Your techniques to putting transmission back on to s13

[smokin240]

I know plenty of you have done this before and have seen how much of a pain it is to get the transmission lined up correctly to mount it back on the engine. I know it's mainly the firewall and how high the engine is sitting that causing it. What solutions have you guys tried and worked? I've been trying to figure this out myself, but its been 2 days now and im about to give up and take it somewhere else....

EDIT: Im giving up, how much is it to have a mechanic to just install the transmission, basically just bolting it on? I can do the rest, like the drive shaft and everything in the interior.
Modified by smokin240 at 9:16 PM 2/6/2005

[Hijacker]

best way to DIY it in a garage is to angle the engine so that the rear tilts downward. Then you set the trans up on the jack and use it to get the trans back up in place. Then it's wiggle wiggle rotate to get it back on the splines. PITA without a trans jack. If you have access to a motorcycle jack, you may have an easier time.

[Pancor]

I jack the entire car up (not just the front, or rear) about 20", jackstands front and rear, then I can use my belly as the perfect transmission jack. Sometimes it seems like it is impossible to get the mofo in there as the input shaft just wont get by the finger springs into the clutch, but it will go. Once I was having a REALLY difficult time, and just jacked the transmission upwards (with a real jack) against the resistance until the input shaft popped in. Not too professional, but it worked. Good luck!

[gumby]

i did mine with the engine on a hoist by laying the trans in my lap and juggling it into position with my abs and butt muscles. it was sorta bitchy but it worked fine so ill second the previous advice.

[Snipersc]

So you really don’t have to tilt the motor to get the transmission out and back in right? Im planning on pulling it out to do a clutch change but the car will be on a lift. I was just wondering if it would be possible to get to the bolts with out tilting the motor.

[smokin240]

nah i got the transmission off just by wiggeling and pulling, putting it back on is the biatch. By the way I came up with an idea, I put a big *** breaker bar in between my headers and strapped a crank pully to the top with a hook on the end, and the other end is wrapped around my side mirror and I cranked that up to pull the rear of the engine downwards. Had to take the hood off but I got it, I havent tried to see if the transmission will go on though but the engine moved down a good inch, hopefully enough, anymore and my mirror would probably break off

[Hijacker]

tilting the motor isn't necessary, but it makes life easier.

If you're doing the trans on a lift, please get a proper trans jack. You don't really want to drop the trans.

[eddiec]

if you want an easy way to tilt the motor back to accept the transmission easier..... get a long pipe or 2 x 4 to span the gap across the strut towers. hang a come along from this and hook the crank pulley. slowly raise the front, tilting the back down a little. it only takes a little bit. lube up the input shaft so it goes on easier.

[smokin240]

I got a trans jack and it isnt making it any easier... it simply wont clear the firewall so the shaft can go into the clutch. At first I got it to snap past the tabs on the pressure plate but after that it got so stuck between the firewall and the tabs it wouldnt move anywhere and I had to take the transmission completely out again with alot of force, and thats where im at now.

[Hijacker]

i remember having a tough time getting my friend's mazda 626's trans back on. We got it close enough to get 2 bolts started on opposite sides of the trans and used those to tighten it up to the block.

[Modifyed]

I haven't pulled the motor or trans in my car yet but I do have plenty of experience with small blocks. The think I do to make it easiest (and I know there a whole football field less in the 240) is get some old bellhousing bolts or new ones the same size but as long as you can, cut off the heads, thread at least two into the back of the block and use them as guide pins. I did the old transmission benchpress under my buddy's slammed Z28 and it wasn't fun and I will never do it that way again. EASIEST way is just pull the motor when you take the trans out and bring them both out and back in at the same time. Generally speaking you shouldn't even have to jack the car up to do that but again: Zero experience with a tiny car. I know there isn't a whole lot more work to get the motor prepped to pull in most cases. What's it like with the 240?

Darren

I do know that you should be able to tilt the engine back a WAYS with a jack under the front of the oil pan if you loosen the motor mount nuts.

[smokin240]

just finished trying again, i tried all your ideas and for some reason its not going in. my uncle and I both are wiggling, pushing, pulling and its not going in. I got it past the tabs but its not going in the clutch hole and the firewall isnt letting me push the transmission up any further so i can get the shaft in there and even if it did it wouldnt let me slide it in because of the friction. so how much would it be to have a mechanic put it on?

EDIT: MAUAHAHAHAHAHA I just jacked the mofo so hard up into the firewall it eventually lifted the car up and "snapped" into place. Whatever works right?
Modified by smokin240 at 1:54 PM 2/8/2005

[yellow_jacket]

I guess, as long as you didn't bend or break anything.

[den240]

Dude I just put the trans back on mine, and it went in pretty easy.

I had loosened the engine mounts and jacked up the front of the engine on the front of the flange where the oil pan hooks to the block. (so no oil pan bending)

Maybe I was just lucky...

[Pancor]

That is exactly how I did it last time, and the way I described in my first post. I don't know why, but sometimes it slides in and bolts up like it should, and sometimes its a goddamn nightmare. Wierd.....

[Bluefire]

You guys need to rotate the trans about 90 degrees to the passenger side so that it clears the tunnel. This is why it wont clear when putting it in. after the input shaft goes in rotate the transmission back and wiggle the rest in

-Bluefire

[eddiec]

yep i just remembered i had to turn the transmission on its long axis to get it in.