I don't know if ill be able to keep this short, but ill try. The clutch in my 05 elantra was slipping, I decided that instead of having the dealership replace it for $1200 id do it myself for the cost of the parts. Parts cost about $200, I figure it should go fairly easy, I'm pretty good at mechanics.

The procedure is ridiculous... literally half the engine bay must be taken apart, and of course their is an undocumented final step that must be done to separate the trans from the motor. the actuating arm that the slave cylinder connects to must be taken off of the transmission. its a simple 10 second step that took hours for me to figure out with the help of this forum.

Lets go back a little though. before you start your supposed to drain the trans fluid right? so I'm using a HAYNS Manual, I think thats how you spell it, and I cant find a pic of my trans to locate the drain plug. now this may be common sense to some people, but I saw two bolts on the front of the trans. One is the trans fill plug, and the other i assumed was the drain because it was angled down, well, like a drain would be.

NOPE! turns out its really a destruct bolt! yep, I bet you didn't know your car came with one of those, well it does. appairantly it is some kind of preload or tensioner of sorts. removing the bolt releases some rod and will cause your trans to fail... catastrophically.

lets recap...tried to save money doing the clutch myself. DONE, the clutch works perfectly.
only problem is now I have to spend almost twice as much as the clutch to rebuild the transmission. first estimate is anywhere from $1600 to 2500. This is from the dealership mind you. I will be getting others.
Ouch!

sorry for the long message, ive rambled on enough.

 

Sorry to hear about your bad experience. Yes, Haynes manuals are not what they used to be. They were really good 30 years ago, but have been almost useless to me for maybe the last 10.

Next time, if there is a next time, join the hmaservice.com website. In there you will find all the info you need like remove the clutch control arm, and where to find the drainplug, etc.

Why don't you just get a used trans. Did you try car-part.com? It's an excellent place to find junkyards with the part you need. Used trans like that are $100 to $150. Also, you can find them on eBay.

 

really sucks that worked out that way for you i'd agree with getting a used trans if you dont mind swapping it in. also remember that it gives you a chance to repair the old one yourself slowly and learn a hell of a lot along the way. if you screw it up, doesnt matter much anyhow. if you fix it then you can have a perfect running trans on standby just in case or even sell it to cover your costs.

 

those are really good ideas! the problem is that i already found another shop to do it for way less than the dealersip.
i should have done it myself, but at this point i just need it done ASAP.

 

Sorry to hear this but this is why you should take your car to a trained mechanic. People complain about the prices mechanics (dealer or private) charge but it's theire training and knowledge you are paying for. Any, if they screw up, they fix it. It's cases like this where you were not trained in the specifics of your cars transmission and you caused yourself more trouble and cost.

 

that may be true nova but making mistakes is how one learns. he obviously wants to learn and if he's anything like me will just chalk it up to lesson learned and move on to learn more. with enough research and time a home mechanic can do anything that any certified mechanic can do and quite often more. the home mechanic can take his/her time to experiment and learn.

i've also known a lot of moron mechanics in my time. for example, for safety certification a car i bought in the past needed a stone chip fixed on the windshield. the dealer wanted to replace the entire windshield...a good mechanic said what the hell are they on and filled it...a good home mechanic would have gone to the auto parts store and bought some filler for a fraction of the price. end of the day all 3 options would have passed safety at very different costs.

 

Yes, exactly, I do want to learn. Ive always been a do it yourselfer. I simply didnt do enough research.

Also, if were being completly honest, their is a reason were on the hyundai forum and not the AUDI forum, or the BMW forum, or whatever high end forum. I for one dont have a bag of money laying around. Hell, Im glad I have a job right now! As im sure we can all agree, times are tough, and I need to pinch pennies where I can.

Agreed, their is something to be said for taking it to a professional. I am a plumber (apprentice) and I go to a LOT of places where a person thought they could do something themselves and screw it up.

As stated already I didnt do enough research. I did a great job on the clutch. had I know not to take out the plug, things would be perfect.

 

i hear ya, i'd buy a lexus if i could or maybe a nice new genesis....mmmmm

glad you can take this as lesson learned, professionals have their place but theres nothing wrong with some good 'ol DIY if you're aware and accepting the risks involved. maybe one day you'll be able to find an old transmission cheap/free for fun? i learned RWD differentials that way...bearings were blown in it in an old car. buddy gave me a spare which was also messed up. rebuild the old one and man i learned a LOT!

 

UPDATE: another short story...when I told the "Hyundai Service Rep Specialist" that they cost too much to do the work and that I would be taking the car somewhere else he said it was because they were the specialists and that they knew their cars the best.

So the bolt spring and bearing that were needed come it to hyundai and my wife goes to pick it up and take it to the trans shop where the car is. they immedately tell her that is not the right part, they INSIST that it is not the correct parts.

she goes back to hyundai and finds out that it is indeed the wrong stuff, and that the diagnosis was completely wrong!! she talked to the Manual Specialist because their is appairantly only one and he wasn't working the night I went in and said it is the reverse gear stabilizer bolt that is missing and if I can manage to get a new bolt threaded in everything will go back to normal.

I have the bolt, now all I have to do is try and get it back in with snow on the ground and 30 degrees outside!!