maxitech

iTrader: (7)

Toss the block-and-loopy thing...I have heard two theories on it's purpose: 1) causes the clutch to engage smoother if you dump it; 2) some bullsh!t about pedal feel.

My take: toss it and throw in a stainless steel clutch line...Matt sells them.

internetautomar

iTrader: (30)

toss the block

maxitech

iTrader: (7)

Oh, I also should add that you need to swap the passenger-side axle carrier bracket (has the 3 bolt holes in it and is bolted to the block). I didn't do this when I did my swap and the axle seal on that side has always leaked...Soon to be remedied when the VLSD tranny goes in...

Traction FTW!

CapedCadaver

iTrader: (8)

well i'm going to be doing some more things in a little while with the transmission, so i guess i'll do that with it. Mainly my issue is i just need the darn thing to run until i get a job, then once i get one, i'll get nice parts and take the tranny back down on a weekend and put the new stuff in. I just don't have the ability to do that right now... because i was already unemployed for a week when my tranny blew.

CapedCadaver

iTrader: (8)

oh and another thing... which axles did you use when you did your swap? your a/t axles or the ones from your parts car? I'm using my a/t axles b/c they are newer and in much better shape than the parts car's axles...

Greeny

iTrader: (43)

Without doing any research(going by memory), I'm pretty sure the at axles will not work with the manual transmission.

CapedCadaver

iTrader: (8)

they look the same... i will see if they measure up the same... and if the manual axles will fit into the automatic. If the manual axles fit the automatic... shouldn't the automatic axles fit the manual?

Alex_V

I have my AT axles in my MT. No problems. I think the VE has mt specific axles.

~Alex

Alex_V

The axle bracket is different? Ive never heard of that before...

~Alex

Greeny

iTrader: (43)

Ok, just researched....It's only the VE auto/manual axles that are different.

maxitech

iTrader: (7)

True. All VG axles are the same and totally compatible.

CapedCadaver

iTrader: (8)

well it fit... now i gotta go take off that darn carrier bracket, which, for the record looks VERY similar to the a/t one but Courtesy has different part numbers for m/t and a/t so i'm going to be smart and follow Maxitech's advice.

while i'm here...
chillbreak update:
transmission is fully mounted and bolted to the engine and gusset (which is consequently mounted to the engine) and all is torqued to spec. only thing is that i didn't put the shift support bracket on yet b/c i haven't gotten the shifter off the parts car, so i've got 10 bolts on the engine/transmission, not 11. driver side axle/suspension looks assembled but the bolts are just threaded to the nuts, nothing is torqued, just finger-tight. as i said above, next i'm going to go grab that bracket, put it on the gxe, then put the passenger side axle on and fill 'er up with fluid.

after that all that's left is suspension re-torquing (not getting an alignment b/c my suspension is about to get rebuilt... that and i'm broke as crap. just eyeballing where the impressions of the boltheads were sitting, and tightening the bolts in that spot again.), getting the hell-forsaken shifter off the parts car, installing the pedals and plumbing, and wiring the sensor thingy. I'm going to make the wiring as clean as possible... i'll show you when i do it.. but it will be the cleanest underhood wiring setup that i'll have seen on a m/t swapcar, if it works as planned.

maxitech

iTrader: (7)

I think the only difference is a SLIGHT variation in the angle it sits at.

CapedCadaver

iTrader: (8)

well i'm not taking chances.. i need my car properly operational as soon as i can get it as such, because my friend has killed his second engine in a month and needs a ride to and from work until i can pull his engine and recondition a JY one and install it. both of his now-dead engines started with ticky lifters, and ended up with rod bearing knock. probably because he's dumb and drive the crap outta his cars.. free-revving in neutral to show off his 2.2 liter 4banger with an exhaust leak and ticky lifters, shifting out at 5000rpm, and going 90mph to pass on the highway with automatic-machine-gun axles.

plus i just want to drive my maxima.

Wiking

DIY alignment doesnt cost a penny and is as valid as made by $$... I do it always my$elf. Simplest way is using a vacuum cleaner adjustable tube: make it tight on front [A], then check for 1mm gap in rear [B]... adjust until its there. (measured from inside tire wall). Usually I do measure with two glass plates/tapes ... Check http://www.cardomain.com/ride/748507/18

Wiking

The vineyard boys also shortened spark wires to trim mopeds - 'they' got BIG increase in pwr - so they told. Also 'they' used watercolor to paint their own registration plates...

internetautomar

iTrader: (30)

a .05 horse increase is a big increase on a slowped

CapedCadaver

iTrader: (8)

well my suspension won't maintain alignment very well right now anyways. my car drifts left and right... so until a few other things are fixed, trying to get the alignment perfect is just a waste of time.

Greeny

iTrader: (43)

Joo need teh poly bushings, no?

CapedCadaver

iTrader: (8)

Yes... it's all coming soon.. but employment comes first. I have the ones for the rear links, but haven't put them in yet. They will need to be done soon, because they are becoming visibly worn as i saw 2 weeks ago when putting the SE's tires (and thus, sawblades) on my GXE.

Update from yesterday: I unbolted the passenger side axle carrier bearing support bracket (boy that's a mouthful) from my gxe... and COULD NOT GET IT OFF. It was loose, but wouldn't come off. So since i'm dropping my tranny again in a month or two (to replace everything I didn't have money to replace the first time... remember i was not going to do my swap until april for financial reasons), I don't mind a little bit of leakage right now. Therefore... passenger side axle is in, and just as the driver side, the suspension is loosely reassembled. Caliper slidepin bolts, strut-to-knuckle bolts, and axle nuts are all still finger-tight on both sides. Today was rainy so i'll start working on it again tomorrow. I'm close now... not a whole lot of things left to do before i can drive. all the heavy lifting is out of the way.. just got to plumb the clutch, put the pedals in (yes, i'm swapping the brake pedal, rather that cutting it), and wiring it. Oh, and the shifter.

maxitech

iTrader: (7)

Any idea why the carrier bracket wouldn't come off? When I picked up my VLSD tranny I asked the guy for the bracket and he said he couldn't get it off. I didn't really give it a second thought. After I got back from picking the tranny up I posted a WTB thread and Chris Gregg sold me one. It looks like it's just held on by three bolts...I wonder what gives?

Can you take a pic of it? Maybe it's stuck on something?

Anyone reading this who's had the engine out of their car chime in...What's this thing stuck on?

Greeny

iTrader: (43)

Rusted on maybe?

CapedCadaver

iTrader: (8)

maybe it's stuck between the rear engine mount and the block... it "wiggled", but no "wump" to put it in Badger terms. But I realllllly need my car on the road asap so i'll worry about that bracket at some other time, when i pull my transmisison the next time. not to mention that i can't really safely get the one off my parts car if indeed, as i think is the case, the rear engine mount has to be unbolted. Plus i may need to unbolt the ypipe to get it out, and i don't have enough money for gaskets and the potential risk of breaking studs that i can't really afford right now either. You see where i'm going with this. So as long as the car goes down the street at 70mph without leaking but maybe a half a quart in 2 months, i'll be satisfied. And then in the spring, i'll shell out the money for anything i had to 'cheap out on' during the initial swap.

Mike90SE

iTrader: (3)

I feel your pain man, I feel your pain. I had to cheap out on a lot of the things I wasnted to do when I swapped my motor, that I will eventually have to go back and remedy when I get the moola.

Wiking

They are stuck together ... needs chiseling on two sides. For me it means hood off, 2feet chisel hammered down from top, then from below. Doesnt matter if bolts are opened or not... CRC rustremover one week before the job may help.

maxitech

iTrader: (7)

Is it just rust? Or is the bracket tack welded on from the factory? I don't think it's rust tho because Todamax's car was completely rust-free and he couldn't get the bracket off of his motor.

CapedCadaver

iTrader: (8)

mine is a little rusty (what car's iron block ISN'T after so many years?) but it jiggled loosely, just seemed pinched on something, specifically on the driver-side of the part... which rests between the rear mount bracket and the block.

Wiking

Cutting half inch from spark wire - no increase in pwr... weight/pwr ratio gets better 0.001%? This gain is lost if cap is wrong way around. The same is with fluid systems pipe/hose lenghts: no difference until youre building trains.


The passenger side axle bearing support [did I miss smtg?] holding the bearing is two piece cast ALU ... that becomes like welded - in ten yrs. 'All cars' have the very same issue. This is one reason why I swapped my boot while axles installed; stretch over neoprene boots... see http://www.cardomain.com/ride/748507/25

vernk

It's been a long time since i was under a VG that far but i would say it might go behind the motor mount is it possible to slid it to the side then down?

CapedCadaver

iTrader: (8)

it may have just needed a love-tap or something from a long screwdriver hit with a hammer... but i'll go back to the parts car and figure it out... more stuff is out of the way on it, so i just got to support the engine w/ jacks before unbolting anymore stuff from it (currently it's supported by center member alone) but i already installed the p-side axle so I don't want to have 2 removals and 3 insertions on an oil seal, and can't afford another. Which is why that bracket, like a few other things, is getting done later. But I'll try what you said and maybe tap it sideways from either side, and see if it feels like cooperating.

How's stuff going out west? Settled in yet?

vernk

I love it out here, yea I have most of my stuff unpacked (not that there is much) just have to set up the shop in the garage yet, but works been good. I need to buy a new set of tires cuz I ruined my back ones from rubbing over bumps.

Brudda Bob

iTrader: (3)

That bracket is surely a pain to remove as several have attested to. Two mnths ago I attempted to replace my clutch and tried removing the said bracket thinking it was the only way to remove the axle (eventually loosened the 3 bolts on the axle itself) . The exhaust was removed and I was able to loosen the bracket and "tap" about 1/2 inch to the right but was still unable to get it out. I think the mount has to be removed otherwise there just isnt enough room.There seems to be a tiny slot under the bracket and it was helpful to slip a screwdriver in and then tap and wiggle.

I know Maxitech has indicated that the auto and MT brackets are different but I bel. my engine has the original auto bracket and I've never had a problem.(I swapped an auto SE engine into my original VE5 after the VTC's destroyed the engine)

GL with the removal for that bracket is a nightmare to remove. In the end I think it would have been easier to remove the motor mount and then the bracket. Would have taken about the same time and definitely less frustration.

maxitech

iTrader: (7)

Hmm...If I HAVE to I'll take my car over to my friend's shop, lift it up, remove the PS axle and wrestle that bracket out and replace it.

What's the best way to go about this? Unbolt crossmember, unbolt mount at crossmember and/or bolt going thru rubber, etc. Any suggestions on this? Maybe I'll make a new thread about it...

CapedCadaver

iTrader: (8)

just-looked-at-phone-to-see-if-it's-done-charging update:
Haven't done much in the last couple days, due mainly to weather. All i did yesterday was bolt the starter into the bellhousing, and try unsuccessfully to use a crowbar to pop the nuts off the 3 remaining studs under the shifter. Tomorrow will be sunny and warm enough to work outside. But today i did manage to do a few good things. I snipped the harnesses for the two clutch switches, and also realized that my car will be wired up with just 2 splices and a single m/f pair of quick disconnects. No wires will have to be cut on the destination car, period. And it'll all work just like stock. I'll do a full writeup with pics just for the wiring component, so there will finally be one, single, difinitive answer to everyone's 5spd swap wiring problems. Tho i'm not sure if it will apply to all models or just certain years, as it has been recently discussed on here that there are a few electrical differences for '92. Anyhow.. I also conquered my arch-nemesis with a new arsenal today.. Yes that's right, I took another whack at removing the shifter. And.. well... I won.

Victory was ultimately achieved by being like MacGyver. I used a bent hacksaw blade on a stubby handle to cut through the passenger side rear and driver side front studs. The passenger side front stud was a little more challenging, due to the support rod being in the way of the saw. I had to get creative here. It took a deep 12mm socket, 9" of extensions, my 3/8" drive ratchet, a breaker bar, a scissor jack, a power drill, a stepper bit, a large flathead screwdriver, and a hammer. I assembled the ratchet system, put it up to the nut, and slid the breaker bar on. I then jacked up the breaker bar about 4" away from the spindle of the ratchet, and the breaker bar reached outward to the outer sill and propped up there, to support the breaker bar as i jacked it up. I used the jackstand to prevent rotation of the whole apparatus. Once the socket was pushing up on the nut, i went back up to the top and drilled down into the stud with the stepper bit, which i could do b/c i had already drilled it unsuccessfully a few days ago with straight bits, until the flange of the rivet was laying on a step of the bit, preventing me from drilling any deeper. At that point, I pryed on the cap of the stud with the screwdriver until it bent up, then i hammered it back down, and repeated until the head popped off. I untethered the shifter (i used that green weedwhacker cord to tie it to the handbrake handle so it wouldn't fall and hit me in the face if by chance i managed to saw all of the studs off from underneath) and pushed the shifter through the floor. Oh what a feeling.

It was getting colder by the minute so i stopped there for the night. I'm making ALL REASONABLE ATTEMPTS to get my car on the road tomorrow.

Oh, and 7 new pics in the album.

Pearl93VE

iTrader: (14)

haha, glad to see you finally got that shifter out of there. Looks like a *****. I was lucky enough to have a parts car that had already gone through the auto to 5-spd swap (Fugi43's old car) So everything was just put on less than 4 years ago. The shifter, control rod, support rod, and mounting plate were all down without the removal of any exhaust components in less than 30 minutes.

CapedCadaver

iTrader: (8)

did you separate the rods from the shifter bracket? like, by unbolting the big thick rubber crosspiece from the support rod? I tried to stuff the shifter up around my GXE's cat.. but it didn't want to go b/c it was too thick. So i decided it was cold and i wanted to go inside. So i did!

(and is it just me or was the org DEAD on the 28th?)

Pearl93VE

iTrader: (14)

I took the spring off of the shifter rod and unbolted it from support/control rods to where it was free hanging, unbolted the four mounting bolts, and pulled the whole assembly out through the top.

Yeah, It does seem kinda dead tonight.

CapedCadaver

iTrader: (8)

did your black painted bracket thing bolt in from the bottom though? and you just twisted it so it would come out the top? I didn't try putting it in from the top but i'll try that tomorrow. Maybe it'll surprise me. It might just wedge in at a good angle for me to twist it back to straightness.

eesh! both my legs fell asleep and just woke up!!! owowowowow

Pearl93VE

iTrader: (14)

Yeah, I'm pretty sure it can be turned sideways and come up through the top, though I'm not completely positive... I'll have to refresh my memory tomorrow morning when I start on it again. I just gotta grab that clutch pedal out of there and the Slave Cylinder and I'm pretty much done as far as removing things.

Kind of a relief that you're going to clear the wiring up, I'm pretty sure I have it down, but it seems like Matt (previous owner) made things WAY more complicated than they had to be judging from reading his stuff on old threads.

I anticipated the swap being more difficult didn't you? It's all been pretty cut and dry this far...

edit: looking at your picture, I almost think my bracket is different than yours... for some reason I remember bolts actually being attached to the bracket on the bottom that you just stuck through the holes on the car, then put nuts on the bottom of them. Odd, I guess I should refresh my memory tomorrow, it's been almost a month since I paused working.

CapedCadaver

iTrader: (8)

well my swap is proving quite difficult, for a) i'm doing it 99% by myself, b) i've never done anything NEARLY this big before (previously it was a poly motor mount, failed exhaust stud repair, and replacing my radiator in one foul swoop), c) i don't have any power tools except for the drill and a battery-powered dremel, d) the parts car was very rusty, and many parts proved difficult to remove, and e) random crap that just 'happens'.

here's how my shifter was secured from the factory, top-down. bracket with studs riveted into it, large washer as part of the stud, floorboard of the car, black bracket of the shifter, nut. removing the nuts (or hacksawing the studs in two, as i had to do) would make the shifter assembly fall straight down. I plan to replace the now-absent studs with a {bolt, plain washer, floorboard, shifter, plain washer, lock washer, nut} combo, but the assembly will still "fall down" if not secured.. even though I'm going to try and install it sideways from above, then twist it once it's through the hole. A/T shifter was a wee bit easier, but the studs are not replaceable.