my boring clutch rebuild thread

Time for a curse break.

G%$#&^*( D$#@! This M*&!!%$#@ job!!!! My F$#@!%^ neck is killing me from all this neck-craning! Thanks to my valve covers that have been leaking for years, every G%$# F$#@ thing is covered in oil including me. [note to self: next time you develop oil leaks, how about fixing them you IDJIT!]

The starter is out and I am down to the last freekin bolt on the clutch access cover, the one by the slave, and i have no freaking idea how I will ever get a wrench on that one! i have always wanted to be a magician and I guess i better become one fast beause there is no way to get a f4321771 wrench on it. F^%&***$$#@ THIS!!!!! All this for a rustbucket with 310K!!!!!

There, that's better. Not much, but a little.
 
Time for a curse break.

G%$#&^*( D$#@! This M*&!!%$#@ job!!!! My F$#@!%^ neck is killing me from all this neck-craning! Thanks to my valve covers that have been leaking for years, every G%$# F$#@ thing is covered in oil including me. [note to self: next time you develop oil leaks, how about fixing them you IDJIT!]

The starter is out and I am down to the last freekin bolt on the clutch access cover, the one by the slave, and i have no freaking idea how I will ever get a wrench on that one! i have always wanted to be a magician and I guess i better become one fast beause there is no way to get a f$#%^!! wrench on it. F^%&***$$#@ THIS!!!!! All this for a rustbucket with 310K!!!!!

There, that's better. Not much, but a little.
 
Previologist said:
Time for a curse break.

G%$#&^*( D$#@! This M*&!!%$#@ job!!!! My F$#@!%^ neck is killing me from all this neck-craning! Thanks to my valve covers that have been leaking for years, every G%$# F$#@ thing is covered in oil including me. [note to self: next time you develop oil leaks, how about fixing them you IDJIT!]

The starter is out and I am down to the last freekin bolt on the clutch access cover, the one by the slave, and i have no freaking idea how I will ever get a wrench on that one! i have always wanted to be a magician and I guess i better become one fast beause there is no way to get a f$#%^!! wrench on it. F^%&***$$#@ THIS!!!!! All this for a rustbucket with 310K!!!!!

There, that's better. Not much, but a little.
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You should feel much better X 2 now since you posted this twice...LOL..I feel your pain, good luck!
 
I mostly use acetylene torch on the exhaust bolts. Or I use a coil induction heater too.. I heat those bolts till they turn red many times to get them to come use and out.

When I pulled my manual transmission out. I had a heck time getting those bolts on flywheel cover off. Its a metal plate on the bottom. :-(

Its a project to change a clutch. You get there. Just take your time. When rust is involved it does take a lot longer to work with. I fought with a AC adjusting bolt for 2 weeks before I got it out.. You can do this. :-)
 
The cursing seems to have helped. I had to remove a harness clip (easy, pop it out with a screwdriver) and then ran a long extension section from way forward, where i could insert a ratchet from below, while black chunks of crud fell into my ears.

But I got that last cover bolt out. Then I dropped it into some hidden cranny where I couldn't find it again, but who cares. I'll find it or replace it.

On to the tranny. I may have to rest my poor neck for a couple days first.
 
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phattyduck said:
Hey, with the auto you have to do that cover *then* the torque converter bolts! I suppose it could be worse.

-Charlie
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Yes the TC bolts are 2nd worse. I done 3 of those jobs too thus far 1 man, 2 auto. :-) At the time, I didn't have the flex head long wrench ratchets. Those make that plate bolts job a lot easier. The bell housing bolts need very long extensions and tilt everything in the rear done some to get at those 2 top bell housing bolts. I am sure I be doing some down the road as well but at least now its on a lift. With newer rigs though.. its almost impossible to get to things without a lift. In the 3rd gens though thankfully, you can do just about everything off jack stands with an engine hoist. :D
 
I realized that I really needed to get that last harness clip off so I could move it out of the way and give room for extensions over the top. It took forever to find the blind release with my pick but finally got it, then realized there was yet another one but that one was easy. I cracked one of the easy to reach tranny bolts just to see if I could. I have a lengthy extension up very close to a top bolt, which is where I think I'll stop for the night. I think I will need to add a wobble extension to get it on the bolt.

2 things: I've seen some references recommend supporting the engine before removing the tranny. Is that really necessary?

Also seen reference to using a ratchet strap around the rear axle to pull the tranny off the pins. I'm not sure how I would attach it to the transfer case, if I chose to try that, but doing this alone I may need all the help I can get.
 
OK, we are at the moment of truth now. Bolts out, cross member out, wires secured out of the way, slave apparatus sort of out of the way, tranny strapped to tranny jack.

I'm not sure about this tranny jack, I don't trust it. I guess the old ones had chains but the new ones have a nice heavy ratchet strap. The bad thing is it is situated right in the middle, and placing the jack at the point that I want to place it lines the strap up with the plastic back up light switch, which would break it. So I had to move the jack far enough forward to avoid that. You also don't have any choice where the strap ratchet ends up, it is where it is, and it ends up in a bad place where its hard to work it no matter what you do with it. And having the jack further forward made me nervous that the transfer case would tip the whole thing backward, so I put a small floor jack under the t-case. The whole setup still makes me nervous.

So here we go.
 
Support the back of the engine or it will tilt/drop down once the transmission is no longer there to support it!!!
 
AuSeeker said:
Support the back of the engine or it will tilt/drop down once the transmission is no longer there to support it!!!
Click to expand...


I do have a wood block on a floor jack under the oil pan. I hope that's enough because I think the tranny is at least partly if not completely free now. I know it budged backwards an inch or so and that's where I left it for dinner. Heading out to survey the situation now...
 
Previologist said:
I do have a wood block on a floor jack under the oil pan. I hope that's enough because I think the tranny is at least partly if not completely free now. I know it budged backwards an inch or so and that's where I left it for dinner. Heading out to survey the situation now...
Click to expand...

The jack will be fine for support.
 
Well it's out. Phew! And I didn't break a single thing, except maybe the Harbor Freight jack lol. It's looking and acting a bit err, lopsided. Will assess in the morning.

I'd like to think the worst is behind me now, but I know better. It came out really easy, and I know it won't be that easy getting it back in.
 
Previologist said:
Well it's out. Phew! And I didn't break a single thing, except maybe the Harbor Freight jack lol. It's looking and acting a bit err, lopsided. Will assess in the morning.

I'd like to think the worst is behind me now, but I know better. It came out really easy, and I know it won't be that easy getting it back in.
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Congratulations!

Do you have a clutch alignment tool to get the clutch in it's proper position when you install it?
 
AuSeeker said:
Congratulations!

Do you have a clutch alignment tool to get the clutch in it's proper position when you install it?
Click to expand...

Yep there's one in the Aisin kit I bought. I didn't realize that until tonight. I was at the auto parts store buying brake cleaner and asked if they had one, and they said it usually comes with their clutch kits. I came home and sho nuff, there it was.
 
Previologist said:
Yep there's one in the Aisin kit I bought. I didn't realize that until tonight. I was at the auto parts store buying brake cleaner and asked if they had one, and they said it usually comes with their clutch kits. I came home and sho nuff, there it was.
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Most shops that do a particular transmission regularly will cut the input shaft off a broken trans to use. You'll have to be careful with the plastic too since there is some extra play there. When you put it back together have a *very* light film of grease on the input shaft (like, apply then wipe it off fairly well) and a bit of grease on the dowel pins too to help everything come together.

I have also used extra bellhousing bolts with the head cut off (and a slot cut in place of the head to allow removal) as alignment dowels to help too. You may also have to rotate the trans output shaft (with it in gear) slightly to get the input splines to line up with the clutch.

-Charlie
 
phattyduck said:
Most shops that do a particular transmission regularly will cut the input shaft off a broken trans to use. You'll have to be careful with the plastic too since there is some extra play there. When you put it back together have a *very* light film of grease on the input shaft (like, apply then wipe it off fairly well) and a bit of grease on the dowel pins too to help everything come together.
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What do you mean by "be very careful" with the plastic tool? What am I trying to avoid from happening? I haven't studied the installation process in detail yet, maybe it will be obvious when I do.

I have also used extra bellhousing bolts with the head cut off (and a slot cut in place of the head to allow removal) as alignment dowels to help too. You may also have to rotate the trans output shaft (with it in gear) slightly to get the input splines to line up with the clutch.

-Charlie
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Do you install the cut bolts first and use them as extra dowels, or screw them in once you have it close just to tweak the final alignment? I like the idea but might try it once without just to see if I get lucky.

I don't think I'm going to get lucky on the flywheel. I'm no expert but to me it looks like new flywheel time.
 

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Previologist said:
What do you mean by "be very careful" with the plastic tool? What am I trying to avoid from happening? I haven't studied the installation process in detail yet, maybe it will be obvious when I do.
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The plastic tool has much larger clearances, so you can use the 'alignment tool' and still be misaligned and have assembly issues. You can also damage the plastic if you aren't careful. Make sure you are careful to not damage it and make sure you use the tool to center it the best you can (before you tighten down the flex plate, feel the extents in each direction, and work to center it while you snug it down to hold the clutch disk)

Previologist said:
Do you install the cut bolts first and use them as extra dowels, or screw them in once you have it close just to tweak the final alignment? I like the idea but might try it once without just to see if I get lucky.

I don't think I'm going to get lucky on the flywheel. I'm no expert but to me it looks like new flywheel time.
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The belhousing dowels are very short. The extra bolts would be 2-3" longer and help align and hold the transmission while you are trying to slide the input shaft into the clutch - otherwise if you aren't careful you can move the clutch out of alignment or put excessive pressure on it. Some manufacturers actually use studs on a few of the engine/trans fasteners just for this reason (see: Subaru).

enginepics015.jpg


-Charlie
 
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