Here's how I did it in less than 3 hours:

Scion tC Clutch/Flywheel – How to R&R

Stuff you need:

1. Safety glasses or goggles – you’ll be under the car and getting dirt in your eyes every 10 seconds without them – not a good plan.
2. 3 quarts of transaxle oil. It needs to be API GL-4, Toyota recommends 90 weight, Red Line recommends MT-90.
3. One new axle nut. OK, you don’t absolutely need it, but you’ll thank me for having it on hand.
4. An engine support bar like the OTC 1724.
5. A 6 point 14mm socket, preferably ½” drive for the flywheel bolts. A 12 point can damage the flywheel bolt, AMHIK.
6. An 18mm deep well, 3/8” drive to center the clutch disk.
7. A 19mm deep well socket, ½” drive for the subframe nuts.
8. A 32mm deep well socket, ½” drive for the drive axle nut.
9. A 24mm socket for the transaxle drain/fill bolts.
10. A 24” ½” drive extension for the rear engine mount.
11. A ½” drive air wrench. If you don’t have this, you have my sympathy, the job is going to be slow and painful.

How to do it:

1. Ensure you have let the car cool for at least 2 hours. If you have not, it is extremely likely you will burn yourself at some point. Even after 4 hours of cooling the flywheel will still be quite warm to the touch. I HIGHLY recommend letting the car sit overnight before starting this job.
2. Remove the windshield wipers and the cowling underneath them. This will give you clear access to the top of the strut towers.
3. Remove the battery, the plastic tray underneath, and the metal tray under the plastic tray.
4. Disconnect the MAF connection, and remove the intake tube, if you are stock, just remove the electrical connector and the screw holding the EVAP VSV in place. Leave everything else with the EVAP alone. You’ll be ahead of the game to take the throttlebody clamp and prepare it for reassembly (you’ll see it locks open with a tab gizmo). It is prudent to cover the throttlebody opening, but not critical if the engine bay is not dirty or dusty.
5. Remove the airbox (if stock).
6. Remove the clutch slave cylinder and the mount bolt for the slave cylinder hard line. DO NOT REMOVE THE LINE FROM THE SLAVE CYLINDER! Move the whole thing to the inside of the front bumper in front of the engine.
7. Remove the starter electrical connections and harness clip, then remove the starter.
8. Disconnect the main engine ground.
9. Remove the wiring harness from the clips in the middle of the transmission.
10. Disconnect the backup switch.
11. Remove the metal piece the wiring harnesses are clipped on, I like to call it the hand slicer. You don’t have to remove it if you don’t want to, but if you leave it in place, you’ll know why I call it the hand slicer when you remove the gearbox bolts.
12. Remove the clips and washers holding the shifter cables on the transmission gear selector. This is pretty easy with needle nose pliers.
13. Remove the clips holding the shifter cables on the transmission mount bracket. This is easier said than done. You’ll need to pry the clips upward, but don’t let them fly off and try to hide. They will if you let them. Pull the cables back just enough to get them off the bracket, and push them out of the way.
14. Put the engine support bar in place across the strut towers. Don’t even try to use the fenders, they will NOT support the engine’s weight and you’ll seriously disfigure your car. Use the two threaded holes on the head to attach the support using whatever method you prefer. I used J-hooks and 10 x 1.25 bolts in the head. Scion sells a hook kit for the 2AZ, it might be more convenient, but I didn’t need it. Lightly tension the engine on the front and end.
15. Remove the engine/transmission mount from the driver’s side end. To do this:
a. Remove the long center bolt
b. Remove the four bolts attaching the support to the chassis, and remove the heavy part.
c. Remove the three bolts holding the remaining bracket on the transmission.
16. If the car isn’t already on jackstands, now is the time to get it in the air. Support it using the factory jack points along the body seams under the rocker panels. It’s best if you can use four stands and get the car somewhat level.
17. Remove the two large engine undercovers completely.
18. DRAIN THE TRANSAXLE! If you forget to drain the transaxle first, you will get gearbox oil everywhere when you remove the first axle. AMHIK.
19. Remove the front wheels.
20. Remove the cover at the front of the wheel well that blocks the view of the transmission. No, not the wheel well liner, just the vertical cover held on with some push pins and a 10mm head bolt.
21. Remove the nut from the driver’s side drive axle only. It isn’t necessary to remove the nut on the passenger’s side.
22. Remove the ABS sensors from both sides, and remove the bracket holding the brake hoses.
23. Remove the upper strut bolts from both sides.
24. Put on your safety glasses if they are not already on, get under the car and remove the exhaust S-pipe. Be sure to disconnect the second O2 sensor electrical connector BEFORE you remove the four bolts holding it in place.
25. Remove the two bolts holding the carrier bearing for the passenger’s side drive shaft, and with an assistant, push the axle outward to remove it from the transaxle. Be careful not to damage the brake hose while you do this, and be sure the ABS sensor is completely out of harm’s way, it is expensive to replace. If you didn’t drain the oil, you’ve just taken a 90 weight petroleum bath, most likely all over your head. Not that I would know anything about this from experience…
26. Remove the axle from the driver’s side completely.
a. You will need to unstake the original nut, and you will need a 32m deep well to remove the nut. If you can grind off the staked part with a die grinder, you’ll be doing your axle a favor. The nut tends to like to damage the axle threads if you don’t get it unstaked well. You can also do this with a good sharp chisel, but it will not be as clean as grinding off the mashed part.
b. You will need to pry on the inboard end of the drive shaft. There are notches in this piece specifically for prying it out. I recommend removing the outboard end from the hub first, then prying the driveshaft out and setting it out of the way.
c. Again, be careful not to damage the brake hose by stretching it. You should never need to get it pulled taut at any time. If you are, you’re doing something wrong.
27. Remove the center bolt and nut for the front engine mount.
28. Lower the subframe (do NOT remove it completely!):
a. Loosen the 19mm nuts on the long chassis mounted studs. Run them all the way off, and thread them back on for about 3 full turns.
b. Remove the two bolts at the front of the crossmember; put one back in temporarily but only with a few turns so you can remove it with your fingers later.
c. Remove the three bolts and three nuts at the back of the crossmember. The nuts will require a 14mm deep well on a short extension. This will allow the rear engine mount to move freely away from the crossmember.
d. Using the extra long ½” extension, remove the center bolt from the rear engine mount. It is a 17mm head bolt and has a blind nut, so you can just spin it out with no worries. If you completed step b you will be able to move the rear engine mount easily to get the bolt out.
e. Remove the four 19mm head bolts and the crossmember bracket on the rear of the subframe. Be aware the subframe will lower, but not drop off as long as you rethreaded the 19mm head nuts on the front of the subframe.
f. If you ever wanted to install a front swaybar, NOW is the time to do it!
29. Remove the bolt from the front of the crossmember and swing the crossmember out of the way toward the driver’s side with the engine mount still attached (there is no need to remove it).
30. Remove the front engine mounting bracket from the front of the transmission.
31. Remove the four transmission bolts from the engine side of the transaxle at the bottom of the transmission.
32. Swing the crossmember back into place and put a bolt back in it to keep it out of the way.
33. Go to the top of the transmission and remove the 6 remaining bolts holding the gearbox on the engine.
34. Put a jack under the gearbox, and separate the gearbox from the engine. This may take a bit of physical effort. I’ve also found that raising the front of the engine with the support bar to angle it more backward is helpful. To get the gearbox out completely, you’ll need assistance. The rear engine mount has to go straight up until it disengages the rear engine mount bracket on the transmission. You can do this from the rear of the subframe, but you need to be cautious of your fingers because the parts in that area are all pretty sharp, and if you get caught between the mount and the transmission when it is coming off you could get seriously hurt. If you don’t get the mount up high enough, you’ll be in a losing battle with the gearbox not wanting to completely disengage because it isn’t coming off straight.
35. Lower the jack carefully with the gearbox on the jack. This is a lot easier said than done, there is no good balance point on the gearbox. Expect to make a controlled drop to the floor. Move the gearbox out of the way.
36. Finally, you can see the clutch! Remove the 6 bolts holding on the cover (pressure plate), beware, when you pull the last one, everything is going to want to fall on your head.
37. You now see the bare flywheel staring you in the face. Remove the 8 bolts with the 6 point 14mm socket to avoid damaging them. A 12 point will work, but if it slips and beats up a bolt, you may have a long wait to get a new one. AMHIK.
38. Clean the bolts and the holes in the crankshaft with brake cleaner, put the new flywheel in place (it’s a LOT easier to hold up there than the stock one!), put Loctite 242 or equivalent on the threads of the bolts, and re-install. Torque to 96 ft-lbs in a criss-cross pattern while your assistant is holding the flywheel from moving with a prybar against either of the two dowel pins used to align the transmission.
39. Replace the clutch disc and cover:
a. Hang the cover (pressure plate) with a single bolt at the top.
b. Be certain to center the disk with the 18mm deep well socket.
c. Thread up the other 5 bolts, be sure your disk is still centered, and tighten the 6 bolts in a double triangle pattern to 14 ft-lbs.
40. Raise the gearbox into position, and stab the input shaft into the disk. To make this easier, it is smart to raise up the rear engine mount above the rear engine mount bracket, or it will not want to stab straight. Be sure the mount drops into place on the subframe when the gearbox is in position. Also, if it doesn’t want to slide all the way into position, use a prybar or large screwdriver to rotate the engine using the starter gear and the dowel pin at the top of the engine near the rear. Usually a couple of teeth is all you need to rotate to align the transmission input shaft with the splines in the friction disk.
41. Start with the three biggest bolts on top of the transmission. The gearbox should be up tight against the engine, and there should be no significant gaps between the gearbox and engine. The bolts should thread in by hand without any serious resistance. Remember the block is aluminum, and you don’t want to do thread repairs because you got over-anxious and cross threaded these things.
42. Put the other three bolts in from the top side, two in the back near the shifter cables, and one in the front near the front dowel pin.
43. Go underneath and put in all four bottom bolts.
44. Tighten all the bolts until they are all snug but not tight. Torque the top three large bolts to 47 ft-lbs, the other three top bolts to 34 ft-lbs and the four underneath to 32 ft-lbs. For those of you who are going to cry foul by looking at pate 41-11 in the FSM, the diagram is wrong, and doesn’t accurately depict what I found on four tCs. They have it right on page 41-16.
45. Swing the crossmember out of the way, and install the front engine mount bracket. Tighten to 47 ft-lbs.
46. Move the crossmember back into position; temporarily install one bolt to hold it out of the way.
47. Install the rear engine mount long bolt with the extra long ½” drive extension. Don’t tighten it yet, but be sure it threads in all the way.
48. Tighten the two 19mm nuts on the front of the subframe. Tighten to 98 ft-lbs.
49. Install the two crossmember brackets at the rear of the subframe; tighten the big bolt at the front to 98 ft-lbs, and the 3 bolts at the back to 59 ft-lbs.
50. Install the driver’s side axle but don’t tighten the axle nut yet.
51. Install the driver’s side strut bolts. Tighten to 177 ft-lbs.
52. Install the ABS sensor and the bracket holding the ABS wire and brake line.
53. Install the new axle nut with the 32mm deep well socket and tighten to 160 ft-lbs. Stake the nut in place.
54. Install the passenger’s side axle by reinserting the carrier bearing in the bracket while engaging the splines in the transaxle. Install the 2 bolts holding the axle and tighten to 47 ft-lbs.
55. Install the passenger’s side strut bolts. Tighten to 177 ft-lbs.
56. Install the ABS sensor and the bracket holding the ABS wire and brake line.
57. Install passenger’s side tire. Tighten to 76 ft-lbs.
58. If you rotated the engine with the support bar, restore the engine to its normal position and insert the front engine mount bolt. Install the nut, but don’t tighten yet.
59. Install the 3 bolts and 3 nuts on the rear engine mount and crossmember from the bottom of the subframe. Tighten all to 48 ft-lbs.
60. Install the front 2 bolts in the crossmember. Tighten to 33 ft-lbs.
61. Install the engine mounting bracket to the top of the transmission with the 3 bolts you removed. Tighten to 47 ft-lbs. I know there is thread lock on them, but the book doesn’t tell you to use any.
62. Install the heavy piece that fits inside the mount to the frame with the four bolts you removed. Install just so the four bolts are started, then stab the long bolt from the front to the back and put the nut on it. Tighten the four chassis mount bolts to 38 ft-lbs.
63. Remove the engine support bar completely.
64. Now, tighten all the engine mount bolts:
a. Tighten the rear engine mount bolt with the long ½” extension to 64 ft-lbs.
b. Tighten the front engine mount bolt to 38 ft-lbs.
c. Tighten the transmission mount bolt to 64 ft-lbs
65. Install the S-pipe. The book says to never reuse the gasket, but I’ve not had any issues. Be sure to reconnect the second O2 or you will have a CEL for sure. Tighten to 32 ft-lbs.
66. Install the clutch slave cylinder. Tighten the 2 mount bolts to 9 ft-lbs, and the hard line mount to 69 in-lbs.
67. Replace the cover in the driver’s side wheel well.
68. Replace the engine undercovers.
69. Replace the driver’s side wheel. Tighten to 76 ft-lbs.
70. Install the shifter cables using the 2 clips, 2 washers, and 2 pins.
71. Connect the backup light.
72. Install the hand slicer and route the wiring harnesses. Install harness clamps to the hand slicer.
73. Install the engine ground wire. Use some antiseize on the bolts and beat the conductivity of a grounding kit to a pulp.
74. Install the starter. Torque to 27 ft-lbs.
75. Connect the starter electrical connections and connect the harness clamp to the mount on the rear starter bolt.
76. Install the metal battery tray, plastic battery tray, and battery.
77. Install the airbox (if using stock airbox)
78. Install air cleaner, upper box, and hose from airbox to throttlebody.
79. Reconnect the MAF wiring, re-install the EVAP VSV.
80. Refill the transmission with gearbox oil, tighten drain and fill to 36 ft-lbs.
81. Reinstall cowling and windshield wipers.

pics would help too...good writeup by the way.

82. save a lot of money by switching to Geico

Dang fine write up Lance:):)

I have done 5 or so Matrix installs, three with a Pantom Grip LSD which is another big job in iteself but fun. The cars are so similar the steps are nearly identical. I used an electric winch instead of the bar setup, it works fine but now you have me thinking about that bar, seems it may be even easier:)

NOTE: Now is the time to think about motor mount inserts that are none existant but there is a cure for that, two in fact.

1) Order some Flexane 80 by ITW Devcon, two part eurathane, remove both mounts, tape on side up really well, lay them on the side well supported, mix and pour in the Flexane, let sit for two days the put everything back together. This may be to stiff for some peoples taste;)

2) Faster, much faster, not quite as stiff but seen it done and it worked well. Go to an auto glass shop and buy a tube of eurathane window adhesive, I have some Dow Betaseal U-418HV we bought for our CF roof install that I will make a little mold out of to see how stiff it becomes, only $10.50.
It is more difficult to fill the mounts with and not have air gaps, etc but with some patience it should do quite well.
Very fast curing time but I have to look that info up, not on the tube. At least you do not have to let the car sit for two days and forget the order of putting things back together;) Of course now you have a great list of the steps provided by Lance though:):)

One more thing we are going to do is fill the sub frame with structural eurathane foam to stiffen it up a bit.

I forgot to mention, if you are working at a good pace, it should take about 2:45 from start to finish.

great write up.. but how much will this improve my accelleration?

Enough to make you stop complaining about the drive by wire throttlebody. I did.

He must have stayed at a Holiday Inn Express last night

LOl :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

That was a perfect comment ~~

I guess I'd have to suck on the glass teat to understand that comment, but since I don't watch TV, I'll just have to fake it.

good write up. very detailed. i'll bookmark this thread.

you and raamaudio are simply too much full of knowledge for this site. we should be lucky to have you guys here so we can absorb more of your knowledge.

Im not seeing a writ-up, guessing it was deleted?

I guess I'd have to suck on the glass teat to understand that comment, but since I don't watch TV, I'll just have to fake it.

Oh, if the information isn't useful, I can edit the post pretty easily. Like this^^^

the commercial usually goes something like this:

you see a doctor operating on someone and he gets asked something about him being a doctor and he says he's not a doctor.. but he did stay at a holiday inn express last night.

no idea why thats funny? me either.


i have a q for ya though.. did you do any pictures of this install?

lo_bux_racer...
you seem to be the most knowledgeable person on this site... do you mind if i ask where you gaind it all from? I have read a lot of your posts in other forums and they have helped me see certian mods were worth the time. In your opinion what aftermarket mods do you see worth while? intake, exhaust, grounding kits, turbos, pulleys... etc? what would you personally get?

i have a q for ya though.. did you do any pictures of this install?

There is still one left to do, and the guy is the man with the video cam. I wanted to have him shoot vids while we did the work, but he hasn't rescheduled.

Yeah, it sucks we did four of them and didn't shoot any pics. It would be really helpful to shoot the support bar setup, it really saves a lot of grief.

I'll fix the post in a bit. I just wasn't up for any crap this morning.

cool. sounds good man

i have a q for ya though.. did you do any pictures of this install?

There is still one left to do, and the guy is the man with the video cam. I wanted to have him shoot vids while we did the work, but he hasn't rescheduled.

Yeah, it sucks we did four of them and didn't shoot any pics. It would be really helpful to shoot the support bar setup, it really saves a lot of grief.

I'll fix the post in a bit. I just wasn't up for any crap this morning.

Na, ignore any crap. That was a great write up. :clap: A massive amount of work. Def fix the link.

if you get a new flywheel can you still use the stock clutch or do you have to go aftermarket?

You could use the stock one but you might as wel upgrade both at the same time.

So since ur local to me im just gonna call u give u 100 bucks and u do it for me? ;)

lo_bux..awesome write up! one question, is it really necessary to have someone help you do this ? or is there a way you can you do it by yourself , the reason is i have no one that can help me..at all.

So since ur local to me im just gonna call u give u 100 bucks and u do it for me? ;)

For $100, you'll need to help, but if you want to do it here, sure, no problem.

lo_bux..awesome write up! one question, is it really necessary to have someone help you do this ? or is there a way you can you do it by yourself , the reason is i have no one that can help me..at all.

The only thing you will have trouble with is getting the gearbox down and back up. The rest you can do by yourself. The geabox is not well balanced for the spot where you can put the jack so you need one person operating the jack and the other holding the gearbox steady. If you have a transmission jack, or a jack with a wideish plate (flat surface) on it, you could do this alone.

***UPDATE***

It is possible to do this without dropping the subframe. You have to use a three point engine support, and you'll need to crank on the forward mount point to rotate the engine until the header is about 1/2" away from the fans in front, and you'll need to completely remove the rear engine mount "insulator" from the top of the subframe (not as hard as it sounds). Everything else is the same.

I did another one yesterday, it went like clockwork, but the time expands to 4 hours if you are doing this alone and have a few beers along the way. I've pretty much got it down to a science now, it's pretty simple.


/***UPDATE***

i gotta question, w/ this new cluth and flyhweel does it allow you to shifter quicker and launch better? i've always heard that this is what it does, but how does exactly work?

i used to have a light flywheel in my old car.. it accelerates quicker... not necessarily faster shifts because when you start to shift, the flywheel slows down faster and actually drops revs... i dont know how that works with drive by wire.. i had a cable set up and as soon i started to shift, the revs would start to drop.. so you would have to press the gas a lil earlier.. other than that man i climbed up those revs like nothing

oh lance.. awesome write up man..

So Lance... do you recommend this mod on a daily driver car? or even at all?

So Lance... do you recommend this mod on a daily driver car? or even at all?

I have a Fidanza flywheel and Spec stage 3 clutch in my daily driven TC and love it.

I didn't want to spend more money on the clutch, so I have the flywheel in my daily driver (and I know I'm just 3 hours from installing any clutch I want anyway) and I love it.

100% no drawbacks mod.

wow lance. just wow. 2 hours and 45 minutes to do that install. yer either some kind of car god.. or a terminator sent back from the future to kill sarah conner...... SHOW ME YOUR GREEN CARD!

Sweet, going to add it to my list of mods! :bow: Thanks Lance! :bow:

wow lance. just wow. 2 hours and 45 minutes to do that install. yer either some kind of car god.. or a terminator sent back from the future to kill sarah conner...... SHOW ME YOUR GREEN CARD!

I've got a floor jack, four 6 ton stands, and air tools. If I had a lift, it wouldn't be any easier. Now I can even do it without dropping the subframe...

Sheesh. Well I am gonna take a trip up there and whats your going rate? I have a floor jack, and 4 3.5 ton jack stands (needless to say no where near big enough :P) and access to a lift. But I am not that mechanically inclined. With your write up it probably wouldnt' be that bad. (it really is a good write up) But I have the flywheel, clutch, and I am SOO close to just buying the phantom grip LSD cause really I haven't heard anything about the quafie LSD from QUAFIE, the entire thread started by some guy who said he e-mailed them and got a reply... Okay done venting on the entire LSD issue. SO yah, the flywheel, clutch, and most likely the Phantom girp LSD will be going in at the same time. I saw an install for a Posi-trac type LSD on the speed channel.. and it didn't look too fun :P How long you think it would take?

The clutch is fairly quick but I would insist you come up the night before and let the car cool off overnight. I have enough trouble working on a still quite warm flywheel, I really don't want the gearbox to still be hot.

The LSD install requires access to a press. I have access, but don't have it in my garage. The install also requires you disassemble the gearbox to major components, so it might take a bit of time. The last gearbox I did was a Getrag 233 from my Supra, and it took awhile. I don't think the tC transaxle is nearly as challenging as that was, but we'd have to plan for problems and allow significant time to complete the job. I would want to get started on a Saturday morning and expect to finish on Sunday, although it could go a lot quicker, it just depends on the details of getting the transaxle apart and back together. The worst possible thing is finding out you really need a rare tool (like a 41mm socket), or you have to fabricate tools (but I don't see anything in the Toyco manual that looks exotic.)

If you are serious, PM me.

Hey lo_bux_racer, good write up...Im gonna put mine in next weekend.

Couple of questions...which axel nut do I need "just incase?" Also, where did you get your engine support bar? TIA!

Is upgrading the clutch necessary? What is the longevity of the OEM clutch w/a lighter flywheel?

Is upgrading the clutch necessary? What is the longevity of the OEM clutch w/a lighter flywheel?

Why would you wanna go through all that work just to change the flywheel? If you go in there you should change everything. That way you won't have to do it again.

Something that needs to be added to the list of things you need...

The 32mm deep well socket for the axel, is actually a 30mm 12point Deep Well socket. Almost impossible to find just about everywhere...

so dont be like me and start thinking you have all the right tools and have evrything torn apart come to find out you are missing an essential tool. I would suggest checking ebay and/or your local dealer!

Its fun...trust me!

Seems like these instructions belong in the tech section. :tap:

if it had pics it would help. However it is still helpful as I am considering the lightened flywheel and new clutch.

so what do you think of the lightened flywheel? I am getting one done and want to know what you think of it.

**edit comment**

so what do you think of the lightened flywheel? I am getting one done and want to know what you think of it.


What do I think? Well, I think I am undecided on the tC with a lightened flywheel. I had tons of mods on my cav with cams, ported head, and more and I can say it was great for revving up, but I lost a lot of pull in 5th gear. The launch was not affected, but it did lose rpms faster, so you have to shift quicker. I don't plan on all those mods on the tC, so I think it might be a good option for me. Only thing I worry about is the balance of the crank and the affect on the bearings. Ehhh time will tell.