skim003

After 3 months of sitting in the garage my 87 GXL is back on the road again. Started out as a clutch repair, that dragged on forever.
List of new parts:
Flywheel(not really new but resurfaced),Flywheel Nut
ACT HD pressure plate with street clutch
Pilot bearing and seal
Rear engine Seal
Release cylinder
SS clutch line
Front and Rear Transmission Seal
Transmission mounts
Mazdatrix short throw shifter

Tools used:
Air-compressor(save you time and anger)
Impact Gun
Air ratchet
Brake cylinder puller?(works same as $100 pilot bearing puller but only costs $15)
Hammers and Mallets
Chisel
Torque Wrench
flywheel wheel stopper
Other Basic tools(wrench, sockets,etc)

Lessions Learned:
It's hard as hell(impossible in my situation even with a cheater bar) to remove the flywheel nut without a impact gun.
It's really hard to lift the transmission while laying your back.
Shifter housing will need to be drained and filled occasionally(there was about 1/4 inch of sludge and broken bushings when examined)
Slide hammer and a puller makes removing pilot bearing
lot easier
Don't use a puller to pull the flywheel(I tried it and flywheel just ended up getting stuck on the e-shaft), just hit it with a hammer on the edge.
striped bolts and broken studs will get you get your blood pressure to a boil but it's not the end of the world.
Air-tools will pay for itself real quick (emotionally and financially).
Sometimes it's better to work on a car by yourself rather than working with your friends.
Friends come in handy when lifting heavy equipement.
Make sure you have all the parts and tools you need before working
If you spill gear lube your garage will smell of it for weeks.
Have your tools organized at all times, it sucks when you can't find that socket you just used 10min ago.
After 3 months it takes a minute to realized how to put the heat shield back on.

Now my car runs great, no more grinding noise from release bearing(I think that was the problem), now that I look back on it, it wasn't so bad. Took forever ordering parts and waiting for them to arrive only to realize that I need more parts, not to mention not having any time to work on it. But the reward was lot greater than the work. Clutch feels great, lot heavier than it was before and lot more responsive and the short throw shifter feels like an arcade game. The day it was fixed, while pulling out of the garage I stall it(doh!!), I think I flooded it trying to restart it(low voltage from Battery didn't help), pulled the spark plugs out and wiped them off and it started right up(thank god). Now it drives great, no more sitting like a bus driver in the ford contour is a great reward in itself. In all, the total cost of the repair come to about $850-$950 including all the tools I bought(Air compressor and air tools, and some misc tools) could be more though I don't remember right now. But it was worth doing it myself since the local shop would have cost me a arm and a leg just for labor anyways.

PS. Thanks to all those who helped me out by giving me advices(sorry I don't remember who), There were lots of good information in the forum already, it amazing what you can find by using the search function.