Back when I used to commute a 160 or more miles a day to work, the clutch cable on my Harley gave up one Friday evening in rush hour OK City traffic, I spent 2 hours in a corner gas station waiting for it to thin out.
Finally, about 7:30 I had an opening so I lined the bike up, started it in gear, and I was off.
Seventy five miles without stopping and carefully gauging any traffic lights so I could keep rolling.
I only mentioned security cameras because the Wal Mart here monitors them pretty closely. I see the cops there all the time on the edge of the lot questioning someone waving a “Need work” or “Out of gas” sign.
Perhaps it’ll be the part where the Walmart security guard notices your car up on jacks in the parking lot.
If not then, perhaps it’ll be the part where Walmart shuts down for the night and the only car left in the lot is yours… on jacks… with you under it.
Or perhaps it’ll be when the cop does his nightly cruise-by.
Walmart would have serious and very valid liability concerns. I strongly urge you not to try this. You do not need an arrest to add to your problems… and you WILL get arrested. If Walmart allowed you to get away with this and the car fell on you their liability would be in the millions.
I find it hard to believe wallyworld would be concerned about liability issues by someone working on their car in their parking lot, But then I was surprised by a CA settlement, is it illegal or undocumented, whatever too drunk to drive, makes his wife with no driving experience drive, she runs off the road into a detention pond, 1 kid drowns, they got paid over 7 figures because there was no guardrail
Here in San Jose I’ve seen folks do a clutch job in the auto parts store parking lot. It’s not that unusual actually, although it seems less frequent now than during the 2008 recession a while ago. I haven’t ever done a clutch job either with a rack, in a parking lot , or in my driveway, so can’t offer much in the way of technical ideas to help you out OP, unfortunately. Some of the experts here have mentioned the use of dowel pins when mating up the transmission to the engine at the end of the job however, so you might google" dowel with your engine and transmission number" and see if anything pops up that might help make the job easier. Be very careful there OP. Use whatever safety precautions are required to keep the transmission from ending up landing on top of you.
Yeah. Let’s help him instead of beating on him, eh?
OP, can you afford a tow-rope and do you have a friend in town with a car? You said you were going to replace the whole clutch in a storage unit. You would be much better off towing the car there now and doing the whole thing in there.
I don’t think I could get the clutch housing disassembled and the slave swapped out in an hour in my garage with a full compliment of tools. If you can do it in a Walmart parking lot, and you’re not a professional mechanic, well, you bloody well should be.
I can virtually guarantee that when the sun comes up and employees start filling the parking lot you are still going to be under your car. I don’t know that you’d get arrested, but Walmart will almost certainly tow your car and then you will have to pay towing fees and impound fees, and if you can’t pay them you will eventually forfeit the car. Don’t put yourself in that position.
Alternately, if you feel comfortable posting what city you’re in, we can help you find services that will help you get the car running again.
Nothing to add to this except good luck. I changed out an alternator in the NAPA lot once even though their sign said not repairs in the lot. I’m sure its for insurance purposes. I really had to since I was on the road and needed to drive 200 miles yet that night. I was fast though and only took about 10 minutes and no one said anything.
I do remember at Disney though, I barely got the hood open and security stopped by strongly suggesting I take it to their car care center. I was having problems with the cruise and wanted it working for the trip home. All I used to do was pull the cruise unit and apply some grease to a particular vacuum port so it wouldn’t leak and it’d be fine for 3-4 months. I got so I could do it in about 15 minutes. I’m sure Walmart has parking lot cameras too and security probably won’t be as nice.
With all the right tools and working in a well lighted shop a beginner DIYer would find pulling and reinstalling a FWD transmission quite a challenge. We have posts from DIYers who have spent days trying to get a CV joint out of the transmission. Others who have broken bolts in difficult locations. I can only imagine the problems that will be jumping out from under a car in the parking lot at a Wal-Mart store.
If you do this at night you’ll have to have lighting and it might look even more strange to a cop. I would just do it during the day. Lots of people do repairs at the parts stores even if it’s not allowed. If you’re on the road and don’t want to pay a mechanic, you don’t have many options. If you could get the car to a vacant lot nearby that would be a lot less stressful. I wouldn’t have any problem doing a 3 hour repair in a parking lot but changing a clutch could take days.
The parking lot im in is next to the Walmart parking lot. No security. The repair isnt going to be done all at once with the car jacked up for 8 hrs. I will remove/disconnect/loosen everything at two different times. The car wont be jacked up. Nobody will notice Then ill do the part where i jack it up at a different time hours later at 4 am. Gives me time.
Im typing this at 6am and ive been up since 5 am and very few cars came by.
I agree with DB4690 that Ricky is likely in a tough position where doing it this way is not his first choice.
Like many here, I’ve changed all kinds of parts in public places, (including clutches, though they were on the easier RWD vehicles). You do what you have to do.
Ricky wrote:
I’m going to support it with a jack
Please be sure to support it with blocks of wood or something similar. Too many horror stories when getting under a car only supported by a jack. We want you to be able to return here to let us know how it all worked out.
Given how Walmart might get upset if they see you doing this (when it’s too late for you to do anything because you’ve disassembled it already), I’d be inclined to see if there is somewhere just off the Walmart parking lot that is out of Walmart’s concerns and gives you the flat surface you’re looking for.
Ricky:
If you need to drive the car somewhere, Tester’s above advice is spot-on. It would be my first choice for getting the car to a desired repair location.
Many of us have resorted to using that technique many times.
Ok ill do the driving with no clutch plan until i get to a desired repair location. I skipped over it because the wiring part sounds complicated. But I want to learn how to do this because its sounds like something that every man should know.
I have the repair guide so Ill use it to find the wiring but i may have to ask a few questions
Get a AAA membership card then ask the tow truck driver to deliver your car at your home address or at the location of your choice.AAA Plus membership card is under $90 and you are allowed 3 free towing a year.
