Urgent: Separating trans from engine

[ebradway]

My Dad and I got the engine dropped from my 86 na this morning and have been trying to get the transmission separated from the engine. The bugger is really on there. We got all four nuts off (and the starter). We can wiggle the transmission and get a little separation at all four bolts. But we can't get the thing to pull all the way out.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Dad says there are sometimes threaded holes between the trans and the engine that you can screw a bolt into to pop the two apart. We are also wondering if there is something inside still grabbing. The trans is in neutral.

[Jim T]

you have to release the clutch helper spring.

[kiwior]

Hi Eric,
I find it easier to remove the circlip -#8 in photo- and to slide off the change lever -#18 in photo-, the trans should then slide right off. The clutch release fork -#1 in photo- is stopping you.
Photo courtesy of pelican parts.

[ebradway]

We got it. We figured out the helper spring AFTER we got it apart. We were following the Bentley Manual up to this point and somehow laid it aside. What we ended up doing is removing the flywheel from the pressure plate by taking the allen bolts out through the hole where the starter mounts and rotating the flywheel using the starter gear teeth. Surprisingly, the torque on the allen bolts was light enough that the flywheel hardly moved.

Boy, I'm glad I did this now and didn't try to put it off until after the New Year. My clutch was just about completely gone and was starting to grind the rivets into the flywheel. I need to have it resurfaced - didn't do enough damage to require a new one though.

I'm going to post some pictures later. My mother ran out to get film for the camera. She gets her film developed through SnapFish, so they'll be on the web before I even get the prints.

-Eric