Hey guys,
I dropped the tranny today, DaveBond007 came over aswell, he is going to need to replace his clutch soon and seems pretty excited about how easy it is to do.

It took us about 2 hours to drop the tranny, unbolt the clutch and flywheel, and we were moving pretty slow/relaxed.

Dave will post the pics in abit, as my server is screwed up right now

we also found that the VQ flywheel **might** work on the VE.


We were surprised to find out that the input shaft seal was 100% good, however the big chunk missing out of the casting and the worn down gears are not a good sign.


MrGone

 

Dude, it's so damn easy to get a VE transmission out. I would have expected it to be much harder, but we had all sorts of room to work with over there. Not a very tight squeeze with the right tools.

I guess the hardest part was taking off the pressure plate and the flywheel because it kept moving on us. We finally had to work together to get it off. Probably took 10 mins each.

The transmission was really easy to take out without the axles. MrGone took those out the night before (and he said that they weren't very difficult).

Wow, now all he needs a new clutch & pressure plate and he'll be good to go. Maybe a new flywheel would be nice. He and I were playing around with his 95-01 Fidanza flywheel, and to our surprise, it may just work on our transmission. It appears that it may bolt up just fine to everything (everything lines up). It's just 10 lbs lighther.

I'll have my pictures of the day up soon. I'm currently sorting out the blurry ones and going to get them in a nice page for you folks to look at.

 

Pics are up.

http://launch2k.com/mrgone/

Please comment.

 

Kick azz!

Although I am a DIY, I have never replace a clutch or removed a tranny. As such, I find the pics immensly facinating. Have you thought about posting step-by-step instructions? I would love to tackle this job with the right guidance. In this area, the FSM sucks.

 

step by step MrGone style:
1. take chiltons, leave upstairs in room
2. go downstairs and detach everything from tranny
3. decided to remove axles
4. spend lots of time contemplating how to get the spindle nut off (36mm), finally figure out at an awarkward moment to use your jack's handle as a breaker bar extension.
4a. go online, ask about the ball joint seperator. go back down stairs because you dont want to make another trip to the parts store, an find a way to do it without seperating the pitman arm (i believe).
5. move spindle aside, put on milk crate or similar for support.
6. attemp to yank out drivers axle
7. remember hearing teh passanger axles comes out first, give it a yank
8. wash hands, go on computer
9. ask knowledgeable Org member what to do, shoot the breeze and go back to work
10. unbolt the 3 bolts for the passanger side axle
11. pull passanger side axle
12. pull drivers side axle
13. unbolt transmission from engine
14. unbolt transmission from mounts
15. unbolt mounts and throw aside because its buys you more clearance
16. slide floor jack under tranny to support it.
17. wiggle pry tranny out. wiggle pry, then wiggle wiggle wiggle.... drop
18. lower tranny to the ground
19. remove pressure plate (DaveBond007 is good at this)
20. remove flywheel (were both good at this, but couldnt have done it with out him, or atleast as easily)


I'll try to work on a serious write up. I know theres one at 4dsc.com, but I didnt read it. I'm more of an active learner type.


btw thanks KLoWnPR109

 

The jack handle should probably be named technique of the day. It works hella good.

 

Good Tranny:




Bad Tranny:

 

just to show that it isnt some cover that poped off, that it is infact part of the casting.


it sucks because I wanted to build up this tranny just incase.... and it was an LSD Tranny too.

 

Pretty good!

I am pretty knowledgeable about removing the axles and spindles as I have replaced both lower ball joints and outer tie rods to include a busted driver's side axle.

I see that you removed the battery and intake plumbing for easier access I presume. Did you have to removed the driver side headlamp and grill?

Either way, good instructions. I dose of humor is always welcomed. Thanks.

 

Yeah, I thought you knew how to do all that anyway, otherwise you would be using some pretty fancy words in your letter to nissan

it wasnt necessary to remove as much as I did, but I figured it was going to make things alot easier (ie some of the hoses, other stuff). I removed the headlight so I could could remove the very tip of the stock intake. its not neccessary at all, but does make a nice area for paper towels.

the grill I took off for no reason other then to take it off. oh, wait, nevermind 2 of the snap connectors hook into the head light tub thing, so nevermind that.



for the transmission itself, we removed the mounts completely to buy more room, it might not have been neccessary, but hey, its one less thing to worry about.

remember to unbolt the shift linkage before you drop the tranny. aside from that, 1/2 the bolts are accessable from the top of the car, the other half from below, no wierd bending or twisting necessary. For the tranny itself you will only need 14mm sockets, except for a 12mm once I believe, I dont remember, it looked like Dave had a 12mm for the bolt that goes threw the center of the mount.

 

MrGone---

Hey, thanks a million. After looking at your pictures and juxtaposing them with the MT section of the FSM, it all makes sense now. As a matter of fact, MT-6 and MT-7 almost describes word for word what you did. I guess I just needed real pictures and not the horrible, kindegarden-doodle graphics the FSM has.

When I do tackle this, I will take your advice and remove the mounts for additional clearance.

Last thing: even though you had someone helping you, is this something that someone could do single-handedly? Since I am active duty USAF, I have access to the base Auto Hobby shop that allows us to use pnuematic tools and whatever else I may need.

 

one piece of advice.. number the bolts as you pull them out of the tranny bellhousing... that's where the FSM comes in handy when you forget. What I did the second time I pulled the tranny was to just take a sharpie and mark the bolts and holes on the tranny as I'm pulling them out.
and yes, most of the bolts are 14mm, with one 12mm at the very bottom of the bellhousing.

the mounts aren't required to remove, but you DO have to remove the battery and tray to get to the mount from above. it's either that or the charcoal canister below the battery. the battery is easier.

You do not have to remove the right side axle to get the tranny out- in fact it makes it a little easier to install the tranny because you've got two places to line up the tranny as you're jacking it up.

You don't have to pull the ball joint or tie rod end to get the axles out either. just unbolt the three 17mm bolts underneath the ball joint, then the whole spindle will tilt backwards on the strut and tie rod. pull the axle out, then let the spindle drop back into place. easy stuff.

I also HIGHLY suggest replacing axles and/or boots while you've got it all apart. be sure to install new output (axle) shaft seals on the tranny also before installing. ONLY buy them from a dealer- the parts stores always give you the wrong ones for VEs- IF they can even get them at all.

think that's about it.... except the engine turning thing... use a breaker bar or ratchet on the crank pulley bolt to keep the engine from turning as you're installing the flywheel and pressure plate.

If you think it's possible to use a 95-01 flywheel, be sure to check ALLL clearances, offsets, dimensions, etc. even a few thousands of an inch here can cause all kinds of problems down the road that you won't even think about being related. throwout bearings, input shaft bearings, all kinds of fun stuff. don't screw it up and wind up with a second busted tranny.