Remove 5spd while engine is in car - slides right back in?

[jt15833]

I am in the midst of removing the trans, replacing the clutch and reinstalling a new trans. I read a good clutch change tutorial here and it advises to remove all the bolts, support the trans at front and back with jacks, then remove the trans mount and slide the trans back and it'll come out.

Well for mine, this kind of worked, but when I got it separated from the engine but before it was ready to drop down, I ran into the trans tunnel with the top of the bellhousing. From here it took some manuevering but I got it out. This undoubtedly raises the question in my head, how should i do this when reinstalling it? I did todays job by myself and can see how another person would help, but that may not be possible.

Any tips from you guys on going about this?
Thanks!

[Razi]

I had to undo the engine mounts and put a 2x4 on the oil pan (The part that bolts onto the engine) and start jacking it up until the engine was tilted back a lot.
That helped me avoid hitting the transmission tunnel and slide that transmission back in.

[jt15833]

thought i had to do something like that. I'm guessing you loosened the motor mount nuts a good bit but did not remove them completely? Did you keep your radiator hoses attached? I figure they will be able to stretch/deform a little.

This is gonna be a b**** if i can't find a friend to help.

[Razi]

Yeah, I undid just the bottom part of the motor mount.
You can leave everything else alone. If you have the stock fan, that might hit the shroud but it's no big deal.

I did the mounting of the transmission by myself, but I had a transmission jack to help me so that helped alot.

[fastass]

seeing that i just did this about a month ago you do not have to remove anything to put it back in. it just takes some hard work and dedication. yes its a pita but you can get it without un-bolting motor mounts.

[breadbox]

Putting it back alone what you want to do is jack the motor up but not much and I didn't unbolt any mounts at all. then get the trans under the car, then head by the clutch and feet towards diff. put trans on your chest and lift the back with the legs and lift it into position while its tilted slightly counterclockwise then line it up throw it in and straighten it out and done. with two people is easier with one working a jack and the other lining it up.

I've tried a jack and lining it up alone but if its a 5spd then the trans isn't too heavy. Autotrans are soooooooo heavy I almost died the first time I removed one.

[motoman399]

Putting it back alone what you want to do is jack the motor up but not much and I didn't unbolt any mounts at all. then get the trans under the car, then head by the clutch and feet towards diff. put trans on your chest and lift the back with the legs and lift it into position while its tilted slightly counterclockwise then line it up throw it in and straighten it out and done.

good info.

to add a little bit. you can get some bolts that thread into the block (10x1.50) that are a decent length and cut the heads off of them so they act as alignment studs. then make sure you unbolt the catalytic converter completely and use the down pipe to tilt the engine down. sometimes you will need to lock the trans in gear and get the drive shaft in there to turn the input shaft. keep in mind if you put it in 5th gear that will put the most torque (spin the slowest) to the input shaft. it can definitely be done with only one person, i have done it about 5 times by myself. good luck

[Morph]

Next time i swap clutches im taking the engine and trans out. Took me and my dad 2 days of wrestling the thing to get it re-attached.

[bmr.S13]

it probably would be best if you got someone to help while lining it up.
i did mine about 5 months ago, like fastass said hard work and dedication

[OutToWinPAHC]

Loosen motor mounts, jack or lift front of motor back with the trans crossmember unbolted. Angles it just right

[S13AL]

I found it helpful to set a jackstand (w/2x4) under the oil pan before i unbolted my trans. That way the engine wouldn't spring back up when i took it off.

[got chub]

Loosen motor mounts, jack or lift front of motor back with the trans crossmember unbolted. Angles it just right

what he said. i still had to rotate my trans about 75-90 degree to get it to go in. took me about 2 hours to drop the trans a start back down the road.

[OutToWinPAHC]

Unless its a T56 and a LS motor, then your screwed

[drumers13boy456]

With your head under the clutch and your feet to the diff. Put the transmission on your chest, with the starter bulge facing downwards. One you get it in some what then go all the way to the back, hold on to the rear swaybar, and push with your feet on the transmission, turning your feet to the sides till you hear a distinc sound.

[drumers13boy456]

Then turn the transmission , lign it up, bolt it up.

[jt15833]

damn drumer i would love to see you perform that install, hopefully i should have my friend coming by in around 2 hours and we will tag team this hoe.

On a side note - i have been trying to find out why I was having the problem that caused my to pull this trans in the first place and after tearing everything down I believe I found it. For those curious, my problem was intermittent gear grinding, that would occur more frequently at high rpm shifts, and strangely enough if I gave the vehicle gas before letting the clutch pedal out to a certain point. It was the second observation that made me really think this is not a trans issue but a clutch/other issue.

Anyway I am fairly certain the problem was I had an auto pilot bushing in place and using a manual trans. The input shaft had no support after the clutch disc and this caused what I mentioned above, hopefully. I should have everything back together tomorrow, I will update my research threads on nico accordingly! STOKED!

[drumers13boy456]

Well lol acutally i did have some help. if you got a 2nd person have him hold the tail of the transmission. with hour head under the transmission and feet towards the front ot the car lift it up and shove it in. and again go to the back n push with your feet.

umm yeah that auto pilot doesnt work. your trqnny kight still be good though. did you check the fluid. did it have allot of metal shavings?

i had an auto pilot for a while. but i did mess up my transmission. all because i listened to some dumb red neck who swaped out a month before me. "aww dude you dont need to change the bushing. my syncs are going out too" is what he said. lol live n learn. good luck man.

[jt15833]

you wouldn't even believe the dumb stuff I've done in the past. Anyways not only did I take the transmission off and plan on changing the clutch, but I took the trans off that manual and switched the gearbox from a CA18 5spd I had with it. Wish I would have checked the bushing status at the beginning of the job. Oh well I know my CA18 5spd is good.

It's all about experience!

[S13AL]

I had an auto pilot bushing in place and using a manual trans.

holy crap, it seems like that should have annihilated your input shaft.

[Jah1mon]

I had to tackle the same job not too long ago.

I pulled the transmission with little problem, but struggled to get the transmission back in with proper alignment, I ended up pulling the engine, installing the transmission outside of the car, and dropping them back in together. It's much easier to do so, and you can avoid scratching the hell out of the paint on the fire wall.

[jt15833]

ok i highly recommend not doing this alone! I'm sure I COULD have done it, but with a lot of aggrevation, strain and pain. Me and a buddy did this in no time whatsoever, and no effort.

Slid the transmission under the car, I lifted the front as he slid my hydraulic floor jack under the middle tab sticking out of the bottom of the trans and from there it was all about jacking it up, tilting it and sliding it in. I did disconnect the exhaust at the cat and used a jack under the oilpan, with a block of wood, to angle the engine downwards at the back.

[motoman399]

good thing you got it. my way is easy to do it one person.. MAN UP lol jk