new clutch

[Teadrinker]

Hey guys, just a quick introduction. I'm an 18 year old who has inherited a red rapier 1.8 from his mum. I absolutely adore this pug as it is such a long shot from the typical boy racer cars my friends have, whilst being faster and more practical.

Now to the car. I just drove to the alps and back with the boot full and another guy in the car (couldn't do that in a corsa, mr barry). It was a heavy load, especially up the mountains themselves, and the clutch which has always been a bit iffy is now on its last legs. I dont dare drive it any further.

I'm pretty good with my hands, and have a trainee mechanic friend, who is completely clued up and I trust his skills as he recently took apart his audi, and put it all together again. He said he might be happy to help me replace the clutch, but I would like to know from you guys how much of a job it is? Is it worth replacing ourselves or is it such a tricky job that I would be better off selling the whole thing or actually bringing it to a garage? Has anyone done it themselves and what do they think?

[ally406]

Hi mate, should be relatively easy as far as clutches go. It's a fairly small engine in a big car, so there's loads of space. I've done the clutch on my 405, but your car has the same gearbox and much the same arrangement. I've looked under the hood of my mum's rapier, and it looks much easier to work on than the 405, you could almost climb in the engine bay and get the bonnet closed!

Haynes is actually not bad at stepping you through it. One challenge will be the driver side driveshaft, the middle bearing is a right pain, and the usual problems splitting old balljoints.

Remember to refill the box with the correct Peugeot grade oil, the BE3 doesn't like anything else. Change the plastic bushes on the top and bottom of the clutch fork and refit with a light smear of grease. It will make the clutch much lighter and smoother. Bushes are available from a dealership for pennies. Change the driveshaft oil seals for genuine OE seals, nothing worse than putting it all back together and having an oil leak from the gearbox

Get a decent clutch kit, I would recommend Motaquip as they are a Peugeot company and make excellent quality parts. I've seen them on ebay for the 1.8 for very low prices.

[Teadrinker]

Oh thanks mate thats been a great help. As for the replacement parts not including the clutch kit, where do I go for them? You say a dealership? Should I go there for the oil, seals ect or just the bushes?

[ally406]

I would just get the seals and bushes from the dealer, shouldn't be much.

For the gearbox oil this looks ok:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Total-Transmi ... 336712ea7b

From memory you need 1.7L, so 2 bottles.

For a clutch kit, this looks like a good deal:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/citroen-peuge ... 3f0be6b475

...but do check yourself that it's correct for your car.

Another thought, while you have the driveshafts out, check the condition of the CV boots very carefully for any sign of deterioration. If there is any doubt, take the opportunity to replace them as it's not otherwise possible with the shafts on the car. It might be worth just replacing them as matter of course, as it's very easy if you have the shaft out on the bench, and will only cost a few quid in parts.


Oh yeah, here's me learning how to rebuild a gearbox and change a clutch! Might be of help to you:

http://www.frenchcarforum.co.uk/forum/v ... ch+gearbox

[Teadrinker]

Ha, all this was for nothing. The clutch actually went as I went to get petrol so I could actually make it to the place we were going to fix it. To be fair, there are worse places to break down than a service station...whilst waiting for the AA I got myself a pack of smarties and a coke ;)

Anyway, I was in a rush so I just had it bought to a garage, and it cost 300 pounds to do, including a new clutch kit and a couple of other things I can't remember. I would have had it taken to my mates house but I needed the car the next day so I just paid up. Could have been worse...

Either way, the new clutch feels fantastic. It occured to me that it now has brand new brakes, clutch, suspension, tyres..basically a brand new car (kinda)!

Thanks for the help though, I'l no doubt be asking for more help when time to change the cambelt comes around.