I am feeling the pain today, not very motivated till the Advil kicks in! This transmission better be good after all this trouble. I got it off the NAM market place and the guy assured me it was good. I ordered the correct transmission mount, another bottle of transmission oil that I forgot to order and a new cap for the thermostat housing. They want over $50 bucks for the little dust shield. I'll get it after I make sure the transmission is good.

 

After going back over the car again I am missing a piece, I ordered the lock valve that goes on the clutch line. I think I now have everything coming to finish it up. I will be glad to have her going again as she is one of my favorite cars. She is not an S model and has some bumps and bruises but I love driving her anyway.

 

As long as there are no parts leftover...

 

If it runs/drives fine then it didn't need them anyway, only kidding. I have been double checking to make sure every bolt/nut is accounted for and installed. Especially since this is a conversion and not a direct replacement.

The thermostat cap and the clutch pipe from FCP Euro should ship out today, The lock thingy is coming from OutMotoring and hopefully will be delivered by Friday. The shifter and cables will be delivered on Friday. I think the only thing I will be waiting for is the upper trans mount that attaches to the body.

 

I ordered the little cover plate today. Everything is in transit and it looks like I will get a majority of them on Friday. I am excited to get it back together and on the road, again. I'm going to put the crash bar and bumper cover on this afternoon. I think I am going to try and get the new starter installed in the motorhome and change the engine oil and filter.

 

So when you are old what do you need to install a very heavy starter into a diesel pusher motorhome? An H2 Hummer, 8 thousand lb come along and a strap.

 

That’s a bit reminiscent of the Chevy Sportvan and double ratchet straps we used to install a motor mount in a Mustang.

 

The starter is in the motorhome and it starts and runs!! The shutoff solenoid is sticking a little bit I can get to that easy.

The new shifter and cables were delivered today, along with the little lock thingy and a new coolant cap. The bottle of MTF and the 2 center stickers for the rims arrived too. The mount is in Atlanta and I need to check on the tube. I can at least get the shifter installed and the heat shields back in and the exhaust put back together. I can fill up the transmission and put the bumper, etc back on.

 

The mount was unexpectedly delivered early yesterday evening. The only downfall is the clutch pipe won't be here till Wednesday but I can at least get her 99% put back together this afternoon. I can see the light at the end of the tunnel!

 

I got the new shifter and cables installed. I got the heat shields back up. I got the exhaust installed. I got the transmission filled with oil. I installed the new upper mount for the transmission. I ground off a little of the exhaust things that were hitting the bottom of the car. I got the bumper put back on and the rest of the rims put on. I am in a holding pattern till the clutch pipe is delivered. I am getting so close.

 

I'm curious to see how you like the shorter gearing in the facelift trans when you get the last few bits installed. The R50 is looking good.

 

Curious - Is this new tranny a 5 or 6 sp?

 

It's a Getrag 5 speed out of a 2005 R52. The Cabrio S is a 6 speed and I like it but dang it always seems like I am shifting!!
It has some dents, not from me. I might try my hand at doing some of the body work next year but I learned a long time ago I am a better mechanic than body man.

 

The mail lady delivered the pipe today! There is a 70% change of rain for the next 2 days so not sure if I will be able to get it installed.

 

I got the pipe, slave and lock installed, put the battery in and fired it over. Something is scrubbing on the flywheel so I shut it off. It started raining again so I look at later. I has to either be the starter or I screwed up the clutch.

 

Just going for broke I lowered the car and put the 2 front tires on the ground. I cranked the car again and the grinding noise is now gone. There must be some air in the line or slave because it wants to grind going into gear and the pedal is soft. It is running perfect but I still don't have a clutch.... I will try and bleed it more tomorrow.

 

Great news that the grinding is gone. Did you bench-bleed the slave? Mod Mini strongly recommends it.

 

I did and the pipe too. I even used my power bleeder before I touched the clutch pedal. I figured it would not be easy.

 

The one thing I forgot was the air filter box is different. I have one of those coming. I didn't mess with it today. I will try and bleed it again tomorrow.

 

Yes, they have the square and the triangular version on the box deponent on year and transmission.

I am having fun repairing the back end and suspension on my r52 and next are the axles.

 

Replacing the axles isn't bad, except for you lose most of the trans oil.

I bled the heck out of the slave and lines. I still have 2 issues. The clutch release bearing makes a noise when I push in the clutch all the way to the floor, if I let it off a little it will stop making the noise but I still can't get the transmission into gear. After doing some research this morning it looks like the R50 Luk clutch kit Part # 03-061 is wrong for a 2005 transmission. I ordered a new clutch and it will arrive on Saturday. Looks like I get to pull the transmission again.

 

Yep, thats when you does change the oil anyway. The bolts on the one side that holds the axle carriers can be a pain. Need a bunch of flex head drivers to angle it right.

You got to bleed it with a large bleeder, the smaller hand bleeder we sell works for the brake lines but the clutch line you need the power and volume of this: https://www.ecstuning.com/b-schwaben.../007237sch01a/

Once you use that it flushes all the air out.

Luk 03-061 shows up to 7/2004 R50 on my end. Yep you need the 7/2004+

 

A Valeo 52001202 should be the correct clutch?

I am a tech and have bled it with my big bleeder, I've used just about half a bottle of fluid just to make sure it's good and there is no air. The sad part is the pedal feels good but the clutch is wrong. At least I can just unhook it and move it out of the way and not have to re-bleed it. I guess I know what I am doing this weekend.

 

This is becoming the clutch job from hell. I hope third time's the charm and you can close the book on this and get back on the road.

 

My wife said she is surprised I have not set it on fire yet, my work partner keeps waiting for it to show up on Facebook market place.
I am stopping by harbor freight and getting an engine brace that should make it a little bit easier. If I get the trans out and the new clutch and pressure plate installed today after work, I will be way ahead of the game.