'09 Clutch Part Questions

[Vibe09LiveLong]

Hi Everyone. I'm new to GenVibe posting, although I have been an avid reader over the years of these forums.

I have an '09 2.4L FWD Vibe, which believe it or not, is now going on 10yrs/240K km, and my Clutch just died. I'm not complaining toooo much as this is my first major mechanical issue in this time. Thanks to all the previous posts and conversations about replacing the Clutch I've decided to go DIY as overall this mainly seems to need Time and Patients. And I would like to get a few more years from this Vibe. Also, my Dealer-Shop is asking $4-5K for their labor and over priced parts. This is the clutch and a couple other items (Sway Bar Links). Based on the postings on GenVibe I found RockAuto to be the best for pricing and also delivery time. Which means I can price this replacement out at under $1K (which includes the charge of being towed home).

What I need help with is specific to the Flywheel. Most postings deal with pre-'09 GT engines, or the 1.8L version, and do include parts, but not many post were found for the '09 2.4L. Based on what I have been able to figure out the 1.8L Flywheel is ofcourse different from the 2.4L, so I did not order the 1.8L version. RockAuto does not have this part listed for the 2.4L so I have a few questions I'm hoping you other Vibe owners may be able to clarify for me.

- RockAuto does have a Flywheel under the '09 2.4L Matrix [LUK LFW245]
-- Visually this 'looks' the same as what my Vibe would use, but is this OK?
- Comparing on RockAuto the Flywheel for the 1.8L engine of the Matrix and 1.8L Vibe, those are the same part # and look the same [AMS AUTOMOTIVE 167154], which leads me to believe that YES I can use that one listed for the 2.4L Matrix on my Vibe.

- OR other brand suggestions? Part #'s? I did check the GM Parts suppliers and other sites, but most do not seem to have a Flywheel for the 2.4L engine, or are asking $270+, even Napa did not have a match, and an Auto-Wrecker I also called wanted 2x RockAuto's price.

- also to clarify ... are the Matrix engine parts OK for the Vibe? Are these actually the same/interchangeable? Maybe just different part #s due to the Brand difference. Asking this for future ref as I suspect other Vibe parts may be hard to find, but may be findable via the Matrix.

All that being said, I've picked the Luk Clutch kit, which seems to have good reviews, and will also replace the Oil seals, Slave Cylinder, and any other parts you might recommend that I consider? And just in case you're wondering, why not resurface the Flywheel? Well, if it is damaged/burned, then having the new one I will not have to wait more to order/deliver or even to run-around to have it resurfaced - if it is OK. But having the new on hand one means no extra waiting.

Sorry for the long post and Thank You to any feedback or advice both for these parts and of the Job itself.

[Vibe09LiveLong]

Followup: After some further digging/google I was able to find:

The Luk Clutch Set: 16-062 can be paired with the Luk LFW245 Flywheel, and both of course should work for the '09/'10 Vibe 2.4L.

I will be ordering this combo from RockAuto and hopefully doing the install next weekend, and will post back how this works out.

[Vibe09LiveLong]

Followup...

Went through the installation of the new clutch yesterday. And over all I have to say it went pretty smoothy. A friend of mine heard I was going to attempt this in my driveway, and offered to use his mechanics bay with a lift. No Brainer. I think musceling the trans out while on my back would have been an accident prone adventure, and then if I did not have the car jacked high enough, more problems.

The other DIYs talk about what needs to be removed and where, which was pretty much the case for my 2.4L. When we got into the clutch it was evident I had cooked it. Clutch fibres everywhere and the transmission side of the Clutch plate was worn beyond what I should I driven. Also, needless to say, the Flywheel was cooked and would not be re-used. Had a nice shiny purple color to it.

We still ended up at about 9 hrs, which included some breaks, bleeding the Slave, test drives and few adjustments. No real surprises were found, except a portion of the Slave Cylinder hydraulic line nearly rusted out, which we replaced.

Some highlights:
1. When removing the Passenger side axle: there is bracket for the extension bar to the transmission.
- 3 bolts
- ** 2 moulded pins from the engine block which this bracket sits on. I think this was in another DIY, but do not remember. We of course tried to force this out before we realized about the pins, luckily did not shear them off.
2. If replacing the Flywheel, make sure the bolts you have are correct, mine were not (see below) and we had to reuse the existing ones.

Parts Highlights:
- The Luk Clutch Set: 16-062 and Luk LFW245 Flywheel - WORKED, perfect!
- MT-90 GL-4 Redline Trans Fluid
- New Slave Cylinder - LUK LSC297:
-- ** The original has mounting brackets for a heat shield. This LUK replacement does not. And the in-line location is slightly different. We still used the new one, but minus the heat-shield.
- RockAuto - Flywheel Bolts: DORMAN 678154 -- Are NOT correct. Too short and narrow. Will be sending these back.

With this now complete, I expect to be able to get another couple years (or more) from this Vibe. Knock-on-wood.

[tpollauf]

Ah yes .... another success story. Nice job I also have the 2.4l engine with the 5-speed manual BUT won't be going through what you just did for probably another ten years! The car just turned over 30,000 miles (48,000 km) and is ten years old! Just curious as to the total cost of this repair for you? Also are you the original owner?