just wanted to get an idea of how hard you guys think replacing a clutch is. on a scale of 1 to 10 with oil change at 3 (only b/c the filter is a bitch to remove), intake cam shaft replacement is maybe a 6 (because i was ill prepared and was doing it for the first time) and clutch cable replacement is a 5 (because of tight spaces), how hard is it to replace a clutch?
i've been struggling to figure out if a) i want to try to replace it on my own, b) pay for the labor (prob ~$200+), or c) just getting rid of the car and the aggrevation of replacing the clutch altogether. any/all suggestions and help are welcome!

If you can take out the axles, you are halfway there. The next hardest part is reinstalling the trans. onto the block. Lifting it is hard as hell, especially with only one person. According to your scale, I'd rate it a 9. On my own 1-10 scale, maybe more of a 6.

can someone elaborate on why it is so difficult to get the axle(s) out? i have not been down there to take a look, but i always hear about the axle(s) being difficult. is it seized in place? is it hard to work loose? what exactly is the difficulty?

Removing the axle from the hub is a bitch, but re-installing them into the tranny waiting for them to click in, is 100 times worse. It took me an hour to get the passenger one to sit in the tranny.

I don't remember much stress at installing the axles. Plus, if you lift weights, one-handing the tranny up on the shaft is pretty easy. I took everything off one day, took the next day off, and then reinstalled in the 3rd day. I found taking everything off very stressful because I was convinced something would break or strip. But, alas, no problems. The clutch has been in for almost 2 years with no problems.

G

P.S. I almost forgot my rating. Let's say 6 or 7.

Rate 5

Axles sometimes come out easy sometimes not so easy, The Driver side axle has a U clip on the end to keep the axle in place so if its being stuborn use a slidehammer pulley. I used a floorjack with a block of wood to take out the transaxle and reinstall it oh yeah make sure you have that little plastic clucth allignment tool sometimes it comes with a clucth set sometimes not

Originally posted by Nix
oh yeah make sure you have that little plastic clucth allignment tool sometimes it comes with a clucth set sometimes not

What if you don't have the alignment tool? Is it impossible to do it without?

It makes it alot easier to install the transaxle when the clutch and pressure plate are in alignment.