Easiest way to remove transmission without lift.
 

What's the easiest way to remove a transmission without a lift. I wasn't sure what is the best way to do it without getting yourself killed.

what did you do to your trany?

I did mine with car ramps and a floor jack.Make sure your jack is on a hard surface so you can move jack.

jack stands and a jack.... it's pretty straight forward once you get under the car....don't do anything that would seem questionable to your safety and you should be good

This works for the engine too:

Attachment 711557

Pay someone else to do it.

i've done it using arms and knees and letting it down on my chest. ever bench pressed a tranny?

Easiest way? Pull the engine and transmission the same time out the front of the car with and engine crane. I have pulled the engine/transmission out of my car before, rebuilt the engine, and put it all back together in less than 6 hours. Should only take a couple of hours to pull the engine and transmission out of the front of the car and put it back in.

yep. way way easier when you're in shape...

I used one of these guys to support the engine and then just lifted the trans onto my chest. http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=96524

i just use a floor jack if i'm on my back to gradually east it down. otherwise i call a friend to stop by to help me take the sucker down.

IIRC don't you:
-either leave the prop shaft in place (detach at diff)
or
-plug the tail of the tranny with (?????)
or
-drain it
before pulling it or you'll have oil everywhere....

Stu Aull
80GS
Alaska

I'm liking Ray Green's idea, Thanks for all the input guys. I need to replace the pilot bearing, and my Uncle's and friends Dad's lifts are both in use. Thanks for the help guys.

It's a low budget backyard method that works pretty well if you don't mind crawling under cars and getting greasy. As Michael indicates, plenty of us have bench pressed a tranny (although as Dave notes above, using a floor jack isn't a bad idea either).

A couple notes however. First, don't try to drive your 7 up on four ramps all at once, like it looks like I did in the picture - I didn't. Instead, put the front wheels up on the ramps, then jack up the rear under the pumpkin and insert the ramps in the rear. Do the reverse to get it back down.

Second, if you have a gravel driveway like I do, you'll need some kind of padding to work on. I have some 3' x 3' pieces of scrap heavy duty industrial linoleum for this purpose, enough to protect you from the gravel, tough enough to take lots of abuse and easy to move around to the spot you are working.

On the pilot bearing, get a pilot bearing puller first! You can rent one from a car parts store (some loan them for free) or borrow one from a friend. Getting the old pilot bearing out without a puller can become the biggest part of the job if you mess it up like I did on my first one. It took my neighbor and me two weekends to dremmel, chisel and beat all the little bits of bearing out of the seat. The puller should do this in about five minutes.

Also, as Sgt. Fox indicates, you will need to support the rear of the engine somehow while you pull out the transmission. I like that lift bar he's got, that would make it easy, but otherwise you will need to put a jack or some blocks underneath to hold it up while you do the job.

If I were you, I'd follow Stu's lead above on the details of removing the drive shaft. This is tricky and if you don't do it right you can drain your transmission oil out in the driveway, which really makes a big mess and then you need to add more transmission oil. Best to find a tutorial on removing the tranny (I'm sure there's one on the forum someplace) and read it over first.

Finally, and most importantly, as Bobo says, DON'T DO ANYTHING THAT MIGHT EVEN REMOTELY RISK YOUR SAFETY!!! TOO MANY PEOPLE HAVE BEEN KILLED OR BADLY INJURED WORKING UNDER JACKED UP CARS AT HOME.

I dropped mine while the car was on my trailer and kind of lowered it through a combination of moves and with a plank of wood on a jack. This was done on a public street in Philadelphia.

As Hayes always says: "Installation is reverse of removal". Getting it back in, I did in a garage with a plank on a jack and pushing it into position. Aligning it was actually surprisingly easy once I got a couple of bolts to catch and used them to help pull it together (carefully).

Thanks for all the tips man. I'm going to do it on a Saturday soon when I'm able to get some friends over, and my one friends dad, who is a mechanic. It should be pretty easy with him here, since he knows what he's doing. I'm going to use the FSM and/or Haynes Manual when I'm removing the transmission, and follow it step by step. I do have a gravel driveway, so I will probably use some large pieces of cardboard for under the car. I have quite an abundance of cardboard, so it's a good time to use it. I've also read that the pilot bearing removal tool is a key part, so I will see if my friends dad has one, or I will see if I can just go rent one. Thanks a lot for all the tips though.

That must've been pretty hectic doing it in a public street. Haha.

Remove the driveshaft, then use the cap from a can of DW-40 (or similar) to plug the hole. Works great! :) (not my idea, I read it on the forum but it works)

While the tranny is out, drain the old fluid and refill it. Its much easier to fill the tranny when you aren't lying on your back under the car. :)





.

I thought of doing that, but I was afraid of making a mess. So I filled it once in. It really was not hard and took about 5 minutes with a good ($15) hand pump.

Sounds like a good idea Kentetsu, I will remember that, and whats the estimated time for a newbie to remove a transmission and replace the pilot bearing with the help of about 3-5 people?

time frame huh? well about three hours for a beginner. i can do it in an hour and a half if i have an extra set of experienced hands and a lift.. don't forget to remove the shifter when dropping the trans. it'll make life a lot eaiser. also, don't forget to fill the shifter well with the correct amount of trans oil. i think i'll do a writeup on this for future references and have it sticky'd.

Thanks man, I wont forget to fill it up with the right amount, and thanks to everyone else who helped me out in this thread.

i have done it by all the methods listed above but a motorcycle jack is the fastest way the jack
is made to pick up a bike on the frame so you have a good cradle for your tranny and keeps it level on the way down just have to get your car up far enough to pull the tranny from under the car

I removed/replaced mine and replaced a clutch in an afternoon by myself. It's not to hard, just make sure you give yourself enough space underneath to move around. This included a pizza break.

The bullet points.
- remove exhaust center section
- remove driveshaft
- plug output shaft hole (I used a rag and GENTLY pressed it in with a screwdriver. Don't mess up that seal)
- remove clutch slave cylinder
- remove shifter
- unbolt starter and all other wires (I think there's 4)
- unbolt from engine with rear of engine supported
- use jack or your own scrawny arms :P to lower trans.

Why would you have to remove part of your exhaust system? Mine is nowhere near interfering with the removal/installation of the tranny.

And you did your clutch R&R in an afternoon? Showoff! I'm coming up on 4 months to do mine! :)

:D
-Don't forget to remove the SHIFT LEVER!...
-recommend you take a PIC of how wires connect to STARTER. Very handy reference....
-Use the OLD pilot bearing carrier to guide in the NEW bearing (with gentle help from rubber hammer)!

LOVE the WD-40 capo idea - thanks!

Stu Aull
80GS
Alaska

To insert the pilot bearing and seal, I used a 14mm socket on a short extension and hammered it in. The fit was perfect. I had thought about using the old bearing to drive the new one in, but the socket and extension was a bit easier to handle. :)

I will remember to take a picture of all the wiring to the starter, I haven't thought of that. Thanks. And I will probably have to go with the 14mm socket extension to drive back in the seal and pilot bearing. Seems to be the easier way. Thanks for the tips.

While you are under there it's a great time to do some degreasing, especially around the starter, where oil from the behive has a habit of ending up. The grease and oil is hard on the starter connections and other wires and hoses in that area, plus it's just hard to work with.

So I usually start by drenching the area with engine degreaser (the cheap stuff from autozone) and then hosing it down really well (no pressure washers allowed!). A hot soapy wash and good rinse will leave the area virtually grease free, much easier to work on and easier on the eye.

Why diconnect the starter? Obviously dissconnect the battery, then hang the starter with zip-ties underneath the car. It will save you some time messing with connections.

without pics, here's how i remove an FB trans:

-remove the shifter surround and remove the three bolts holding the shifter to the trans.(3 10 mm bolts)
-disconnect the battery
-disconnect the clutch hose from the hard line, as there is no need to waste time or energy removing the slave cylinder from the trans. its a good time to bleed the system anyways (10 mm flare wrench)
-remove the top trans bolts (trans bolts are 14mm)
-jack the car up and remove the exhaust from the manifold to the extention pipe (four nuts)
-remove the filler plug..just to be on the safe side then drain the trans. (14mm open end wrench)
-disconnect the power feed to the starter and the switch wire from the starter solenoid and remove the starter (one long and one short bolt. both 14mm)
-remove the driveshaft (four 12mm nuts and tap the bolts through the flange. a mallet may be needed if the driveshaft flange is rusted to the diff flange)
-disconnect the wiring for the reverse light switch and 5th gear switch (GSL-SE)
-remove the speedometer cable from the trans
-support the trans and remove all remaining trans to engine bolts (14mm. 5 total bolts), remove the two long 14mm bolts the trans crossmember to body and wiggle trans down and use your own method here. i take the trans down of a floor jack if i'm not using a lift.

when the trans is down and you are replacing the clutch, its a goot time to clean out the bell housing and replace the trans mount. its also wise to clean the connections on the reverse light switch and replace the tail shaft seal with a new seal. you may also want to clean the sleeve that the throwout bearing rides on and regrease that area as well. if you want to go all out, replace the front trans seal qas well to avoid future trans leak issues. i also like to grease the input shaft where the pilot bearing rides it also helps slide the sucker back together. i'm not sure if i have any pics handy as of yet but as soon as i can i'll post the pics.

pic of the underbody for prep and reference:

Attachment 711562

pic of what you will see when the trans is down:

Attachment 711563

trans side view:

Attachment 711564

pic of the trans mounting setup:

Attachment 711565

I'm thinking that I'm only going to replace the pilot bearing right now, because that is all that needs to be replaced, and money is a little bit short for me at the moment. Thanks a lot for those steps and picture though, they will really help out. I will probably also just take out the starter and slave cylinder, since they are fairly easy parts to remove, and I don't want to damage them at all. Is the the whole clutch assembly fairly easy to remove? It seems like it would be, and what fluid brand would you guys recommend for the transmission?

I will definitely clean out around there while I'm down there, thanks for the tip.

It's not too hard to disconnect it, usually takes about 5 minutes, and I don't want to risk damaging it.

That underneath looks different than mine. My exhaust piping doesn't look like that, I will take some pictures when I put the rex up on ramps tomorrow.

that exhaust is 100% oem bone stock except for the main converter, which was replaced before i aquired the car. this is a car i converted form auto to manual and you may notice the different trans mount and mounting plate. also, trust me, its much eaiser to remove the clutch hose from the hard line at the firewall than to remove the entire slave cylinder from the bellhousing.

Alright, I will disconnect the hardline instead of the slave, since you insist it's a lot easier. :) What fluid brand do you recommend for the transmission?

i use redline 75W90. some like the stuff others do not. thats opening a whole new can of worms. if i'm on a budget i like to use napa brand 80W90.

lol, can of worms is right!

redline is nice if you're spendy, if you're cheap 50/50 atf and normal gear oil is great too

Okay, I will grab some 80w90 when I go to pick up the bearing. Thanks for your help guys.

One last question, once the trans is down and out of the way, is the clutch pretty easy to take out to get to the pilot bearing? Or is there some tips and things I should know when removing the clutch?

The RB dual center section is too wide to get the driveshaft around it. I tried, but it just wouldn't come out without removing the exhaust.

That particular time was after removing and replacing the trans 3 times before, so I pretty much had the process down to a science. I did it in a friends driveway and his tenant was baffled that I knew how to do it. I laughed and said, while your learning shit in school, I'm learning shit about this car.

Hahahaha. ^

the clutch is held in place by six bolts. you may need to pry a lttle on the pressure plate's lip to get it off of the dowel pins on the flywheel once that comes off the disc will be ready to fall right off so be ready to have that sucker come off with the pressure plate.

the pilot bearing requires a special removal tool made by mazda. i have heard of others using non mazda tools for the job but wheni tried i failed miserably and bought the mazda puller. one of the best investments i have ever made:

Attachment 711566

I've read a lot that it is very hard to remove a pilot bearing. Since I am a little tight on funds, I am going to put wet paper in the hole and hammer in there. It will act like a hydraulic system, forcing the bearing out. If I had the money though, I would buy the bearing removal tool.

actually i've used grease to do that. but the last pilot i replaced i doubt that method would have worked. i ended up renting a puller and slide hammer(yes have to get both) from either advanced or autozone. they charge u the cost of the tool and get it back when u return the tool making it free to rent in the end.

So, I started the procedure tonight and when I drained the tranny, there were about 3 very very very small pieces of metal that were at the drain hole, I felt inside to make sure there wasn't anymore and there wasn't. I will show the pics then, but is that a big problem, or not really? I also drained the rear diff fluid, and what do you guys recommend for rear diff fluid? I will post pictures in about an hour (I'm still working). Thanks for the help.

Well here is what happened today,

Put her up on ramps, it was a little close in the front.
https://www.rx7club.com/attachment.p...1&d=1270080444

Then there were the small metal pieces from draining the trans fluid,
https://www.rx7club.com/attachment.p...1&d=1270080544

Removed the shift linkage,
https://www.rx7club.com/attachment.p...1&d=1270080631

Disconnected driveshaft, broken speedo cable, and drained rear diff fluid.
https://www.rx7club.com/attachment.p...1&d=1270080764

Disconnected starter,
https://www.rx7club.com/attachment.p...1&d=1270080886

and then finally took out the cluster,
https://www.rx7club.com/attachment.p...1&d=1270080984

It was quite a tough day for me and rex, but I did get some other things done,

washed the daily driver,
https://www.rx7club.com/attachment.p...1&d=1270081142

I was able to work a little on a side project of mine,
https://www.rx7club.com/attachment.p...1&d=1270081242

Here's the man of the hour, and my best friend of the day.
https://www.rx7club.com/attachment.p...1&d=1270081314

What model Holley fuel pump is this?
https://www.rx7club.com/attachment.p...1&d=1270081410

Cat or no cat?
https://www.rx7club.com/attachment.p...1&d=1270081475

And then we ended our day, on a good note with eachother, in the sunset...
https://www.rx7club.com/attachment.p...1&d=1270081535