Hmm... I see that the Haynes manual says that halfshafts should not be reused. I want to reuse them. Is there a reason not to?

ask yourself this, would you really toss a set of good CV axles because some jabroni named haynes said it was a good idea?

unless the process of dropping the gearbox requires you to destroy the halfshafts, I see absolutely no reason you would get new ones. Actually sounds like a misprint to me. maybe its referring to an axle seal instead

Hehe. It says "driveaxle hub nut". Whoops :o.

Yeah, Toyota seems to be in that boat as well. I think I'd just buy new bolts -- we'll be saving enough money with me doing the labor as it is, so no point in cheaping out on crucial fasteners... if you google it, you can find peoples' horror stories about the old bolts breaking.

EDIT: ...and those little stinkers are special-order parts, $11 apiece -- I'll need eight. :puke:. Fingers crossed that FW is good.

The Haynes manual says I should go jump off a cliff. Should I?

For what it's worth I plan on attaching my 40# flywheel with either:

->Metric grade 12.9 fasteners, drilled for safety wire, and loctite

->Those fancy flanged bolts (there are multiple brands) Imports Locking header Bolt Kits | Locking Bolts

12.9 metric bolts can be drilled with a cheap jig and drill press, or hire a local engineering student to bang them out ton the mill.

Seriously, if you just walk into a local school's machine shop during open hours and say "I need someone to machine X I'll pay cash" you will have them lining up. I've turned rotors at school.

one more note: some bolts are listed as single-use because they were installed with loctite. If that's the case, just reloctite them. Now if they're stretch or deform bolts, then you replace em'

They are stretch bolts, but I just found a recommended aftermarket brand online for $33. :cool:

Ha! Well, the clutch has become much less talkative now. I guess it heard it was going to get kicked out... :cool:. I guess I'll just leave it alone for now in the hopes that it will last long enough for my sister to learn on it next fall.

Today, all four of us were in the Corolla, with me driving, climbing a hill. I was accelerating uphill in third gear, and at 25 MPH, the tach ran away from the speedometer, i.e., the clutch slipped. :(

We were in Maine at that point, and made it all the way back home just fine, but I'm wondering how much life the clutch has in it at this point. I drove to the auto parts store in it afterward, and had no issues whatsoever. I shift and rev-match very smoothly, release the clutch very quickly while keeping the revs at idle when starting from a standing stop, and always use the hand brake at a hill.

I should add... we are 400 miles away from 160,000, so we've put almost 10,000 miles on the clutch since it first started chattering. I guess I came up on the right side of my estimate of +/-5000 miles before the clutch blew :).

That was a 2nd gear hill.

Nahh. I've taken hills like that in third for the past 30,000 miles with no problems.

And besides, wouldn't the car be making more power in second than in third and so be more likely to slip the clutch?

When a clutch begins to slip it will always slip in the highest gear first as that is the place where the clutch is stressed the most.

Oh my... the Corolla clutch has something to tell me... yes, clutch chatter...
 

Should be clarified -- torque is where it is stressed not necessarily low gearing. More where it sees low rpm load, if an engine is torquey down low then letting it out lower will induce more stress and therefor chatter on a weak clutch. Diesels are notorious for this, but ra the same symptoms on gas engines.


Sent from an abacus

A late note and not particularly for the corolla:
"Clutch chatter", first thing is to check all of the mountings for the engine, trans, bell housing and exhaust.

Acid tests for clutch: Short shift into third, rev engine, drop clutch. (even better, skip third, rolling in second, drop the clutch in fourth) Weak clutch will run away. Same idea: stopped somewhere safe, set e-brake, hold brake pedal, select high gear, rev engine, let out clutch. Weak clutch will slip before killing engine or fail to kill engine.

Many clutches outlast the car. If you have to replace one just go ahead and do the whole job, resurfacing included. Also research the particular vehicle to see what else to do with the transmission out. Some replacements are impossible or nearly so with the trans in. Look hard at the CV boots and steering boots for example. Trans and engine seals, etc. Cleaning and regreasing CVs is often a one time job also.

You also might notice that your fuel economy is not what it used to be. Heat buildup in the bell housing might be increasing. Letting a bad clutch go is a really ugly thing to do to a car. For the price of a few tanks of fuel, fix it.

Pressure wash under the car before you start. Wear gloves.