Transmission installation

[anthony.]

)There are probably topics about this already but I looked and didn't see much other than a thread with some tips about unbolting the engine crossmember and letting the engine hang a bit to install the trans, but that isn't any option for me beings I don't have a cherry picker or engine hoist.

The nightmare of ripping my trans out of my 89 s13 is over, the clutch is installed and now we just need to put it back together. The problem is, we can't seem to get the input shaft aligned with the hole in the clutch. We just keep ramming into the fingers (or whatever they're called) on the pressure plate and have things ramming into the top of the bottom of the car and firewall. We tried upside down, we tried right side up, we tried different positions of the jacks stands holding the front of the car up, we tried jacking up the oil pan a bit to get the rear of the motor to sag down a bit which it did, but nothing seems to help. We're using a floor jack to lift the trans up to the motor but we just can't get it. We're trying to lift it with the floor jack between the jacks stands with the jack handle facing the front of the car. Should we try to push the trans in from the side? I tried telling my brother to try that but he swears it won't work.

Am I missing something here or are we just retarded? Feel free to say it if I am.

I'm in Folsom, NJ (near Williamstown and Hammonton, not far from RT73 and the AC expressway) and I'm willing to pay someone $100 cash just to come help us get this damn bellhousing back up to the motor. IM me (gigah3rtz is my aim name) if you want to make some cash and help.

Anyone have any tips on getting this son of a ***** back in? Should I just lay the damn thing on the chest and push it up? I honestly have no idea what to try next. I know this takes a lot of pushing and feeling but so far we've invested 14 hours in the project and still can't get the trans back up to the motor. I absolutely have to get this done by Sunday because I've already called out of work two days because I have no way to get there and every shop I've talked to can't get it done until Tuesday at the earliest.

Modified by anthony. at 3:59 PM 4/18/2008
Modified by anthony. at 7:24 AM 4/19/2008

[xweav32]

if i was near i would help you but i dont sorry man

[anthony.]

I probably should have put this in the regional forum. If a mod thinks that's appropriate, please move.

[sportzguy38]

What worked for me was getting the transmission up and basically having the tip of the input shaft in and then once it was there I just twisted and wiggled it back and forth while pushing it in until it started sliding in. I just kept wiggling and kept at it; I didn't jack up the engine or anything I just jacked up the transmission right side up and wiggled it in. Now that I look back upon it maybe a little grease on the input shaft may have helped.

[anthony.]

What worked for me was getting the transmission up and basically having the tip of the input shaft in and then once it was there I just twisted and wiggled it back and forth while pushing it in until it started sliding in. I just kept wiggling and kept at it; I didn't jack up the engine or anything I just jacked up the transmission right side up and wiggled it in. Now that I look back upon it maybe a little grease on the input shaft may have helped.

Alright, we're going to try that tomorrow morning along with wrapping the trans with rope and feeding it up through the shifter hole and have someone hold the rope or tie it to the back of my brothers truck or something to help support the weight of the trans so we can sit under it and wiggle it in.

Did you do it yourself?

BTW, what weight gear oil should I use?

[240RB1]

i use 80w-90 as for gettin the transmission back on the block what i do is put the transmission in neutral now try to get the imput shaft tip on the motor and once that happens spin the tailshaft to spin the imput shaft it wont spin much but just enough to git-r-done

[madmeg323]

Have a coming to God meeting with your car, tell it how it is going to be. Then go get a beer. Rotate your transmission to where the bell house for the starter is down. ( or rotate the transmission 180) Crawl under car, lift transmission to motor get it really close. With your head toward the enigine lift your transmission and stab it. once its in raise your jack to support the weight . Drink another beer. Slide back under your car and shack the hell out of the transmission until it slides a little more, once it sets a little rotate it back to the normal position. Finish with a grunt and set the transmission and install bolts. After that Drink more beer

[anthony.]

Ehhhh .. I am taking it to a shop. My brother's sick now so I have no one to help me tomorrow finish the job.

[mrgreeneyes]

id totally be down for helping, but i couldnt come down til next week. didderson and i fought with his (he didnt listen to me ) for a long time. make 100% sure the clutch is aligned with the clutch alignment tool. it makes ALL the difference. once thats done, get two people under there, keep the shaft aligned, and twist the trans back and forth into place. keep the engine and trans level.

[anthony.]

Thanks for the offer, but I absolutely need to get it done ASAP because I won't have any rides for work after the weekend and I already called out twice, my managers are probably flipping **** because they act like the world is going to collapse if someone calls out. If for some reason I don't have it done by the time you can come down, I'll let you know.

We used the clutch alignment tool and the clutch is perfect from what I can see. The problem isn't so much getting the shaft to go in the hole, it's getting it lined up with the hole without ramming the part on the bellhousing for the starter into the firewall and underbelly of the car, or the rod that the slave cylinder moves. We're doing this laying on the ground and none of us are strong enough to lift it and hold it up. Maybe we're not getting under it enough, but we're afraid of it falling and hurting someone.

[KFL]

email me [email protected] If you still need help on install.. I'm free tommorow. I've done clutch installs on my s14 on my own.

[blinker_fluid]

My transmission was a pita with the engine out of the car. It wouldn't slide back on the input shaft. What i ended up doing was grease up the teeth and get the trans so it was lined up with the input shaft and with a piece of 2x4 and a 15lb sledge I lightly tapped the back of the transmission and she slid right on. I didn't force it on just gave it a few taps to push it forward, seemed better than shaking it back and forth.

[1sikS13]

We're doing this laying on the ground and none of us are strong enough to lift it and hold it up. Maybe we're not getting under it enough, but we're afraid of it falling and hurting someone.

im no big guy or anything but i can bench press that trans, its not that heavy. creeper make the strongest guy lay on his back set that ****er on his chest and have him push it up into the hole. while another person pushes in on the tail end of the transmission rotate back and clockwise counter clockwise till she slides in....dont give up...and yes a little white lithium grease on the shaft may help....P.s. the shifter is out right?

[anthony.]

im no big guy or anything but i can bench press that trans, its not that heavy. creeper make the strongest guy lay on his back set that ****er on his chest and have him push it up into the hole. while another person pushes in on the tail end of the transmission rotate back and clockwise counter clockwise till she slides in....dont give up...and yes a little white lithium grease on the shaft may help....P.s. the shifter is out right?

Yep.

[anthony.]

Alex (KFL) just left. He managed to get the trans up in 10 minutes. He went above and beyond what I ever expected and practically did it for me. I learned quite a bit and I appreciate what he did more than I could ever explain. After we got everything back together we discovered my slave cylinder was bad so he drove me all over to get a replacement, installed it and bled the line. Thanks again!!

[rickmoore60]

Well..........how did he do it???Straight up. Flipped 180. At 90 degrees?

[rickmoore60]

Ok, Alex.The secrets out. You got the transmission up and in in about 10 min.(?)PLEASE,enlighten us. How did you do it. What tricks. What angles. ETC.....Getting ready to go on Hour #5.

[progman]

I don't know what he did but I didn't have too bad of a time at it. I had my brother help me. I got under the car with my head under the back of the engine. Next I put the transmission on my chest upside down. I lifted the transmission and lined it up with the hole with my brothers help and then I got it to align right and started to slip it in. I put it in until it was about an inch off and then spun the transmission back around and pushed it rest of the way in. I remember trying to do it with the transmission right side up and I could not get it to fit like that. having someone to help is a big benefit.

[Q_Qmore]

zerothread?id=318898

read this, your life will be easy.