I have got some clutch fluid leak (fill master cylinder every 3-4 days now) and a little bit of slippage, so soon I will be removing the transmission. Hopefully I can last long enough until warmer weather.
Alright I have got the Haynes manual and found some descriptions here of your run-of-the-mill by-the-book trans removals. A search on "trans" and "driveway" reveals some vague references, but not the hard core details that will save me time trying to figure out how to do this.
I am getting a picture of myself raising and lowering a half de-sembled car up and down in my driveway trying to get the car high enough to get the trans out without it toppling on my head and killing me, and without using a hoist.
Can someone give me the quick and easy on this one? I am not concerned with the details, just tell me the stuff the books etc. leave out, like how to get the trany from under the car.
Also, can I support the engine with some good timber or something or do I have to use that engine support fixture?
I will be working on a '96 5spd 2.2L Cav.
A friend of mine & I just swapped my auto3sp-5spd manual over the weekend. Dropping the Auto was a bit of a bitch...The Subfram that comes from the firewall (drivers side) was kinda in the way...But thats for an auto...We used 2 jack stands on the drivers side, & one jack stand & a couple of wheels with tires more in the back...Getting the manual in was a BITCH!!...I would strongly sugesting getting an engine hoist/crane in order to lift the manual up...
I think the engine hoist would be best, because from what I saw the tranny should literally just go straight up & not at any angle, because of the tranny mounts that are welded onto the body, and the subframe that will be in the way...
Hope that helps& didnt confuse you...LOL
The two jacks thing is starting to bring back some memories. A problem I had with my camaro some years ago was that I got the transmission down, but could not get it out b/c I had not jacked the car up high enough. I ended up putting a small jack under the engine to support it while I lifted the entire car with the floor jack - all within the confines of my extremely small garage.
Aprox. how high was the cavalier sitting when you got the transmission out?
How did you support the engine?
I do have a hoist, but it is the overhead crane type and I made it out of old boards many years ago - needless to say it sort of deflected under load. i would have to re-assemble it again which would take time. The trans can't be that heavy can it? - compared to a V8 anyway right?
I think the car was up as high as the jack could take it up...
We were able to just let the engine sit by itself...We had to push the car over to a neighbour to get the new mounts welded, and we didnt have a jack underneath the engine...So it was fine
As for how heavy the tranny is...A guy alone can lift it up
its not hard at all i've done 6 in my driveway by myself. i usually use a jack to support the engine though in removing the transmission but the manual transmission is not hard at all.
my car now rests in pieces. Looking for a new one now.
yeah it is not too bad. If you unbolt all the bolts on the driver's side of the subframe, you can pull it down enough and wedge a 1" thick board in there. That will give all the clearance you need to work the tranny out from the engine compartment. As for how high to have the car, I would say about 18-24" should be good in the front. So jack up the car and put the jackstands nearly as high as they go.
Oh and TAKE YOUR TIME AND BE CAREFUL. Getting it out is easy. It is lifting it up from below and getting it back up there that is the hard part.
-da chinchilla
<img src="http://registry.gmenthusiast.com/images/jiggamon/avatar15569_2.gif">
Ahh, screw using 2 jacks. Put the damn thing up on jackstands, unbolt the trans and take it down by hand. The thing only weighs what, 50 lbs? Last time I had mine out I slid under the car with it, hoisted it up into place, held it with one hand while starting a bolt. If you need a jack to take the trans down, you need to start eating your Wheaties.
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Can some one who has never done front wheel drive (but rear wheel many times) do this in day?
Any tips/tricks or steps in the Haynes that I shouldn't do?
Wouldn't see why you couldn't. Just have to remove two axles instead of one driveshaft.
I'm with Nitro on this one. Jackstands and hands.
-da chinchilla
<img src="http://registry.gmenthusiast.com/images/jiggamon/avatar15569_2.gif">
Hell yea that it how I do it.
Jack stands high up in the air so that the tranny can come from under.
Undo the tranny mounts and the bell housing bolts and the lower motor mount.
Man it is almost impossible to put it on if you DON'T undue your lower engine mount.
You can drop it.
It is not that heavy, I usually push it to where I need to lift it and then I reach from the top and pull motherf****, it does a number on your lower back, every time I drop the tranny that night I pop a couple of Vicodins for that night or the next day.
I mean if your body is not used to it it hurts and if you do this kinda @!#$ daily then you are good. If you know what you are doing it shouldn't take you more than 2 hours to drop it and another 2 to put it back on.
A whole day would be a plenty, even with no experience, you just have to use common sense as what to take off, and then remember where to put it bcak on, I have done this crap so many times I can just pick up random bolts and tell you where they go. lol
Best time:"""11.946""" @ 114.73 mph @17psi 1.83--60"
11 second daily driver!!!!
Race Related 727-561-9440
Shop of choice for your 11 second J body!
Also, built bottom end and or top end LSJ and L61's available.
13's
----12's
----11's
----10's
wow never thought of taking the lower mount off. I do it with both engine mounts attached.
huh.
learn something every day.
-da chinchilla
<img src="http://registry.gmenthusiast.com/images/jiggamon/avatar15569_2.gif">
See what happens is when you take the tranny mounts off the engine is going to sag toward the tranny and then you unbolt the tranny from the motor and the engine goes BACK UP. Now this is where it sucks.
If the engine goes back up you really have NO ROOM to manuver with the tranny cause of the shaft and clutch assembly NOT LIKING eachother.
So what you do is get a jack and raise the engine, undo the lower motor mount and start lowering the engine to the point where it is about 10-15 degrees off, and then the tranny slides on like a BUTTER MAN!! lol.
SHAFT loves to penetrate the clutch assembly, get a couple of bell housing bolts in, and raise them both up.
Then put the tranny mounts on and the rest.
You will see this is the most efficient and easiest way.
Best time:"""11.946""" @ 114.73 mph @17psi 1.83--60"
11 second daily driver!!!!
Race Related 727-561-9440
Shop of choice for your 11 second J body!
Also, built bottom end and or top end LSJ and L61's available.
13's
----12's
----11's
----10's
damn...that's pretty wild. Thanks for the tips, I will be tearing the tranny off again sometime this spring to replace some bearings. Tranny is mad loud when cruising between 45-65 mph... Changed out the differential bearings and all, but no luck. I am 90% sure it is one of the bearings on the ends of the output shaft. I will be replacing all of them regardless, because I don't want to keep tearing this thing apart.
-da chinchilla
<img src="http://registry.gmenthusiast.com/images/jiggamon/avatar15569_2.gif">
Last time I did a clutch I didn't bother with the clutch alignment tool. I had a very hard time getting the trany in - would that have any thing to do with it?
I basically had to find some long bolts of the same thread and pull the trany in while tapping the end with a hammer - just enough to impact it a bit. After a bit of this and a lot of angst b/c I figured I was screwing up something (or afraid all the pushing and pulling would bring the car on me) the trany suddenly jumped into place. I haven't had any trouble with the car since.
I just figured the first time I used the clutch it would align itself - is that true?
Quote:
The thing only weighs what, 50 lbs?
When I had mine shipped UPS it was 98 LBS......
PearlWhiteZ wrote:Last time I did a clutch I didn't bother with the clutch alignment tool. I had a very hard time getting the trany in - would that have any thing to do with it?
I basically had to find some long bolts of the same thread and pull the trany in while tapping the end with a hammer - just enough to impact it a bit. After a bit of this and a lot of angst b/c I figured I was screwing up something (or afraid all the pushing and pulling would bring the car on me) the trany suddenly jumped into place. I haven't had any trouble with the car since.
I just figured the first time I used the clutch it would align itself - is that true?
You're kidding me right? You are lucky you did not do any damage to the clutch plate. The alignment tool holds the clutch plate in place, properly aligned so when you tighten the bolts on the pressure plate it puts pressure on the correct part of the clutch and flywheel. Once the pressure plate is tight, the tool is not needed, because the pressure plate holds the clutch in place. Then when you bring the tranny up, the input shaft should slide right into the clutch and everything is fine.
You basically used brute force to align the input shaft with the splines of the clutch which is just plain idiotic...sorry, no offense. You can damage the splines, on the clutch which, my friend, is never a good thing.
Consider yourself lucky.
-da chinchilla
<img src="http://registry.gmenthusiast.com/images/jiggamon/avatar15569_2.gif">
It was idiotic - but it worked. This time I will use the tool - it will probably same time too.
Karo (Car Customs) wrote:Quote:
The thing only weighs what, 50 lbs?
When I had mine shipped UPS it was 98 LBS......
Hmm, maybe it's just because I'm used to lifting crap all day in the weldshop.
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I have holes drilled in the top of my car floor jack and a piece of 1" square metal tube I can bolt on. I can run longer bolts through the tubing or a chain around it. I buddy of mine and I hand-bombed a T-10 into a '86 Jimmy I used to own and it was pretty much there that I decided I hadn't eaten enough Wheaties to try that again, and ten years later I am not any younger so I doubt thats changed. I think I'd rather avoid the use of Vicodin altogether.
I wanted to wait longer before I had to antagonize myself with this project, however, the car is pretty close to undrive-able now. The weather here is still to cold to reasonably work outside - I changed the wires and plugs outside on my van this weekend. Trying to dislodge the snow from your sockets every time you want to use them is a real pain, not to mention the fact that once the nerves in your hands are numb, you find every sharp piece of metal on your engine - riip! - oh that will hurt when I thaw out!
I am probably going to have to move to the inside of my garage. I will have limited room at the front of the car for jack movement etc and absolutely no room at the sides - maybe a foot or two.
I guess this will be a lot of fun with the Cavy since I know only how to jack from the sides. I am thinking about driving it up on ramps and then replacing the ramps with jack stands- apparently, according to the Haynes I need the wheels off.
Is there a support underneath at the front I can use - or some other time saving trick which won't involve me being pinned to the wall of my garage?
HEYHEY HEY back from the dead. anybody want to add anything else. I will be pulling my 2200 and trans out to put the new motor in soon 2-3 days. I already have all fluids drained and harness disconected from engine/trans.
I managed to successfully complete this job and the car is still running fine. I did screw up the CV joints by removing the tranny with them still attached - remove them first.
I wrote a bit about my experience right after, the link below is to one of them.
Clutch hyperlink
I wrote some notes when I did it, just post here. I can't promise I'll be of any use, but I'll see what I can remember.
hey guys,
i dont have experience removing a tranny, but i will be dropping my 5spd out of my 96 z24. 2nd gear synchros are gone.
Is that something i could handle on my own. with only jack stands and a hydraulic jack?
Is it a good idea to do the clutch also? i have 250,000kms on the car.
also, there was a post on the steps of removing and installing a tranny awhile back. anyone know where i can find it??
thanks
Dave
Removing the tranny is easily done with jackstands and a jack...and a bunch of other various wrenches. That is how I do it.
Changing out a synchro, however...well that requires presses, gear pullers, and a whole lot of patience...
-da chinchilla
<img src="http://registry.gmenthusiast.com/images/jiggamon/avatar15569_2.gif">
Dropped the tranny and changed my clutch in a day.
2004 Grand Prix GTP (Competition Group)
SOLD-->1999 Z24 5M-#30 to register on JBO
"You can please some of the people some of the time but you can't please all the people'
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