Clutch Assembly: Removal
- Remove battery and tray. Mark and disconnect harness connectors as necessary. Remove air cleaner hose, resonance chamber and air cleaner assembly. Raise and support vehicle.
- Remove lower engine splash and side shields. Remove front wheels. Remove clutch release cylinder with hydraulic line attached and set aside. Disconnect speedometer cable from transaxle. Remove ground wire from transaxle.
- Remove surge tank bracket. Remove starter. Disconnect wiring connector for neutral switch and back-up light switch. Disconnect body electrical ground connector. Remove top transaxle-to-engine bolts.
- Install Engine Support Bar (49-G017-5AO
) to support engine during transaxle removal. See Fig 1
. Drain transaxle fluid. Remove front stabilizer bar.
- Remove castle nut and disconnect tie rod ends. Remove lower ball joint-to-spindle pinch bolt. Pry downward on lower control arm and separate lower ball joint from spindle.
Courtesy of MAZDA MOTORS CORP.
- Remove exhaust downpipe from manifold. Remove axle shafts. See FWD AXLE SHAFTS article in the DRIVE AXLES Section. Remove crossmember retaining bolts and crossmember. Remove shift control rod-to-transaxle bolt and nut, and slide control rod aside.
- Remove shift extension bar mounting bracket bolt, and slide extension bar from bracket. Lower transaxle assembly using engine support bar. Position transmission jack under transaxle.
- Disconnect engine mount, located beside exhaust pipe, from clutch housing. Remove remaining clutch housing-to-engine bolts, and pull transaxle away from engine. Install clutch aligner to hold clutch assembly during removal.
- If reusing pressure plate, mark pressure plate-to-flywheel position for installation reference. Remove pressure plate retaining bolts evenly in a crisscross pattern. See Fig 2
.
Courtesy of MAZDA MOTORS CORP.