I did in fact have the K2 clutch stacked improperly. I found that out when I assembled it with the good parts and air tested the clutch. The clutch was not grabbing even though it was being activated with shop air. One of the steel plates is different than the others, and it has a machined ridge around the outer diameter. This is for the return spring holder to fit in. If this plate is installed upside down or in the wrong location, the top friction disc will not get applied correctly and the remaining clutch discs will also not get applied fully. I reassembled the transmission again, and corrected an assembly mistake in the valve body (a small valve that fits in vertically was upside down). I still have a valve body problem (harsh D engagement and problems with second gear), but no burnt fluid this time. If I can find a valve body or at least some documentation on it I should be able to finally finish this once and for all.

I have no specs on clutch pack clearance (no specs or manuals at all, unfortunately), but I used the old parts and made sure that there was reasonable clearance. As far as cleaning, that was done with a heated solvent cleaner and bulk brake cleaner. I know better than to use shop rags on transmission parts (that's always what I was told in training). I do transmission repair for a living (but I have proper service information available for those units). I knew I was going into this one blind and expected some problems. I learned a lot about these units by doing this one, and probably would be able to do the next one without problems.

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Erich Loepke
2010 Ford Focus
Currently Benz-less