I got a clutch kit for Christmas, and now I'm having some trouble putting it in. I've gotten pretty far w dropping the tranny, but right now, the shaft (coming out of the tranny) is barely caught on the inside of the engine, and for some reason the u joints won't let the driveshaft drop any further, so I can't get a better angle.

I've taken off the exhaust piping that was initially blocking it, but that hasn't worked.

I've also tried to tilt the engine by jacking the front so that the shaft will slip out, and it hasn't worked, and just gave me a small dent in my oil pan.

Any suggestions? Thanks so much.

 

The driveshaft needs to come off first. It sounds like you just tried to slide it back as far as possible. With the transmission fully on the engine, I disconnect the driveshaft from the rear end and the slide the driveshaft forward until I have room to take it off.

 

Thanks. I'll get on it asap. Where should I do the disconnecting? At the U joint? or behind it?

 

At the flange.

 

Be sure to have the rear end either up in the air completely or have a wheel chalk on the front and back of every tire. If you put enough wrench force on the drive shaft bolts it will make the wheels turn (even with a parking brake on). It could slip off the jack stands. Plus you'll have to have the wheels airborne to spin the shaft a half turn to get the other two bolts since clearance is tight.

 

Brahh I just did this about two months ago

Sounds like you have something hanging up

Did you disconnect the following

1 driveshaft
2 shifter from the inside
3 clutch slave cylinder the whole thing not the line
4 the 3 electrical plugs
5 speedometer cable

That's all I can think of that could be holding you up

 

You have to remove some exhaust pipe as it is in the way.
Drop the y pipe and then undo the 4 bolts on the Drive shaft at the differential flange.
Push forward,and the drive shaft will come off the diff bolts.Then pull the drive shaft out(OR leave it in and Man handle it.
WARNING.When you pull the drive shaft out of the Trans Fluids will flow,so be ready!

 

Tanks for all of the advice guys! I got it off, put the new clutch it, and NOW I'm having another issue, which I'm not sure you guys can help me on.

My transmission is ready to go BACK ON, and is currently less than 1/2 inch from being completely mated. However, the top bolt is catching the transmission flange with its threads, and I'm unable to get it over, even with the transmission lifted in the back while I push and lift at the front. Nothing I can see is in the way.

The other possibility is that the transmission shaft and the output shaft aren't meshing (the bellhousing shaft teeth aren't lined up), but it seems unlikely.

Thanks again, guys!

 

Use the shift lever to temporarily pop it in to gear. Any gear will work. Remove the shift lever and lift the trans back up. Slide the driveshaft in the rear of the transmission and have a friend rotate it while you finagle the transmission in.

You did use the clutch alignment tool, right?

 

Yes I did use the tool. I'll try that right now.

 

WOW I love you. It worked, so the tranny is back up, and I'll finish the job tomorrow. Thanks so much for your help, RX7club!!!

 

If you can slant the engine a bit so that it tilts UP at the front and down at the back,it will make things a lot easier for the trans to slip on.It doesn't need to be a lot.
..and watch the crap against the Firewall!
If you use a jack and a piece of 2x4 on the front pulley from under the car it will tilt the engine.
then you slide the trans on,Bolt it and let the jack down.
Use the jack around the tail of the trans to set the cross member bolts back on.
NOTE: the shifter should have been removed to take the trans out.
so leave it off until you get the trans back in.

 

 

^Awesome.

 

It's actually easier to pull the engine to do a clutch job I think. Leave the trans bolted as it sits with a rope holding it up. It's the same amount of work and fluid loss as pulling just the trans. Plus you can clean the engine and bay while it's out and replace the gaskets and vacuum lines.

 

You're out of your mind if you think it's easier to pull the engine to change the clutch! While it's not hard to pull the engine, it's much much easier to drop the transmission, even in my turbo convertible.

 

^Completely agree.

 

Well if you have no ac or power steering like me then it really takes no time at all to remove an engine to swap trannys.

My other fc is bone stock with ac and ps. Im doing a trans swap now on it and wouldnt even dare to remove the engine to swap trannys. Actually rather easy with the engine in the car.

It all depends how you like to go about it. I hate doing any work that involves me to be laying on the ground underneath a car.

 

It takes me about 45 mins to an hour to pull my engine now and that from start to finish. Then again my car isn't stock with a bunch of parts everywhere Replacing the clutch was the 1st repair/modification Ive ever did to any rx7.

 

AC, PS, intercooler pipes, all that stuff. I use a plug in the tailshaft to prevent any significant fluid loss too. It beats draining the engine of coolant, then subsequently trying to burp it when you refill it.

You have to unbolt the exhaust and the engine mounts at some point, so you're still hopping underneath no matter what. On top of which, you have to unplug the engine harness, which takes some finagling under the carpet and dash for a while. No thanks, I'll just stick to doing it missionary-style with my car for 30 minutes.

 

I never had a problem refilling coolant/burp and is rather quick, maybe everyone else isnt so lucky. 10min tops to remove harness and through firewall.....at least for me. Exhaust must be removed for trans drop anyways.

Some people dont want to fight the trans in a tight area and rather remove it all at once then swap it. Its understandable if you have time and a warm garage.

 

Lol, guys. This may have gotten off track. REGARDLESS, for my first clutch job, I don't think that it turned out so bad. After all, its running!
Thanks for all of your help.

 

Thats what I did after I loosened up the engine mount nuts so it didnt stress the old rubber.

 

The last time I dropped a trans to swap in another trans (lost 1st gear) it fell off the jack while I was wiggling the input shaft into place and gave me a concussion. Plus I get bad vertigo if I'm under a car for too long. On the bright side, by pulling the engine you can really give it a tune up! New gaskets, vacuum lines, new crush washers/ injector grommets, clean the aux port sleeves, and all new fluids. Plus it gets a good scrub.