Nice idea. Is that an exhaust clamp? Can you give me a parts list.

100% agree...safety should always outweigh cost effectiveness.

Photo No. 1
 

Here is the victim.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1235580195.jpg

First order of business is to clean it up. Can I use a degreaser and a hose to clean it?

Why are the differential plate bolts sticking out? Is there something that gets attached at that point? It was too dark last night to check under my car.

Moving right along!

I can't remember what those bolts are for, but there is a bracket that attaches to it. Maybe clutch cable? Someone will know.

To clean, I have tried many methods. The easiest would be to use a dish washer or industrial parts washer, but those might not be available to you, or your significant other might not appreciate car parts in the house. I have had good luck with a product called Purple Power, sold at Lowe's and Home Depot. It's cheaper and just as effective, or more so, than Simple Green. Be careful though, they are extremely caustic cleaners, and will corrode aluminum if used at full strength (not to mention your skin :eek:). A little elbow grease with a wire brush and industrial cleaner such as Purple Power will get rid of most of that grease. A hose and degrease isn't going to be enough, and you don't want to introduce water into the tranny through that breather hole on the top. The last time I cleaned mine, I took the whole tranny to my local mechanic and paid him $30 to put it through his parts washer. My fingers and the skin on my hands thanked me later.

Thanks. I'll check out that Purple Power. I hate cleaning. So I was hoping I could spray it and blast it with a hose. Oh well...elbow grease and a wire brush it will have to be.

I answered my own question about the missing stuff. It's the two piece that support the clutch cable. Items 1 and 2 on the chart below. I'll just pull those off my old transmission.


http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1235581979.jpg

One other thing...I don't have a bench vice. What size do I need?

What about the old quarter operated carwash/pressure washer??

Okay. I started very slowy this past weekend and found out the tranny was full of fluid. I drained it, but this thing is still bleeding all over my garage. It was red fluid, so it wasn't Swepco. Maybe Redline or Mobile One?

Anyway I got the back cover off, but didn't have a 41mm socket. So I was stuck at that point. My socket came today. Look at this thing...when the hell will I ever use this again???

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1236130889.jpg

Here are some pictures of 5th and Reverse. Any comments? It looks like everything is fine, maybe just a 5th gear synchro?

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1236131128.jpg
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1236131190.jpg
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1236131221.jpg

Next...it's says to put on the "special boomerang tool" to lock the input shaft. I don't have one. I was thinking about bolting the clutch disc to something like flat bar metal to sort of make one. But after searching I also know there is a way to put the tranny in two gears at once. What is the better way to go?

UPDATE to my last post -

I just went to test fit my 41mm giant socket. And guess what...it's way too big. I know I got that size from searching previous posts...WTF.

My 32mm almost fits. So it must be a 30-something...does anyone know what it is for sure?

27 mm socket (1-1/16" socket will also work) for castellated nut on input shaft.
36 mm socket for pinion shaft nut.
41 mm socket (1-5/8" socket will also work) for nut on other side (clutch side) of input shaft - at this stage of your dis-assembly you can't see this nut. You'll need to modify the 41 mm socket to look something like the below image so it can be used as shown in the second below image (wood dowel emulates the input shaft).

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1236136475.jpg


http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1236136521.jpg

I'm not going to comment on how good or bad those gears look, because even after doing mine I didn't really have a good feel for what new looked like, but yours don't look terrible - in my rebuild thread someone posted pics of terrible, and yours don't look like that!

As far as the 2 gears vs. old clutch disc, I did the 2 gears method, and I would think that if you have access to something to hold the shaft still, whether it be a special tool or an old clutch disc, I'd go that route. Even once you get the 2 gears engaged, because the one gear is helical (right word? slanted splines) it's going to want to rise up on you as you apply torque, so you need to apply downward pressure on that as you turn the wrench (and most likely breaker bar). Not a lot of downward pressure, mind you - only a pound or two, but it occupies that hand.

But bear in mind you will need a TON of torque (I think the spec is over 100 lb/ft, and it's been through countless heat cycles since the last guy torqued it to spec!), so if you bolt the old disc to something, make sure you do it really tight and secure, and make sure that whatever you bolt it to isn't going anywhere.

One thing you might want to think about doing before you crack everything open is to put the entire tranny up on a bench with the cone down, and pull the side plate off. Then move the shift shaft around while looking inside there, so you can get a good idea of what's happening inside your tranny when you move the gear shift lever while driving. Keep in mind that the plate has two small arms on it that act as a fulcrum, so you'll have to use a screwdriver or something to simulate that. I did this after I put mine all back together, so I could make sure what gears were engaged and what weren't. It's critical to know what gear you're in (if any) before you reinstall back in the car - best to leave it in neutral. You can do this fiddling after you've done the rebuild, but it might help you understand the inner mechanisms to better rebuild it - I know I wish I'd done it. On the other hand, if you're already familiar with how a tranny works, then it doesn't really matter. I wasn't, and still only partially am! :)

Thanks. I guess I'll pick up a 36mm on the way home tomorrow. Hopefully Sears sells one.

That's a nice tool with the 41mm socket. I'm stealiing Coollx's idea. I hope he doesn't minde me posting his pictures.

I have someone making this for me.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1236137759.jpg

I like the idea of the way you put the clutch disc in the vice on the vertical. Did that work well?

I'll have to try to get JW to this thread to give some insight on how these things look.

I've seen some people lock it in two gears and use an impact wrench?

I was actually playing with the shift rods last night seeing how everything worked. It's pretty cool. With the rear cover off you can see through it to the forks. I pretty much had a good idea of how it all work from diagrams and searching previous posts. But actually playing with it really helped bring it all together.

I just want to get these damn nuts off so I can get into the good stuff!!!

Modified clutch disk in vise works well:

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1236138492.jpg


http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1236138559.jpg


http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1236138689.jpg

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1236138751.jpg

That's exactly what I did, though only after I struggled with it for 2 days on my own. I don't have an impact wrench, so I took it over to my brother-in-laws, because it was easier to move the tranny than the air compressor. It still took 2 or 3 beers (about 45 min) with constant application of heat while the compressor recharged.

What gears did you lock it in? Does it matter?

I just had mine re-built and while I was at I had a Guard limited slip added. Guard makes a great product nd if you can afford it now is the time to add it while the tranny is out.

Matt, if you have access to a impact wrench you don't need to lock the trans in gear to get the nuts off....they will just spin off. Torquing them when re-assembling is when you need to lock the shafts in place.

The rebuild docs I was following suggested 2nd and reverse - http://www.pelicanparts.com/MotorCity/marcesq3/TrannyRebuild.htm. I think it only matters in that you have to engage a forward gear plus reverse, so that the shaft won't turn.

Maybe yours had been opened up more recently and the nut came off with less hassle, but with mine the tranny most definitely had to be locked in 2 gears to get the 36mm nut off. Otherwise the nut and shaft just spun and spun.

I did not use the "lock it in 2 gears method." I used a trick learned over at the Ferrari chat site for the 308 tranny gears. You stuff a rag into the teeth of the gears to keep the gears from turning. They will turn a certain amount and then they will stop.

Then, an air impact wrench made short work of the disassembly.

Matt: Are you using a manual? Which one?

Trying to determine the condition of a gear while its covered with oil is a waste of time. You have to disassemble, clean, and then examine each piece. The most often seen problem with 5th gear is the needle bearing surface on the ID of the loose gear. If that surface is smooth and shiny, examine the rest of the gear.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1236182747.jpg

If you can see/feel those equally-spaced fine lines, the gear is a throw-away.

Also, if you choose to make a tool, like the one pictured in another thread, to R&I the nut in the middle of the main shaft, be sure to look up on the Internet, or other sources, how much that tool will throw off the final install torque. The factory tool is a socket with a long tube that slides over the mainshaft, so the application of torque is true to the setting on your wrench.