Clutch Swap

[ROYMAN]

So I am finishing up with my winter projects and it is time to swap my clutch out, stock for stock. To be honest, I can't do it myself. How much can I expect to pay/how many hours of labor are going to go into this, pending the slave cylinder is OK?

 

[TexasTorred]

Just had mine done. Gen III. Approx. $500 in parts, $400 in labor (around 3.5-4hrs) = around $900-$950 out the door. My friend is a mechanic, owns his own shop ---and I think I did a great job. Dealership quoted me $1710! Viper Tax all the way!

Also, I ordered my own parts. OEM clutch kit & Slave Cylinder, throwout bearing, a few other small pieces, etc., etc. Did not replace flywheel.....just had it resurfaced......PM me if you want to know where I got my parts....I don't want to offend any vendors here.......But, I always shop around for the best deal. I'm not a mechanic, but since you're dropping the transmission, you might as well do the slave cylinder as well......

Best of luck to you.......

I know you'll ask......12,500 miles on the car. (I'm the 2nd owner and baby this car)---so I bought it with 3900 miles 2 years ago....Must have been a rough 3900 miles....some pretty good scorch/burn marks on the flywheel.....My mechanic said he's never seen a Viper 'without' burn/scorch marks on the flywheel Oh, well. Runs like a new car now........

 

[ROYMAN]

already ordered the parts save the slave cylinder.... do I really need to do this?

 

[TexasTorred]

already ordered the parts save the slave cylinder.... do I really need to do this?

I'm hoping someone much more knowledgeable than me jumps in. I know my mechanic said while the tranny was out, practical to change it out. It turns out mine had a minor leak, so glad I did (sorry, the mechanic) - changed it out.....

Is it absolutely necessary--no. Just may save you some $$$ labor down the road. I figured my Gen III was/is 10 years old--I think it was around $220 for the slave cyl.--so I had it replaced.....

 

[bluesrt]

yes install a new slave cylinder- period!

 

[Timnineside]

If aint broke don't fix it. Of course if you get in there and it's leaking you will wish you had the parts on hand.

-Tim

 

[bluesrt]

dont follow that rule on a slave, you will be sorry

 

[ROYMAN]

Alright I'm going to go for it. I found a cheap one... can anyone confirm quality via PM if I provide link?

 

[bluesrt]

shoot...............

 

[gb66gth]

Hey TexasTorred, who do you use as a mechanic. I'm always looking for people who do good work and don't charge an arm and a leg, especially no ViperTax.
PM me if you don't want to post it.
Thanks!

 

[Steve M]

When you see how much work has to be done to get to the slave cylinder, you'll understand why everyone says to just replace it while you're in there. I haven't done a clutch swap on my Viper, but I've done more than a few on my previous car, and always replaced the slave regardless of mileage when I installed a new clutch.

 

[TexasTorred]

Hey TexasTorred, who do you use as a mechanic. I'm always looking for people who do good work and don't charge an arm and a leg, especially no ViperTax.
PM me if you don't want to post it.
Thanks!

PM'd you......

 

[Nine Ball]

I swap my own clutches out. Viper is probably one of the easiest RWD cars I've worked on. All of the trans and bellhousing bolts are easy to get to, if you have an 18" extension for your ratchet. I'd ballpark most shops should be able to do the job in 4 hours.

I had my trans/clutch removed from my car in just over an hour, by myself (I have a lift). Here are the basic high-level steps involved.

1. Remove shifter knob/handle
2. Remove center console top surface
3. Remove rubber boot
4. Remove shifter from trans
5. Vehicle on lift
6. Remove driveshaft at rear
7. Unplug main transmission wiring harness (all three plugs go into one main plug)
8. Remove trans support crossmember
9. Unbolt trans from bellhousing
10. Unbolt bellhousing from engine
11. remove clutch pressure plate and disk
12. Remove flywheel from engine (if replacing or resurfacing)

Also a good time to check trans fluid level.

I would recommend a slave change past 10K miles, or a lot of hard track miles.

 

[firefighter196]

with normal use how long will the clutch last

 

[Steve M]

with normal use how long will the clutch last

You can't really define normal use...depends on how much you ride the clutch when leaving stoplights, how much WOT driving/hard shifting you do, etc. It should last a very long time (50,000+ miles) under what I'd consider normal use, which to me would be driving it like my daily driver. But I don't drive my Viper like I drive my daily driver, because that ain't fun.

 

[99 R/T 10]

with normal use how long will the clutch last

I have had to swap out most of my clutches at 35K-40K miles. On my roe car(beat the hell out of it. Probably 8-10K). Some here on the board have over 100K miles on the stock clutch. Just depends on your driving style.

 

[Nine Ball]

with normal use how long will the clutch last

Put the car in 5th or 6th at around 70 mph while on the highway and then floor it. If it doesn't slip, the clutch is still good. Clutch wear depends on driving style, as mentioned.

 

[hiss highness]

sourced out new fidenza flywheel, slave and clutch over winter months and just had them installed, screw the "floor it" and if it does not slip its good, mine was holding good but almost worn down to rivets, the flywheel was a no brainer as they were already in their so a few bolts in and out and presto change o, the slave is so easy to replace at the time why not replace it, mine was still working but looked like death, just make sure they have the proper fine spline tool in the kit, mine came with a corse on and confused the mechanic, if you wanna save a few bucks then get ur old flywheel machined, took em 4.5 hr total and dumped 3.9 litres of royal purple in at the same time(13 a litre on sale), easy time to drop in a shorty shifter as well or check u joints and other goodies while on the rack