ok so i recently ordered a stage 1 racing clutch kit from Exedy and ive never replaced a clutch or dropped a tranny myself before...any advice from you gurus on here a quick way or any tips or tricks you learned when doing this yourself so i can try and make this replacement as hassle free as possible?? any write ups would be very appreciated also. thanks

 

If you don't have a transmission jack, one "trick" I always use rather than trying to pull the transmission off and balance it on a jack, then lower the jack, etc. is to put a decent size box under (close the box up) the tranny (something like the large USPS flat-rate Priority boxes), and let the transmission fall on that. The box collapses breaking the fall (of course the "fall" isn't that far since the box is only a few inches under the tranny) and then you have cardboard right under the transmission to slide it out on.

I actually have a transmission jack but prefer this method because it's easier and faster

 

james (o wait both of you are james haha) if the engine we put in your car has an automatic-tranny pilot bushing (which i think it does cuz i think it came out of a GXE) which means you will not be able to align the clutch with an alignment tool. you're going to have to loosely bolt the pressureplate onto the flywheel (make sure it can still wiggle around) then put the tranny back on and tighten the bolts a little bit more through the starter hole, then take the tranny back off to finish torquing down those bolts.

anyways.. to get it off
jack car up
drain tranny
remove wheels, loosen axle nuts, unbolt knuckles from struts, remove axles (don't forget the axle support bracket bolts for the passenger side)
unbolt shifter rod from tranny
unbolt all the lower tranny bolts so that the support rod bracket will come down also
unbolt slave cylinder and remove starter
unhook the wiring up top (ground, position sensor, speedometer)
remove the 2 downward-facing nuts on the rear tranny mount, leaving the rubber mount attached to the car's frame
unbolt the cross-thru bolt on the front tranny mount (will have to jack the tranny up a bit to relieve pressure on it)
then finish removing the 5 tranny bolts up top and slide the tranny out on a tranny jack if you have one, otherwise you can pull it onto your chest if you jacked the car up high enough.

done right, removal should take about 1.5hr depending how fast the fluid comes out. i could probably get it out in half that, but then again i've done it 6 times.

 

lol and then again...you've got a tranny jack and pretty much any tool needed to do work on a Max...while ive got the Bag O Tool surprise to work with for the moment lol

 

i just pried off the auto bushing when I put a VE auto motor in mine.

 

yea, depending when you need to do it, you can use the tranny jack since the z isn't really gonna be up anytime soon.

 

You can buy an attachment for your normal jack I believe.

 

it's still cheaper to borrow tools

 

Or rent. But all the times I've done FWD clutches (about 5-6+ times now), I've always just balanced it on the jack pad. But I have a very old Walker that has a good sized pad.

 

I have one of those attachments that makes a normal jack into a tranny jack. It's more trouble than it's worth IMO, cuz it makes the setup so high you have to have the car like 5 feet off the ground to get the whole thing out from under the car when dropping the tranny.

I always just drop it onto a box when removing it, and slide the whole thing out that way. When I put it back on I balance it on a normal jack to get it in the air a bit, then get under it and manhandle it/jiggle it into place with my arms and free knee. The last couple times I was able to get it lined up on the first try, but sometimes if you can't get it lined up quick you can tire pretty badly after 3-4 tries doing it by hand.

 

I pretty much use the same method except I'm that box lol. I normally also get under and raise the trans up to place until I'm tired and last resort becomes balancing on the Jack. Earlier this year when I got several bearings replaced in my 4th Gen trans it took me and 1992maxse30 like 40 min total mounting time cuz I was able to align and mate the trans on the first try.

 

let me know when i can meet up with u to get that jack from you...oh and if u got an axle nut socket i can use...

 

between the 4th and 9th is good. i'm gonna be in atlanta tomorrow night thru sunday then leaving for boston on the 10th for a few weeks.

 

Must be nice, I hear its a bit warmer down there than up here in Chicago

 

cool did you drive down to atlanta? plus my clutch kit isnt scheduled for delivery until the 5th so thats perfect. if you drove we could meet up halfway between here and raleigh so i can pick up what i need to use then ill bring them back up to you soon as i git r done lol ?

 

i'm leaving for ATL tomorrow afternoon, riding down in NisMoN00b's 4th gen with him and Crusher103. i'm still at home right now (not to be confused with where the jack is, which is my grandparents' house that i used to live at)

but i'm gonna be back here sunday night so anytime next week should be good. I know i'm going to be busy most of monday with work stuff. Do you still work the late shift?

 

yeah i still work the graveyard unfortunately but yeah like wednesday would be good if thats fine for you cuz im off that day anyways.

 

yea wednesday will be fine. we can work out a time once i get back.