Okay so I'm putting in a clutch. Got everything off, transmission off, old clutch off, flywheel resurfaced, new clutch/pressure plate on, everything torqued and greased properly. Now I can't get the transmission back on!!
Coming off it just came off, unbolted, pulled it baout 2 inches back, flipped 180 degrees and it was off, now it won't go back on. We have tried twice to no avail. The input shaft wil almost almost go into the hole in the clutch disc, but not quite. I verified with the clutch alignment tool that everything was lined up and it is. The second time we tried we jacked the engine up at the oil pan to push the transmission side down, it gave some more clearance but nothing. It was not jacked up at time of removal. Thje input shaft is very close, like part of it is over the hole in the clutch disc. We are two people with a hydraulic jack. We put it up as close as possible, rotate and try and get it on. We have tried all manner of rotating and pushing but something always hits the firewall. It's annoying because I have never not been able to finish a job.
Is there any way to get this? I am about to go to a transmission shop to have them finish the job. Anyone know what they would charge to just bolt up the transmission, that's it? Maybe 1/2 hour of work for someone experienced. HELP!!!
Clutch install help
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Holisticbeatz
- Posts: 1221
- Joined: Thu Mar 06, 2003 6:09 pm
- Location: Los Angeles, CA
Did you make sure to remove the clutch alignment tool before putting the transmission back in? (I thought I'd ask)
It's really tricky to manuver (sp?) back in. The best way I found to get the transmission back in without a lift was to have two guys get underneath the transmission while it's suspended in the air and have them get on their backs underneath the bellhousing part and the shifter. Then have another guy support the transmission with a jack positioned in the middle of the transmission for lift support. With the two guys underneath the transmission, have them bench press it up while the 3rd guy is supporting it with a jack. It takes sometime and a whole lot of sweat. It's a bit dangerous too, I'd advise extreme caution.
Tow the car to the transmission shop, have them bolt it up for you, then tow the car back and reinstall the rest of the stuff you disassembled. They'll probably charge you an hour of labor, they always round up.
"It's easier to take things apart than putting them back together." -Mr. Walsh (my old high school shop teacher)
It's really tricky to manuver (sp?) back in. The best way I found to get the transmission back in without a lift was to have two guys get underneath the transmission while it's suspended in the air and have them get on their backs underneath the bellhousing part and the shifter. Then have another guy support the transmission with a jack positioned in the middle of the transmission for lift support. With the two guys underneath the transmission, have them bench press it up while the 3rd guy is supporting it with a jack. It takes sometime and a whole lot of sweat. It's a bit dangerous too, I'd advise extreme caution.
Tow the car to the transmission shop, have them bolt it up for you, then tow the car back and reinstall the rest of the stuff you disassembled. They'll probably charge you an hour of labor, they always round up.
"It's easier to take things apart than putting them back together." -Mr. Walsh (my old high school shop teacher)
I've put my transmission in twice buy myself on my back it sucks. Ok put a 27mm on the crank and lock it in place so it won't move. Then put the bellhousing where the starter goes and point it up towards the car. Once you get the input shaft inside the pressure plate it will be easy from here. Just jack up the bottom of the transmission a little and start moving the starter side of the bell housing toward the passenger side and it should slide in. It should take some pressure to get the input shaft to get over the lip of the pressure plate. Hope this helps. Nick
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encasemyheart
- Posts: 634
- Joined: Wed Sep 25, 2002 1:29 pm
Yes the alignment tool is out. 
Do you all suggest jacking up the front of the engine while doing this or not?
I just called a transmission place and they want $325 to install it!! Just to stab the transmission and put on a couple things like the driveshaft/slave cylinder etc. ugh. Guess I have to do this myself.
Do you all suggest jacking up the front of the engine while doing this or not?
I just called a transmission place and they want $325 to install it!! Just to stab the transmission and put on a couple things like the driveshaft/slave cylinder etc. ugh. Guess I have to do this myself.
yes get the engine tilted as far down in the back as possible by lifting it in the front with the jack. the key is once you get the splines on the trans input shaft into the clutch plate and almost all the way seated is to rock it back and forth at the rear while some one is pushing up and forward at the bell. if you are having difficulty lining up the input splines with the clutch plate splines. get it to that point and rotate the flywheel slightly with a big screw driver. repeat untill it slides.
Did you put a new pilot bearing? If so, that may be the cause. It happend to me not to long ago. I had my motor out of the car and I decided to put a new clutch in while I had the chance. I put a new pilot bearing in and I guess the inner diameter was a tad bit smal and the transmission did not want to go in at all!!
Even with 3 people pushing on it, the input shaft did not want to go in the bearing. What I did was take a dremel and grinded at the bearing a little bit. Becareful as to not damage the bearing. Make sure you clean out the shavings left over and add some bearing grease.
transmission went in perfect after.
Even with 3 people pushing on it, the input shaft did not want to go in the bearing. What I did was take a dremel and grinded at the bearing a little bit. Becareful as to not damage the bearing. Make sure you clean out the shavings left over and add some bearing grease.
transmission went in perfect after.
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encasemyheart
- Posts: 634
- Joined: Wed Sep 25, 2002 1:29 pm
Pilot bearing? Is this the same as a throwout bearing? If so it has been changed and greased. I greased all recommended points. The alignment tool fits perfectly into the clutch hole and it is the same as the input shaft. I can't physically get the input shaft lined up with the hole, the closest I have got was about 1/2"-3/4" from being in the hole. I'm to the point where jacking up the motor any more = whole car moves up.
Would unbolting motor mounts so I can get the motor at more of an angle help?
Would unbolting motor mounts so I can get the motor at more of an angle help?
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encasemyheart
- Posts: 634
- Joined: Wed Sep 25, 2002 1:29 pm
Tried it. When we get to that point the back end will not move up or down at all, there is no more clearance.
Someone suggested loosening the mounts to allow the engine to be jacked up more to make the back go down more and allow mor eclearance, that's why I brought it up. I'm trying again tomorrow afternoon, wish me luck.
Someone suggested loosening the mounts to allow the engine to be jacked up more to make the back go down more and allow mor eclearance, that's why I brought it up. I'm trying again tomorrow afternoon, wish me luck.
your not gonna like this but this is what i wound up doing...
getting transmission off... and everything was easy... flywheel bolts were on there real good, but i used a hydraulic jack shaft to squeeze between one of the pegs sticking out on the flywheel and the ground (to keep it from turning).
with 4 people under the car... we couldnt get the transmission back in no matter what we did... and peoples hands were getting cut on sharp transmission edges so i called it quits, and thanked them for trying. i then spent the next 1-2 hours with the transmission, 3 jacks, and tons of short wood 2x4's to use as shims so the jacks could reach from the ground. starter bell housing needs to be tilted down to the right pretty far. then you need to jack up the transmission it will go pretty easy until the part where its 1/4" - 1/2" away from goin in. I then just kept jacking up against the underbelly of the car with jacks in back of the transmission and front "wiggling" it up. it then popped in... and i almost **** my pants. i had just done it... i installed the transmission by myself... after trying tons of different orientations the clutch was in... its almost done!@@!@!
rest of the process went smoothly, underbelly of the car had a few scrapes unfortunately... but i got it in... and it worked. if i had to install a new clutch now i would get an engine hoist and take the engine and transmission out as a whole. the top right bolt on the transmission is impossible to get back on and torque down due to its position. i hate to leave things unbolted like that. but all the otherones went in.
MOST IMPORTANT THING if you decide to try the 2-3 jack method: dont let the input shaft take the whole weight of the transmission, you can have the transmission resting on the input shaft and a jack on the other end.... but NEVER let it take the whole weight of the transmission, if you bend it you are ****ed. GO SLOW, if you just keep trying different positions you will find one that it will sorta start goin in... stay with it, persistance. when it went in for me the starter part of the bell housing was about 40-60 degrees clockwise from its installed proper position.
getting transmission off... and everything was easy... flywheel bolts were on there real good, but i used a hydraulic jack shaft to squeeze between one of the pegs sticking out on the flywheel and the ground (to keep it from turning).
with 4 people under the car... we couldnt get the transmission back in no matter what we did... and peoples hands were getting cut on sharp transmission edges so i called it quits, and thanked them for trying. i then spent the next 1-2 hours with the transmission, 3 jacks, and tons of short wood 2x4's to use as shims so the jacks could reach from the ground. starter bell housing needs to be tilted down to the right pretty far. then you need to jack up the transmission it will go pretty easy until the part where its 1/4" - 1/2" away from goin in. I then just kept jacking up against the underbelly of the car with jacks in back of the transmission and front "wiggling" it up. it then popped in... and i almost **** my pants. i had just done it... i installed the transmission by myself... after trying tons of different orientations the clutch was in... its almost done!@@!@!
rest of the process went smoothly, underbelly of the car had a few scrapes unfortunately... but i got it in... and it worked. if i had to install a new clutch now i would get an engine hoist and take the engine and transmission out as a whole. the top right bolt on the transmission is impossible to get back on and torque down due to its position. i hate to leave things unbolted like that. but all the otherones went in.
MOST IMPORTANT THING if you decide to try the 2-3 jack method: dont let the input shaft take the whole weight of the transmission, you can have the transmission resting on the input shaft and a jack on the other end.... but NEVER let it take the whole weight of the transmission, if you bend it you are ****ed. GO SLOW, if you just keep trying different positions you will find one that it will sorta start goin in... stay with it, persistance. when it went in for me the starter part of the bell housing was about 40-60 degrees clockwise from its installed proper position.
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Holisticbeatz
- Posts: 1221
- Joined: Thu Mar 06, 2003 6:09 pm
- Location: Los Angeles, CA
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encasemyheart
- Posts: 634
- Joined: Wed Sep 25, 2002 1:29 pm
p00t wrote:your not gonna like this but this is what i wound up doing...
getting transmission off... and everything was easy... flywheel bolts were on there real good, but i used a hydraulic jack shaft to squeeze between one of the pegs sticking out on the flywheel and the ground (to keep it from turning).
with 4 people under the car... we couldnt get the transmission back in no matter what we did... and peoples hands were getting cut on sharp transmission edges so i called it quits, and thanked them for trying. i then spent the next 1-2 hours with the transmission, 3 jacks, and tons of short wood 2x4's to use as shims so the jacks could reach from the ground. starter bell housing needs to be tilted down to the right pretty far. then you need to jack up the transmission it will go pretty easy until the part where its 1/4" - 1/2" away from goin in. I then just kept jacking up against the underbelly of the car with jacks in back of the transmission and front "wiggling" it up. it then popped in... and i almost **** my pants. i had just done it... i installed the transmission by myself... after trying tons of different orientations the clutch was in... its almost done!@@!@!
rest of the process went smoothly, underbelly of the car had a few scrapes unfortunately... but i got it in... and it worked. if i had to install a new clutch now i would get an engine hoist and take the engine and transmission out as a whole. the top right bolt on the transmission is impossible to get back on and torque down due to its position. i hate to leave things unbolted like that. but all the otherones went in.
MOST IMPORTANT THING if you decide to try the 2-3 jack method: dont let the input shaft take the whole weight of the transmission, you can have the transmission resting on the input shaft and a jack on the other end.... but NEVER let it take the whole weight of the transmission, if you bend it you are ****ed. GO SLOW, if you just keep trying different positions you will find one that it will sorta start goin in... stay with it, persistance. when it went in for me the starter part of the bell housing was about 40-60 degrees clockwise from its installed proper position.
Thanks for all the info. One quick question before I go and do all this in a few hours. You said the starter part of the bellhousing (the part with the big round bump) was rotated 40-60 degrees upon install. Is that 40-60 degrees clockwise as standing in front of the car and looking? I have rotated it 0-180 degrees and everything in between while going counter-clockwise as looking from the front of the car. So maybe I'm rotating the wrong direction?
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encasemyheart
- Posts: 634
- Joined: Wed Sep 25, 2002 1:29 pm
Got it!!
Yesterday we worked on it again and couldn't get it at all, it sucked.
So this morning I went by myself and installed it. BY MYSELF and only one jack!! I was pretty proud of myself. Now everything is in, I just followed the advice here and did not end up loosening motor mounts or even jacking up the front of the engine. Just 2 jack stands holding p the car, myself and a hydraulic jack.
FYI I'm 20, weigh 200lbs and am about 6'2". I don't work out or anything like that so I'm not all that muscular. Just a reference for anyone else who may want to do this alone. I don't understand how I did it but myself and my dad couldn't get it after 5 days of trying. Oh well.
Thanks everyone for the help.
Yesterday we worked on it again and couldn't get it at all, it sucked.
So this morning I went by myself and installed it. BY MYSELF and only one jack!! I was pretty proud of myself. Now everything is in, I just followed the advice here and did not end up loosening motor mounts or even jacking up the front of the engine. Just 2 jack stands holding p the car, myself and a hydraulic jack.
FYI I'm 20, weigh 200lbs and am about 6'2". I don't work out or anything like that so I'm not all that muscular. Just a reference for anyone else who may want to do this alone. I don't understand how I did it but myself and my dad couldn't get it after 5 days of trying. Oh well.
Thanks everyone for the help.
encasemyheart wrote:Got it!!
Yesterday we worked on it again and couldn't get it at all, it sucked.
So this morning I went by myself and installed it. BY MYSELF and only one jack!! I was pretty proud of myself. Now everything is in, I just followed the advice here and did not end up loosening motor mounts or even jacking up the front of the engine. Just 2 jack stands holding p the car, myself and a hydraulic jack.
FYI I'm 20, weigh 200lbs and am about 6'2". I don't work out or anything like that so I'm not all that muscular. Just a reference for anyone else who may want to do this alone. I don't understand how I did it but myself and my dad couldn't get it after 5 days of trying. Oh well.
Thanks everyone for the help.
any tips? I'm about to go do mine as well