jarath

Hey guys...

Still trying to do this clutch Problem I've run into now is this... originally the reason I was pulling the clutch assembly was that the throwout bearing gave up entirely. I have the car up pretty high on jack stands and have a hydraulic jack underneath the transmission normal ride height where the cross member is located. I have been shaking and pulling on this thing trying to get it to break free of the engine block and it doesn't seem to want to budge at all as it seems like it has pressure on the spindle still. I've tried going up and down various angles with the jack trying to get it to move but it seems determined not to give.

My question is, if the throw out bearing or something along those lines totally died, is it possible something has siezed in it preventing its removal?

I'm tempted to go buy a big prybar and start working on it from various locations around the bellhousing. From what I've read, most people have this thing out in 3 - 4 hours and now I'm concerned there may be something seriously wrong. I've taken the starter out and all the bolts around the bellhousing... have six or seven bolts total. Any help here is appreciated!

trochoid

iTrader: (6)

Sounds like you missed a bolt, look again. There is one under the starter, 2 on top, 3 total on the bottom and the top starter bolt. Did you unbolt the slave cylinder too?

jarath

I just crawled underneath it to look again, here's what I found:

I removed 1 long bolt from the starter that goes in backwards, the smaller bolt that holds the right side of the starter on, the bolt hidden underneath the starter, a bolt to the bottom right of the bellhousing (looking at it from behind, or underneath the car in my case), the 2 obvious corner bolts at the top of the bellhousing, and a third bolt in the middle of the bellhousing on the top that had a hook attached to it. I also have the slave cylinder entirely removed.

trochoid

iTrader: (6)

What problems were you having that require the tranny removal?

The only other things that might hang up the removal are a stck/frozen pilot beating, the rear tranny mount, the shifter, and the threaded bolt that the engine hook attaches too. That bolt needs to be removed if it threads forwad, flush with the bolck if it threads to the rear.

If all of those items are take care of, use a large bubber mallet of a small hand sledge with a wood block.

Driveshaft is out of course too.

RX3SP

iTrader: (62)

You have accounted for all of the bolts. It may be that the pilot bearing is what seized and the input shaft of the tranny is stuck to the eccentric shaft by way of the seized pilot bearing. What symptom did your clutch have...failure to disengage?

jarath

I purchased the car from a couple who were driving it and suddenly, at a stop the clutch went in and after that it pretty much had no clutch. He said if he had to he could get it to powershift but didn't want to hurt it. He said he could hear a real bad bearing noise coming from the transmission for awhile during clutch operations until it finally died and the clutch gave up. He seemed to be a pretty capable mechanic and another mechanic pretty much verified with him it was one of the bearings, either throwout or pilot. Either way, I need to drop this transmission to figure out what is really going on. The car runs GREAT with the exception of this dead clutch action.

trochoid

iTrader: (6)

Does sound like the pilot has frooze. You might try remounting the slave and turning the driveshaft with the clutch pedal pressed in to try and free it. If the motor turns with the pedal pressed, wedge something in the flywheel teeth to stop the rotation.

jarath

I'll give that a shot and let you know what happens... I was also thinking maybe the throw out bearing has lodged itself in the teeth of the pressure plate?

trochoid

iTrader: (6)

Doubtful, unless it has come apart, which is unlikely. If you can't break it free turning the driveshaft, hook the driveshaft back up, clutch in and crank the engine over.

Siraniko

iTrader: (13)

TOYOROTOR

iTrader: (1)

I had the same exact problem, but mine manged to seprate about 2". and about 3hrs later and a cracked housing, it finally came apart. and the only thing i could see after it came apart was that the clutch disc was getting stuck on the shaft.

gypsyvk

A small check list: 2 starter bolts, 2 slave cylinder bolts, 5 bellhousing bolts, speedo cable out, disconnect wires for transmission(2), driveshaft out, gearshift removed, crossmember removed, and exhaust hanger unbolted from trans. If all these are done then it is stuck.

jarath

I just went under the thing again. I hooked up the clutch slave cylinder and tested the clutch pedal, everythign seemed kosher so I hooked up the drive line and turned it with no issues. Then, I had my helper put it in gear and push in the clutch pedal. Upon trying to turn the drive line it wouldn't budge an inch. I then hooked up the driveline to the tires and both of us (with the help of a cheater bar against the clutch & seat) tried to push the tires forward and back and its locked solid. It feels like maybe the clutch wheel is jammed or could the pilot bearing also cause this?

Rogue_Wulff

If you have removed all the bolts and other things as mentioned, and it still does not want to seperate, you have a couple items that can cause this.
Input shaft binding in the center of the clutch disc hub, or the pilot bearing siezed to the input shaft.
Check and recheck for any overlooked bolts/brackets and such. If nothing is found to be overlooked, use either the hammar/wood trick mentioned, or a couple small prybars, on opposite sides of the trans. Don't use excessive force, but be firm with it. It should come free with a little coaxing.

jarath

We're positive we have all the bolts out, we've checked so many times there isn't even any more oil / grease caked on around the seams hehe

ok I am going to try the mallet wood trick and will let you all know if that works. If that fails, I'm going to the prybar method and pray I don't break the bellhousing but either way this transmission is coming off of this car lol

Rogue_Wulff

Just be sure you have the engine and trans both well supported. You don't wanna get hurt from one of them falling.....

No_Rotor_RX7

you should never pull a trans without a prybar she is just being stubborn. use the prybar and it should seperate. don't be afraid to put some *** in to it hahaha

jarath

We bought 2 of em, buddy and I are going to end its stubborness this weekend

trochoid

iTrader: (6)

I have never had to use a pry bar removing a tranny. Be careful you don't crack the bellhousing or snap one of the ears off of the rear iron.

jarath

Great news guys! We got it off with 2 prybars. As it turned out, the pilot bearing has siezed itself to the input shaft and off to the shop it goes to be cut off... it's pretty stuck Thanks for all the help getting this sucker off!

Rogue_Wulff

Well, at least you won't be needing a puller for the pilot bearing............
Be sure to grease the new bearing, before putting the trans back in place.

jarath

Anyone have any possible suggestions on getting this pilot bearing off the shaft other than cutting it off with a torch? There really isn't any room to get a screwdriver behind it to try and pry it off. I was thinking maybe heating it up with the bottle torch and using a bit of tapping with the hammer to break it loose a bit?

Also, should I be checking the hole where it came out of for any possible damage or other parts stuck inside?

Thanks for all the help on this little home project I have going

caryncrx7

Jarath, I am new to this. I have an 83 transmission that I can not get to break loose. This is probably a silly question, but what kind of pry bars did you use? Also, is there an update to the final outcome?

bliffle

I once had the input shaft splines sieze to the clutch plate splines. Just a non-OEM plate, no lube on the splines and a little spot of rust did the trick.

caryncrx7

My transmission is stuck like yours, after reading this, I took a half inch drive rachet to the lower passenger side bolt location and used it like a pry bar to get things started. Long and slow process.