It is not an engine-out or clam-off job. Only dealers do it that way, because the Vauxhall manual says to remove the engine. Specialists and owners drop the gearbox after taking one side of the rear suspension out of the way. The clam can stay on, although one owner says it is much easier with the clam off. For the full Turbo job with torques and part numbers see F23 gearbox removal and clutch replacement. For which clutch to buy, see Choosing a clutch.
Three ways of getting the gearbox out
- Unbolt the wishbones (least disturbance). Leave the clam and exhaust in place. Undo the 2 bolts at the bottom of each wishbone where they meet the chassis. You then pull the wishbones back, which frees the driveshafts and gives the room to drop the gearbox. You don't take the driveshafts out of the hubs, just out of the gearbox, and you don't disturb ball joints or shims. The dampers come off and the gear cable is slackened, which is about five minutes each. Support the engine with a hoist or a trolley jack. One owner has removed the gearbox three times this way.
- Remove most of the offside suspension. Take off the downpipe section of the exhaust (disconnecting at the cat flange), remove both driveshafts and most of the left-hand suspension, support the engine with a big trolley jack and the gearbox with a smaller one, and lower the box. Another owner says to loosen the offside engine mount nut, remove the three gearbox mounts, and lower the engine so it pivots downward until the gearbox can pass the subframe.
- Clam off, full exhaust off. Remove the clam and the complete exhaust, take off the driveshafts and most of the left-hand suspension, use an engine hoist to hold the engine, and drop the gearbox. This gives the most room.
Wheel alignment. If you only separate the suspension at the ball joints, the geometry should be fine. Disturbing any adjustable connection will upset it, so you would then need a geometry check. See Wheel alignment. Method 1 avoids this.
Job list
One owner's outline, with the extras that another added:
- Drain the gearbox oil while the car is flat on the ground.
- Jack the rear of the car up and put it on axle stands. Remove both undertrays and both rear wheels.
- Unbolt the lower wishbones from the chassis. Remove the coilovers/dampers.
- Unbolt the driveshafts from the gearbox.
- Undo the inboard ends of the track rod arms.
- Remove the nearside engine mount. The front and rear engine mounts are bolted through the gearbox bell housing, so unbolt those too.
- Remove the exhaust downpipe.
- Disconnect the gear linkage, the clutch line, and the reverse light switch plug.
- Support the engine with a jack, and the gearbox with a second jack.
- Unbolt the gearbox from the engine and lower it out of the engine bay.
- Lock the flywheel. Unbolt the 6 bolts of the clutch cover and remove the clutch.
- Unbolt the flywheel (if you are replacing it).
- Fit the new parts: the flywheel with oil-resistant thread lock on its bolts (see the F23 guide for the bolt details), then the clutch plate centred with an alignment tool, then the cover.
- Fit a new slave cylinder and put everything back together.
- Refill the gearbox oil and bleed the clutch (see Clutch master cylinder, slave cylinder and bleeding).
Replace the slave cylinder every time
Three owners make the same point. A slave cylinder that is old tends to fail once it is fully released, after the new clutch is in. One owner had to take the gearbox out twice because of this, and another had the same annoyance. A new one costs around £75 to £120 (2013 to 2017 figures). One owner found the "quality" OEM slave cylinder poor, and fitted two random non-OEM ones that were fine. Another advised buying a decent Sachs or forum-recommended one rather than the cheapest.
NA or Turbo?
- The procedure is essentially the same. Owners treat the NA and Turbo jobs alike, apart from the gearbox and power-related differences covered in the F23 guide.
- A standard NA clutch rarely needs replacing. See Choosing a clutch.
Time and cost
- One owner says a day on his own, after a full weekend the first time. The Turbo guide gives about 12 hours the first time.
- One owner joked he could do it in an evening, and another said it is "simple, but time-consuming". Treat the evening claim cautiously.
- Garage prices in 2007 to 2015 were about £400 to £700 for labour. See Choosing a clutch for the details.