The clutch is in. The car runs, drives, and stops. Finally. It took over a month, but our '69 Volvo 145S has a brand new clutch and it is a huge improvement. Installing it, though, was an incredible ordeal. Seriously, that was probably the hardest automotive work I've ever done (and I even had both sons helping), unless you count the time the '53 Chevy wagon quit in a busy Seattle intersection and I had to push it up a slight incline while a friend steered. I thought I was going to have a heart attack that time. This wasn't much better. One day, I saw a thermometer that read 104 degrees, and I was crawling under the car once again, where it was hot and stuffy to say the least. Not to mention, I was getting a little claustrophobic in such confined quarters, like a bear in a great tightness, as Pooh might say. I'm starting to resemble Pooh, by the way - I need to lay off the honey or get taller jack stands.
Anyway, I'm sure me and the boys would agree that it has been a learning experience. We've figured out, through trial and error, that it helps to have all the right tools within easy reach. One in particular was a clutch alignment tool. The first time we bolted everything up, there was no way the gearbox was going to slide into the clutch. I got this little plastic tool (maybe the best ten bucks I've ever spent - and free shipping, no less), and everything lined up perfectly. The other lesson learned is that there's nothing like the feeling of having done it yourself. I should add, having done it right. It's a terrible feeling to have spent countless hours on a repair only to discover that you have to tow it to a shop to undo the damage - I came close a couple of times. Strange as it may seem, though, now every time I shift gears on the Volvo, I get this little self-satisfied smile and I think, "I guess we really did fix our wagon ourselves this time."
Anyway, I'm sure me and the boys would agree that it has been a learning experience. We've figured out, through trial and error, that it helps to have all the right tools within easy reach. One in particular was a clutch alignment tool. The first time we bolted everything up, there was no way the gearbox was going to slide into the clutch. I got this little plastic tool (maybe the best ten bucks I've ever spent - and free shipping, no less), and everything lined up perfectly. The other lesson learned is that there's nothing like the feeling of having done it yourself. I should add, having done it right. It's a terrible feeling to have spent countless hours on a repair only to discover that you have to tow it to a shop to undo the damage - I came close a couple of times. Strange as it may seem, though, now every time I shift gears on the Volvo, I get this little self-satisfied smile and I think, "I guess we really did fix our wagon ourselves this time."
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