Pulling transmission

[jetta06hbg]

Quote:

Originally Posted by gadwhite OK got the trans out finally. I had missed a bolt above the slave cyl ( doh!), any way here are some pic of what I found. Here is the trans coming off, a blurry picture of one of the alignment studs

[jarrington]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jetta06hbg Does what appears to be a fitting on the end of the metal clutch pipe (at the bottom left corner of the picture) can actually be wrenched or spun off the union? Or is it fixed? Just trying to avoid disaster. In the meantime, I have sprayed it with PB Blaster in case it can be wrenched off. Thanks, Joe

[jetta06hbg]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jarrington It's definitely a fitting. Be gentle with it, whether you decide to leave it frozen and crank on the flex hose only or try to get it loose. -Jason

[Tom McKay]

Gadwhite-- great pictures. I will be removing my trans from 85 Alfa Spider Veloce and was wondering about jacks! I now see what I need and will be getting the Harbor Freight option right away. Thanks for all the tips and Good Luck!
Tom

[jetta06hbg]

Gabriel or other transmission alums:

How did you remove the pilot bushing? Did you use the bolt, grease and hammer method?

Pilot Bushing Removal - Brightcove

To make sure, the pilot bushing is the same thing as the centering bushing in the workshop manual?

Also, did you have to use a reamer?

Thanks,
Joe

[jetta06hbg]

Oh, getting those bellhousing bolts off is proving to be a lot of fun. I tried jacking the transmission to get more clearance - not a whole lot. In so doing, I heard a "bwroing" and I don't recall any post about this. I am guessing it was a small spring.

Attacking the top two bolts topside is quite a tedious affair using an open ended wrench. I saw the suggestion on rossored.com about using a socket wrench from below using a universal socket and an extension. I am going to go to Sears to figure out the tool recipe to get this top bolt on the driver's side in combination with an air ratchet. The other top bolt is missing; so, that's done.

[jarrington]

I've never pulled a transmission without removing the engine at the same time. That said, have you tried removing the trans mount and letting the tail end of the trans drop? That would angle the nuts into the trans tunnel instead of being right against the firewall, which should give you better access to them. Once you remove the rear trans brace the engine mounts will let the engine rotate quite a lot. Just make sure the valve cover / head doesn't squash any of the brake lines, etc. that might be mounted on the firewall. This technique helped out a lot when I did the clutch on my M3.

-Jason

[gadwhite]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jetta06hbg Gabriel or other transmission alums: How did you remove the pilot bushing? Did you use the bolt, grease and hammer method? Pilot Bushing Removal - Brightcove To make sure, the pilot bushing is the same thing as the centering bushing in the workshop manual? Thanks, Joe

[jetta06hbg]

Quote:

Originally Posted by gadwhite Also, did you have to use a reamer? I used a pilot bushing puller ( from Harbor Freight). It has a fitting that fits inside the bushing and is hollow, you tighten a bolt and it opens up the fitting inside the bushing. this allows you to pull the bushing out. It worked well. I didnt want to mess with packing grease in the bushing because it was so close to the clutch plate and flywheel. I didn't have to use a reamer and have had no problems with the bushing I got from IAP.

[jetta06hbg]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jarrington I've never pulled a transmission without removing the engine at the same time. That said, have you tried removing the trans mount and letting the tail end of the trans drop? That would angle the nuts into the trans tunnel instead of being right against the firewall, which should give you better access to them. Once you remove the rear trans brace the engine mounts will let the engine rotate quite a lot. Just make sure the valve cover / head doesn't squash any of the brake lines, etc. that might be mounted on the firewall. This technique helped out a lot when I did the clutch on my M3. -Jason

[gadwhite]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jetta06hbg Thanks! Wow, HF is becoming a such a popular destination for me lately. Was it this one... Harbor Freight Tools - Quality Tools at the Lowest Prices

[gadwhite]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jetta06hbg Does what appears to be a fitting on the end of the metal clutch pipe (at the bottom left corner of the picture) can actually be wrenched or spun off the union? Or is it fixed? Just trying to avoid disaster. In the meantime, I have sprayed it with PB Blaster in case it can be wrenched off. Thanks, Joe

[jetta06hbg]

alrighty then... I just learned from this thread, 2 stripped bolts in my transmission? that the top two bolts are fastened by nuts unlike the bottom two bolts on each side, excluding the three bolt and nut combo fastening the starter. And I just confirmed with my inspection mirror. This little tidbit was not clear in the workshop manual.

So, nuts I say! Oh, I need a beer after this.

[jetta06hbg]

I finally got the driver's side top bellhousing bolt and nut! I used two 13mm combo wrenches. It was a very tight fit to get to the nut, using the box end on the nut and wedging it with one wrench to facilitate removing the bolt using open end of the other wrench.

The passenger side top bellhousing bolt and nut is MIA leading me to believe it either worked its way loose, was never installed or was removed and not replaced in a prior PO repair.

The engine overhaul manual on the CarDisc refers to removing the six bolts, saying nothing about the nuts on the upper two bolts. The lower four bolts appear to be screwed into the engine block.

Hopefully, this experience will prove to be a time-saver for the next person.

Here are some notes as it applied to my 1990 Graduate which is bit of an S3/S4 hybrid when it comes to mechanicals.

The top bolt for the starter is 16mm while the nut is 13mm. The bolt head faces the firewall and I put the open end wrench on it while the nut was stayed by a 13mm socket. A ratchet with long enough extension can reach this nut.

The lower topside bolt for the starter is 14mm while the nut is 13mm. The nut faces the firewall and I put the open end wrench on it while the bolt was stayed by a 14mm socket. A ratchet with long enough extension can reach this bolt.

The underneath bolt for the starter is 16mm while the nut is 13mm. The bolt head faces the transmission and I put a six-point 16mm socket on it while the nut was stayed by a 13mm box end wrench. A ratchet with short extension can reach this bolt to clear the release fork attached to the clutch slave cylinder.

Perhaps with the right extension bar length, an air ratchet can be used to simplify the process. Otherwise, be prepared to put your hand on ice after these two starter bolts are out.



Joe