You can get all but 3 bolts from the bottom. The top three bolts can be difficult. You should not have to take off the manifold to reach them but it's real tight.

Those racheting wrenches come in handy here.

The engine is happy just sitting there.

ed

 

Rotfl, on removing the driveshaft... you need to do that.

What that guy above should have mentioned is, if you haven't drained the transmission fluid... you're probably bathing in it by now.

;D

Drain it... if it's clean and you want to re-use it, put it in a clean container... but drain it.

You won't be able to keep it from leaking out, and it WILL leak out... never experienced it myself but plenty of people made that mistake and told me.

EDIT: BTW don't forget to mark the driveshaft relation, it is balanced... make a line with a silver sharpie or something... a black sharpie works too, just harder to see. And keep an eye out for "balance washers" never seen them myself but the FSM says to watch for them... they would be on certain bolts (there are 4 nut/bolts holding on the driveshaft, so you need a ratchet and a wrench 14mm I believe) and you'd need to keep track of which ones.

--Gary

 

dont forget the wires where the shifter goes in, dont worry about the way they plug back in, they will only go back one way, if it has the same plugs for the switch, dont worry, the switch will work nomatter which way you plug them back in. the speedo cable will unscrew with a channel lock pliers or vice grips. Drain the tranny or you will have a smelly mess with the driveshaft out. Use an adjustable wrench to get the square plug out, it works perfectly, if you try to use a socket, it will round it off, and i dont think you want to spend the money on a square socket.

 

pullin the tranny today guys, and i'll be near a computer so if i have any problems i'll be posting here right quick. (-7 dregrees celcius out today.....brrrrrrrrrrrr)

 

88GXNoturbo, let me know how that goes; my friend and I are traveling up to Dublin tonight to get a tranny for his TurboII, and we'll probably install it next weekend, since I'll be gone in New Mexico this weekend. I'm keeping an eye on this thread; lots of good info here for those of us doing this job for the first time. Thanks

 

hey guys.....having some trouble getting the tranny off.
there is a bolt on the top end of the bell housing that has an engine hoist bracket attached to it that i can't get off. the head of the bolt is facing the front of the car and there is little to no room to remove it. it's almost as if the previous owner had the engine out and when they put it back in the bolt was put in backwards so it'd be easier to re-attach, with no thought to future repairs. i've already removed the nut that was on the tranny side of this bolt but how am i supposed to get this thing out? do i just yank on the tranny till it comes off that bolt? it looks like the bolt is threaded and would be a b*tch to do.......

anyone done encountered this before? please help.

 

well i got the bolt off part of the way using a screw driver, cause i noticed it had a flat edge groove on the end. now i'm just tryin to find the right tool to fit inside the hole to get the rest of the bolt clear of the bell housing............lots of fun

 

Your getting there. Be careful, that trans is heavy. Just an FYI- I use a scizzors jack with a block of wood to support the motor. Just leave it under the pan about 1/2" down. Don't need any surprises. Also, when reinstalling the trans, you'll need to tilt the engine down in the back, so block the engine with wood etc so it stays in that position.

 

A trick for the oil leaking out of the tranny's tailshaft is to put a ziploc bag over the end and then wrap 2-3 rubber bands tightly around that to hold in the fluid. It wont be entirely leak proof, but it helps keep it from gushing out all over the place.

 

FINALLY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! it took forever but i finally got the stupid tranny off!
i took a look and the throw out bearing seems to ok but there is just the slightest tiniest little bit of play in the bearing itself (the part that spins around, not the assembly around it), is that normal? or should i replace it (i guess now that the tranny is off i should just do it regardless eh?), and the pilot bearing was totally thrashed...........the needles were all out and layin around with little metal filings here and there. So i called mazda and picked up a pilot bearing and yesterday i already bought a throw out bearing so......monday we'll put it in cause neither me or my friend can work on it tomorrow.

 

Look inside the eccentric shaft to be certain the outer part of the pilot bearing is not there. Chances are, if the bearing is destroyed the outer part will still be in the shaft. If it is, it's a bear to remove without the proper tool. I have "jaws" that spread to catch the inside edge of the shell, and then with the slide hammer it comes out. Need a lot of pressure on the jaws to have them grasp that thin shell. Don't forget the seal that goes in the shaft after you install the new pilot bearing.

 

ok........so i got the new pilot bearing in, i got the new seal in........but i don't know how to make sure that it's all the way in there to the proper depth.......

i also got the new release bearing in, and everything is greased up and ready to go.........i just need a clutch alignment tool that fits, cause the one i have is too big

so other than checking the proper depth of the pilot bearing and oil seal, i'm pretty much done......finally.......2 weeks later.........anyway, thanks to everyone who lended a helping hand and an encouraging word........you guys rock!!!!!!!

Mark

*edit*
oh and i guess i need a new gasket for the shifter assembly......are there any other gaskets i need or is that it? is there supposed to be a gasket between the bell housing and the engine or does it just bolt on?

 

Just far enough in so the seal can sit at the end on the e shaft. If you put it in too far, no room to use a puller in future.

 

As a rule of thumb, 1mm of space after the pilot bearing and seal are installed.

For single disc clutches (which is the majority of them), you can "eyeball" the clutch disc to see if it's centered with the e-shaft / pilot bearing.
Else, the local auto parts shop should be able to get you a $3 plastic clutch alignment tool.

I told you it was the pilot bearing.

Congrads!


-Ted

 

its always nice when people post back with what was wrong. It makes the information base bigger and bigger

 

well the tranny is back on.........the only bolt left to tighten is that silly bolt that was in backwards, so it's back to the screwdriver to get in it (i left the bolt threaded into the engine so i could do this, otherwise i would've had to remove the injector system to get at the bolt).

so once that's done all that's left is the driveshaft, heat shielding, exhaust and then the shifter (in that order i think).

thanks again to all that helped this site was super useful..........you guys rock!!!

Mark

 

IT"S FIXED!!!!!!!!!!!!! Everything works fine, i drove it home and i'm happy as hell!!!!!!!!
THANKS TO ALL, AND TO ALL A GOOD NIGHT! (it's 5am, so i'm goin to sleep)

 

ok, so here i am again............
this time it has nothing to do with the clutch (i'm pretty sure)........
there's a wire that comes from somewhere underneath the fuel injection system that leads out towards the bellhousing and has a connector plug and then leads down to a silver cylinder sticking up out of the exhaust manifold.......well the connector plug somehow melted and burned right through..........

now i get a super stinky raw fuel/burning plastic/exhaust fume stench coming from under the hood, and through the vents in the car..........

i just got the sucker running and now this happens.........PLEASE HELP!!!!

 

That would be your O2 sensor...

I'd suggest splicing that wire back together, or if you can't... get a new O2 sensor.

--Gary

 

well, it turns out the o2 sensor wasn't the only thing contributing to that awful raw fuel stench..........it seems i also have a leak in one of my fuel lines underneath the fuel injection manifold/system/whatever it's called. so it's at the mechanics garage (i don't trust myself to deal with the fuel system).
thanks again for the help guys

 

You might want to tell your mechanic to replace your secondary fuel rail with an S5 secondary fuel rail.

It should fix the pulsation dampener problem more permanently.

If he doesn't know what that means he shouldn't be working on the car! ;D haha...

--Gary

 

thanks for the suggestion.......however if i don't even know what an S5 secondary fuel rail i'm not gonna tell him to do it........