Hi Crossfire Fam,

I've been learning the hard way on how to change the clutch on my crossfire, and my dad went looking for a second clutch "just in case" as I'll have to pull the trans for the third time to figure out what I did wrong lol.

But we've noticed its nearly impossible to find a new clutch thats in stock. Everywhere we've looked its out of stock, backordered, or just not avaliable. Has anyone else looked for a clutch and found them not avaliable or backordered months out?

 

Have you checked 2003 Mercedese SLK 320? They should be the same as that is what you have mechanically.

 

Parts Geek, Summit Racing and FCP claim to have them in stock under SLK320 and under Crossfire.

Where are you looking for them?

 

@Dave2302 what were you saying about alternatives on clutches?

 

I just checked fcp euro today and they say its backordered.
We're in Wisconsin, and my dad did get one ordered on Summit, but that one was delayed by a month, and may be here by next weekend? It just seems like all the Luk clutches are on backorder, and the aftermarket replacements are spotty on avalability.

We did look under 2002 SLK 320 for them too.

The slave cylinder and clutch master seem to be in stock (I may have broke them - lesson learned lol). We were just having difficulty finding the clutch & pressure plate or full kits.

 

The Final Update:

We had gotten 2 non-luk clutch kits that ended up being the wrong clutch & backplate, even though they were labeled for Crossfire & SLK.
I had life and medical bills keep me from fixing this sooner.
I ended up bringing my Crossfire to Hudson Auto Center in Hudson, WI where they discovered the clutch and backplate were the wrong ones.
BIG THANKS TO Rob from @NeedsWings for helping them find a NOS (new old stock) clutch kit!

My Crossfire is back on the road again, and the clutches & backplates are all discontinued for our cars. I got to learn this the hard way.

If anyone is up to the task, I'm throwing around the idea of custom flywheels to convert our cars to a different clutch kit (like a chevy style that's super easy to find), but for now that's a pipe dream until I get in a better place financially.

Fun Fact: I have now taken the 6 speed out of my car more times than I've changed the oil!

Edit:Just to elaborate a little... The difference between the clutch & backplate I had ordered vs the correct ones is just a simple thickness. The ones I got were for some year of i4 Mercedes and were just a little too thin, even if they looked correct to the naked eye. This caused the slave cylinder to over pressure and explode after a few pumps of the clutch petal because it was trying to extend into the extra distance caused by too thin clutch & backplate spacing.