Finally doing the tranny

3A-C Power · Post by **3A-C Power** » Mon Oct 11, 2004 6:07 pm

I got around to doing the transmission Saturday. I was going to order a clutch from the parts store after giving up on the one from ebay, and it turned out they had a new clutch kit in stock. Being a saturday, even though I had to leave for my parents house the following day, I decided on a whim to start the job.

After 13 hours, I got as far as having the new trans about 3" from the engine, but having some difficulty getting it aligned using a cheap tranny jack at the front and a regular car jack at the rear. I may separate the bellhousing and front diff from the transmission and put it on one piece at a time if that is possible. Of those 13 hours, many were spent putting the 5th gear back in the new trans and putting the trans/bellhousing back together as I did some things in the wrong order and had to work backwards. Also I had to get the 5th gear snap ring out of the old trans as I destroyed the other one getting it on and off. I ended up using the old front diff to keep the 4.1:1 ratio.

The clutch kit was wrong. The clutch disc did fit but the pressure plate and release bearing didn't. I hope to get a partial refund from the store because I can't use 2/3 of the parts in that kit, but I did have to use the clutch disc as the original one was toast. As I suspected, the rotational spring/dampers were shot and allowed for several degrees of slop between the outer disc and hub, and were probably stiff as rocks, and this would account for the clunk that occurs when going on or off of the gas with the clutch out. The new disc has steel springs rather than rubber blocks, so there's no damping but more springiness. The kit didn't come with a pilot bearing but thankfully mine is super smooth and has no play.

There has been some departure from the FSM's way of doing things - I didn't remove the front exhaust or the driveshaft, and I wouldn't reccommend either. I only removed the exhaust fromt the manifold, and those nuts and studs usually fare better than the ones underneath the car. To get the front pipe apart from the catalytic converter, you will probably have to cut the bolts and get new ones, and replace the gasket, and that takes more time than just undoing the pipe from the manifold and letting it hang. It's even easier if the band that attaches the front exhaust to the support on the transmission is rusted out, and most of your exhaust hangers are missing. There is no need to disconnect the driveshaft from the rear diff because if you undo the center support bearing from the frame (2 bolts), you can get the other end out of the tranny just fine.

Other than getting the new trans aligned and onto the engine, the real time-wasters seem to be just the odd stubborn, stripped or rusted bolt or nut here and there. The impact gun has saved me alot of time but is by no means necessary. I broke the left siffener plate (frome engine block to front diff) trying to jack the engine up by it, and one of two right stiffener plate bolts broke off rather than coming out. I can get the car driveable before resolving those issues.

Now I have to get my moped running so I can get to work tomorrow. I did manage to get a ride to my mom's house with friends that were going that way anyways, and got a ride back, so this expenditure has saved me $20 in gas plus whatever I will save by using my moped until the car is fixed. I have been wanting to use the car less anyways, but lack the self will to get up any earlier in the morning than is absolutely necessary in order to get to work on time at the inhuman hour I start at. With no transmission however, I will have no choice. I hope I get used to it and then leave the car at home more often when this tranny job is done.

A word about redline gear oil - I can't say with certainty that it was the Redline's fault, but given the facts you would be taking a risk by putting it in your transmission. Manual trans gear oil is usually clear even after alot of mileage, but after about 50,000 kilometers, my oil came out an ugly opaque brownish grayish colour, and sort of metallic looking, even after I recently added one litre of new 80W-90.

And a word about minor transmission leaks - they may be worse than you think. Despite having added that liter of oil a few weeks ago, not very much oil came out when I drained it. It seemed like the leak in my driveshaft seal was insignificant, but all those drips of oil must have added up. Or maybe the Redline stuff burns when it gets too hot.

I think I'll stay the hell away from unproven synthetic oils and live with slower shifting in the winter. With the trans under 20,000 miles and me in the habit of double-clutching on all downshifts, the synchros should last and cold shifting won't even be so bad. If all that's wrong with your trans is a synchro ring or two, you'd be better off changing them than wrecking everything else using this Redline as a band-aid solution.

Any tips on how to get the trans lined up?

tercel4wdrules · Post by **tercel4wdrules** » Mon Oct 11, 2004 7:02 pm

A transmission job is way harder than I had orginally thought. If I would of attempted to have done it I'm sure mine wouldn't have the transmission on that's for sure. I'm not sure I would of have been able to have taken it off in the first place. Good luck.

arbskynxnex · Post by **arbskynxnex** » Mon Oct 11, 2004 7:23 pm

I would get the car jacked up as level as possible, that was the only way mine would come out and I'm pretty sure the only way it will go in. If you have access to an engine hoist I would unbolt the engine and move it forward as far as I could (or just pull it) and get the transmission bolted up in the rear, and jacked up in the front and then slide the engine back it. It is much easier to get the engine off the trans, then the trans off the engine. I actually had to yank the catalytic converter and front exhaust off, one of the posts for the exhaust hangers wedged right up against the trans and made it a turd to get out. I would also watch the arm for the clutch cable, that is actually what made it so hard to get ours out, it just jammed on everything, but we just muscled it out. good luck.

Thereminator · Post by **Thereminator** » Mon Oct 11, 2004 9:26 pm

:unsure: 3A,I dont downshift most of the time.When I aproche a stoping situation I'll clutch right into
neutral and coast into a gradual stop.Is that good or bad for the tranny?(syncro's?) :unsure:

takza · Post by **takza** » Tue Oct 12, 2004 4:21 am

Hope you used a splined alignment tool when you snugged the pressure plate down....centers the disc. I tried putting one in once without using one...and it didn't work.

The thing about trans leaks is that a STAIN might be OK...but a DRIP can be bad...cause you never really know how much is getting out....unless you constantly check.

I don't think you are having fun...maybe a little help would do it. I usually try most jobs by myself...it can be a real bummer when you get seriously stuck.

GTSSportCoupe · Post by **GTSSportCoupe** » Tue Oct 12, 2004 9:33 am

Crap, that sounds like a lot of work. I've done a couple clutches on AE86s by pulling the trans off the engine, and it was a heck of a lot of work. It's much much easier when you have a second person to help out.

When I did the clutch on my AL25, I did it with the engine out. It was much easier this way, as I could just adjust the height of the engine with the engine hoist, and it was easy to tilt it etc until the trans input shaft slid into the clutch.

Good luck. Try to find a second pair of hands to help you muscle it back together.

3A-C Power · Post by **3A-C Power** » Tue Oct 12, 2004 8:40 pm

Thanks guys. I got it in tonight using the aforementioned two stage method - bellhousing first, then the actual transmission. I put the transmission on with out the input shaft (it comes out easily) then slipped the input shaft in - much easier that way. In fact if I'd taken the input shaft out at first, I may have been able to do it with the trans all together.

I would reccommend this method (of course, it's the only way I could do it) to anyone without lots of help and a real tranny jack. You can get the bellhousing on by hand by bench-pressing it up there and lining up the bolt holes. The transmission part is heavier but it has two studs that help you get it aligned. You do need a jack for that unless you're strong.

I'll be reporting on how the Z52F works as soon as I get the driveshafts, front exhaust, wiring, starter, and all that crap back in.

3A-C Power · Post by **3A-C Power** » Fri Oct 15, 2004 5:50 pm

The new transmission is pretty good. Not really fast shifting but smooth and quiet, and it feels like it's working the way it should. The new clutch (disc only) made a huge improvement. It engages smoothly with no chatter, and that nasty clunk in the driveline is gone. The clutch pedal is much easier to push now and that must be the grease that I put on the clutch fork where it contacts the release bearing. It is great to have a normal working transmission now.

takza · Post by **takza** » Sat Oct 16, 2004 6:16 am

ChoMama just woke up and had 2 things to say: keep some good oil in it and use the clutch....then she went back to la la land.

Glad you got in in there...just hope I don't get to have the experience myself.