Engine revs but slipping in all gears

[livesanuk]

My 78 124 sport spider1800 slips in all the gears. Uphill in higher gears is nearly impossible. I've had one person say transmission and another says clutch. I know nearly nothing about this car and it's the first one I've ever worked on myself. (I'm in high school still) My question is, how difficult and expensive a job is it to replace the clutch myself.? (if that's what it needs.) I'm not completely inept (I helped built 3 aircraft) but have no clue about this car. (a local shop quoted me almost $2000 to replace the clutch. I could never afford that!) Any help/advice?

Thanks.
Chris

[Daniel]

Hi Chris

I have changed clutchs and tranny from under the car it's very simple if the engine and trans was out but with
all the parts in the way like intake manifold steering ect ect much more time is involved . If you have access
the right stuff it could be easy . The Starter clutch cable speedo cable drive shaft all need to be disconnected
then you can start taking bolts off 4 for the bellhousing a rear mount with 4 bolts . You might as well replace
the rubber donut while your at it the cost is 30 bucks and will last you about 8 years or more .


all the parts should run you about 200 dollars so if you can do the labor thats a big savings over the 2k i think that price
is a bit high but i don't price around for work like that ill do it myself . Do you own a Haynes Repair Manuel ?
They are great !


Daniel

[pope]

Hey Chris,
This is an entirely normal first job to do on a Spider to get your feet wet. Get yourself a good repair manual for your spider.
Get yourself a pair of those wheel ramps that you drive the front wheels up. Make sure you block the back wheels once in place. That will give you about 18" of clearance to work under the car, which is plenty of room. Your gonna need a friend to help you take out the trans and put it back in. I can do it by myself, but thats because of the Giant "S" on my chest. Change the clutch, clutch plate and the throwout bearing. You will also need a plastic clutch alignment tool (cheap but very important).
Good Luck and keep us posted with you progress and questions.

When I get home on Wednesday night, I'll look and see if I have a great, ever so slightly used clutch plate and bearing to give to you. That way you only have to get the clutch.

[So Cal Mark]

It's not an entirely easy job, but 2K is way overpriced. If the clutch is slipping that badly the flywheel is going to have to be resurfaced too. Having the right tools is really important to accomplish this task. A long set of extensions, wobble or universal sockets, metric wrenchs and an impact wrench are critical to this job

[bradartigue]

My 78 124 sport spider1800 slips in all the gears. Uphill in higher gears is nearly impossible. I've had one person say transmission and another says clutch. I know nearly nothing about this car and it's the first one I've ever worked on myself. (I'm in high school still) My question is, how difficult and expensive a job is it to replace the clutch myself.? (if that's what it needs.) I'm not completely inept (I helped built 3 aircraft) but have no clue about this car. (a local shop quoted me almost $2000 to replace the clutch. I could never afford that!) Any help/advice?

Thanks.
Chris

Before you do all that tighten up the clutch cable. It might solve your woes.