bolts, they will strip out easily. Use lots of PB Blaster on the heat shield bolts and be prepared to drill out and retap a few of them. Use a 14mm open end wrench to remove the tranny fill plug, large heavy crescent wrench or the correct size box wrench on the drain plug, 1/4" drive with extensions to bring the ratchet above the hood line for the clutch slave bolts. There may be a writeup in the archives.

Out of curiosity, why the Centerforce. Even with an sp, the stock disc and an upgraded PP will suffice, unless you're going to the strip and doing a lot of launches/burnouts.

 

It's all pretty standard once you get started. these are the potential problem points IIRC:

-separating bell housing from motor
-removing pilot bearing
-guiding input shaft into pilot bearing

There's a bunch of threads on this project and you can get at a PDF of the FSM in the archive. One of the guys has the link in his sig, too.

Some guys claim to have done it in about 3 hrs.

If you have problems report back here and The Aces will converge on that problem like white corpuscles .

IIRC you can replace the input shaft bearing pretty easily on this car and it might be a good idea. Maybe guys with more current experience can chime in on this.

 

The Aces will converge on that problem like white corpuscles .

Biffle, that's one of the best lines I've heard in some time, thanks for the chuckle.

Link to FSMs is in my sig line.
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It was only a little more than standard parts. Plus I plan on some upgrades in the future.

 

That works, always plan ahead when doing step by step upgrades.

 

Alright well when I got in the car to go to school this morning, the clutch was packed up completely. Good thing I already ordered the parts. Good thing I have an integra too.