I'll be dropping my tranny this weekend, I'll race ya.

 

Tranny jack. Tranny jack. Tranny jack. I did it without one and I wish I hadn't. It's not about bench pressing it, it's about aligning the ******* thing while bench pressing it. I'd rather not mess up the pilot bearing I'm not going to see for another 3-4 years (knock on wood). Pro tip: jack the front of the engine up and bring a bro for cuddle party.

 

I just pulled the tranny a few weeks ago and it wasn't a big deal at all. Worst part was wrestling the NA starter off the transmission. And like others have said, tranny jack makes all the difference. Also have a bolt ready to go once you get the tranny in place so you can pull it onto the engine.

 

Jack under the front of the oil pan, 2x4 across the shifter hole with a rope snugged up around the tailshaft of the tranny, lift up the front of the tranny and slip it on.

 

Take an old pizza box, draw a crude representation of the bellhousing, then put all the bolts that come out of the tranny in the spot they came from on the pizza box bellhousing.

That way you won't end up with the last bolt you put back in being 1/4" too long despite being tightened all the way. Also those ******* on top are easy to forget when you are under the car and can't see them.

 

I have pretty short jackstands and a badly cracked/spalled garage floor, never would have gotten it out from underneath (without the whole murder/suicide thing). Now that I've done it once, a re/re of the engine/trans including clutch work would pretty easily be a Saturday job. As it was the first time evar process was 2-3 days, with one half-day spent realizing my manuals had the firing order incorrectly described.

Pizza box idea is good.

 

Pulling a tranny isn’t that hard. I’ve had one out and back in working by myself with the car on jack stands in the paddock at a race track in under 4 hours while it was pouring down rain and in the dark with just the tools I brought in my tow behind the Miata tire trailer and a flash light.

Long half inch drive extensions and good upper body strenght are key. Even when I do it on the lift I don't use a transmission jack they just seem to make it harder to line things up and wiggle things the right direction.

I've busted 6 five speeds and 1 6 speed myself and helped many others with clutches and transmissions. I would never pull the engine out unless the engine had an issue.

 

Done both.

It tok me under 2h the first time i took the engi out. Next time i switch a clutch i will pull the engi. Problely same but less heavy-lifting and less struggeling with aligment of the clutch.


and yes.. my english suck.

 

You are allowed bad English when it is your second language. The grammar police crack down on folks who can't type proper sentences in their first (only) language.

I just swapped my clutch the other night. It took me 3.5 hours from wheels down to the clutch in my hands and another hour to install the clutch and get the transmission set in place. The rest is just downpipe, PPF, driveline and exhaust BS. As has probably been said many times:

1. Use a transmission jack unless you can bench press the transmission in multiple angles and elevations without the term 'heavy' entering your thoughts.
2. If the engine is coming out anyway, bring the transmission with it - the complete R&R is easier.
3. Chamfer the input shaft a bit so it clears the pilot bearing easier.
4. Have the tranny in gear and have the driveline handy so you can rotate the spline slightly to get the clutch plate to line up.
5. Once it is bolted up, hook up the slave cylinder before putting the rest of the car together and make sure the pedal feels like a clutch. If it goes right to the floor or doesn't move at all, wouldn't you like to know before you do the next 2 hours of work?

 

 

only way it makes sense to pull motor is if you are replacing a bunch of seals/oil pan gasket along with doing a clutch/tranny swap. I pulled my tranny twice, first time without jack second time with. Its VERY easy with a tranny jack and the car on stands.