My brother owns a 1986 Ford Escort 1.9L carburated that the clutch went out on, and I would like to make this the first major auto repair.

Now, my father (a man who trusts only RWD vehicles and has limited knowlege of Fwd tech) tells me that installing the clutch would require pulling the engine, and my cousin (who is more into Fwd vehicles) says it may be possible to do by jacking the car up and dropping the transmission. I'm wondering if someone could clarify this discrepency for me and prehaps let me know if I should just buy a clutch only or a kit with new bushings and such? Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Luke Preston, November 2005

lofty is right if this is your first time changing a clutch it might be best to have someone who knows talk you threw it

james crossley, February 2007

The clutch can certainly be changed by removing the gearbox from beneath the car. It will entail draining the bearbox, removing the lefthand side suspension and driveshaft and lowering the engine slightly. To enable this you need to take the weight of the engine using some form of overhead support, and also a large trolley jack is needed to lower the gearbox and remove it fom the side of the car. This box is quite heavy and can be quite difficult to remove squarely without it tipping and damaging the radiator. To be honest, for the price of a new clutch a firm that deals in specialist 'fast fit' will be able to supply and fit a new unit in about an hour as they have all the necesaary tools and jigs to carry out the job.

Lofty, November 2005