i just bought an oem clutch kit for my n/a s4
i wanted to know how hard it is to take off the transmission
and how long it took some of you guys.
i have the haynes manual for reference but thought maybe u guys would
let me in on sume helpful hints n what not.
ive done this before on fwd cars but not rwd cars.

 

in my opinion....if u've done a trans job on a fwd...a rwd should be a cinch.......taking off the trans isnt the hard part.....its when u try to put it back together thats annoying....

 

i took me and a buddy 6 hours to do his tranny swap. yea putting the tranny in took the longest.

 

If you have a friend around and have done it before...it shouldn't take more than a couple days. This is for complete removal and reassembly of all the components including replacing your clutch. Putting the transmission back in is more difficult that getting it out. Just make sure to tilt the engine forward(toward the rear of the car if this makes sense) to level it out some when you are putting the transmission back in. This will make it line up much easier I found out. The first time I removed/replaced the tranny it was much harder as I didn't do this. And drain the tranny before you drop it. This will avoid a huge mess. While it's out you might consider replacing the rear seal, as well as some of the other seals in that area. Good luck.

EDIT:

I work slow and am kinda lazy about getting things apart and back together. So if you go straight through it shouldn't be as long as I said. It's more like if you go slow or if you break stuff it'll take a couple days.

 

thanks for all the advice guys.
just another question...
is there a specific kind of transmission oil i should use after i drain it
or will any normal motor oil work?

 

i use gl-5 i think its 75-90W gear oil

 

redline

 

i would go with torean and use redline but if you dont really care then 75-90 will work. becaureful when you remove the driveshaft and you take the tranny out, tranny fluid will run out of the yoke where the driveshaft was.

 

best bet would be to drain the fluids before u take the trans off......remember to disconnect the shifter before u drop it underneath

 

haha yea that can create some problems

 

Don't use motor oil in the transmission! But I'm sure you meant gear oil. Redline and Royal Purple seem to be the favorites on this forum.

 

I just used Royal Purple Syncromesh in the tranny and Max Gear in the diff. Seems to be working very well. Both are 75w 90.

 

alrite, got the gear oil down.
last question...
what can i use/do to tilt the motor when putting the transmission back in?
any tricks to the trade?
help is much appreciated

 

a floor jack with a 2x4 works well

 

best thing ive found is a tie down, anchor the motor to the firewall, then rachet it till its tilted back. works extremely well. you should be able to change your clutch in about 6-8 hours (give or take) and replace the pilot bearing, and do it right!!!
i had a pilot bearing go bad after 2,500 miles because i put it in wrong. do it right the first time!!!! take your time on it, and dont get in a hurry, and definatley drain the tranny fluid, its the worst smell in the world, and itll smell your clothes up forever.

 

thanks for all the help guys
i should attack this w/ confidence on friday.
when its all said n done, ill let u know how it went