WrxBuild.com Service & Build Log

SEC 04 · Procedure

WRX 5MT Clutch Replacement Without Drama

Dropping the 5-speed out of a GD WRX for a clutch, flywheel resurface, and the throwout/pilot bearings everyone forgets.

Procedure

  1. Support the car high and level on four stands. Disconnect the battery, then remove the intercooler, TGV/intake clutter over the bellhousing, starter, and upper bellhousing bolts from the engine bay — they are far easier from the top.
  2. Underneath: drain the gearbox, remove the exhaust up-pipe-back, driveshaft, front axles from the hubs, shifter linkage, and the transmission crossmember with the box supported on a trans jack.
  3. Separate the box and walk it back off the dowels. A 5MT is light enough for two people but never balance it on the jack alone while wrestling — pin it with a strap.
  4. Remove the pressure plate and clutch, then the flywheel (12-point bolts). Resurface or replace the flywheel every clutch job; a glazed surface will make any new clutch judder.
  5. Replace the pilot bearing in the crank and the throwout bearing on the fork, and lightly grease the fork pivot and input shaft splines — a smear, not a handful.
  6. Install the flywheel with threadlocker to spec, then the new clutch aligned with the tool, torquing the pressure plate in a star pattern in stages.
  7. Refit the box, torque the bellhousing in sequence, reassemble everything in reverse, and refill with GL-5 75W-90 to the fill plug.
  8. Bed the clutch gently for the first 300 miles: normal starts, no launches, no wide-open pulls in high gears.

Work at your own risk. Torque values and procedures vary by vehicle — always confirm against the factory service manual for your exact model.

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