Sr20det clutch change help

[a30mayne]

Okay so I've got the procedure on how to drop the transmission and change the clutch, pressure plate, etc down but I'm stumped on how to get access to the three top transmission bolts on the driver side and the two on the passnger side. Anyone have any tips or pointers on how to gain access to these? Thanks.

[Hijacker]

They're not impossible to get to. You can attack them with a looong extension from under the car, or you can get at them with a combo wrench from the sides. A lot of time, the bolts will be galled in due to the expansion differences of the steel bolt and the aluminum block. Just have patience and a lot of elbow grease, and they'll pop free.

[blkvrtswp]

Got any children around? My 10 year old nephew really helped me with those bolts once. Small hands can fit in much easier.

[Lobo240sx]

They're not impossible to get to. You can attack them with a looong extension from under the car, or you can get at them with a combo wrench from the sides. A lot of time, the bolts will be galled in due to the expansion differences of the steel bolt and the aluminum block. Just have patience and a lot of elbow grease, and they'll pop free.

This. Loosen the motor mounts if you have to and tilt the engine back so you can reach them. Lots of WD-40 or penetrate before you loosen them.

[codyace]

As stated in the posts above, loosening the front cross member certainly helps, you can easily gain 3/4 to 1" of room doing that.

IMO the best solution is to use a short socket and a universal joint setup (either in 1/2" or 3/8" drive), along with some long extensions in a row. In my own particular tool box, I actually went out and got the Matco Universal jointed Sockets (they have all metic sized sockets with a built in universal) to make life super easy, as well as a long handled 3/8" drive wratchet. While using 1/2" drive is prefered, a long handle 3/8" works great.

[Hijacker]

Funny story. I was pulling the motor in my car many years ago. But i was gonna leave the trans in place. So I was under the car with a 4 ft extension and a 1/2" impact. The bolts were so galled, the gun was struggling to break the bolts out.

Cody, do you have a link to the Matco sockets? I've been looking for a good set of universal chromes. How do you like them? and are they ball and socket style or the craftsman style with the hinged bar? I prefer the ball and socket style. They're always smoother.