That's a seriously sketched out place for jackstands in the rear

 

Haha that is classic man

 

Too bad there's no picture of me dancing as I dragged the transmission out....

 

Actually I used the same locations on my clutch/flywheel change. The funny/scary thing is that my cheap *** jackstands suck and aren't exactly the same height. So, on the rear, the car only rested on one of the stands the entire time.

 

I first looked at that picture and was like....wait... I didn't take that! Anyway...back to work! I broke the clutch line, so now it's time to make a new one!

 

Nice work and pics Hyperite!!

 

Thanks man, that actually inspired me to take some more pictures They're on the same page ( http://www.phrogger.com/hyperite/Clutch/ ) New clutch/flywheel/pressureplate is in, now it's time to raise the tranny! Fun.


My favorite pic is this one:

 

Looks good. That job is not fun without a lift.

Jason

 

No it's not...also not fun to not have the correct bolts to attach the flywheel to the counterweight And by "not correct" i mean "absent".... but I made do. Thanks for overnighting everything, it got here just in time!

 

There were no bolts? You got the ACT flywheel correct? I will check tomorrow to see if there are bolts in there.

Thanks
Jason

 

Yep, ACT Flywheel & Clutch, no bolts. No big deal, just a $20 expense trip to Menards.

Update:
Transmission is in. OK, now I believe all of you that said "GET A TRANNY JACK!" because i ended up just laying under it with the trans on my chest, and pressing it into position. And that was hard. VERY hard. Anyhow, I broke one of the electrical connectors on the transmission, so I'm at a standstill till tomorrow when I can get a replacement. Basically all that's left is to put the tunnel braces in, fill tranny with fluid, put the shifter on, and put back all the covers. Oh, and bleed the clutch line (and brakes too, what the hell) since I had to replace the line. Goddamn that tranny hurt....

 

IT'S DONE!! IT RUNS!!! I RULE!!! Fired right up (WAY to my surprise). Stalled a bunch of times (pretty damn grabby....need to adjust pedal). Reverse grinds now unless i rev the engine before shifting...what do you make of that? The lightweight flywheel makes a WORLD of difference. This is the best feeling i've had in a while, and the biggest job i've tackeled on any car. Tomorrow is operation Clean-The-Garage:

 

Congratulations.

It's an awesome feeling isn't it? It's no minor feat, and it should bring you a great sense of satisfaction and accomplishment.

For me it gave me more confidence to tackle more challenging modifications/fixes. The sky's the limit now.

 

Yeah, it's a dangerous trend though....now I'm thinking "I could probably port my own engine...". And yes, this was one of those drive-down-the-street-screaming feelings....i'm sure my neighbors appreciated it

 

Hyperite,
Enjoyed the thread. It had special meaning since in a couple of weeks, I'm doing the same job. Even putting in the same clutch. I'm also a rookie at this particular job, but will have another forum member helping. Take additional satisfaction in knowing your an inspiration to another clutch novice.

 

Thanks man, seriously though....*somehow* get a transmission jack. I didn't listen to everybody and struggled with it for a while...banged myself up pretty bad. Putting the transmission back in was undoubtedly the worst part of the whole job. If I ever need to remove it again (and I will...) I'm BUYING a nice trans-jack.

Get a good pneumatic air wrench, and the mazda pilot bearing SST (borrow/rent? I bought.). I can't imagine having done the job without them.

Also, the writeups don't tell you where to put the grease it tells you to get. I followed the rule that put it anywhere metal will meet bearing (ie- pilot/throwout bearings & transmission side of the driveshaft).

And if you have slender hands (I do!) you can get the bolts off the top of the transmission without removing the intake extension. It takes a bit of muscle and scraped knuckles, but I did it fairly easily with a 7" 14mm box-end wrench.

Take this time to replace the rubber clutch line with a SS braided one. Mine was pretty badly beat up after 70k miles.

The compact flywheel stopper was also very nice (available from mazdatrix, but don't get the bar).

Oh OH, and disconnect the battery (should be obvious). When you're taking the starter off, you're going to be playing with a big (+) wire...bad news if you leave the battery connected

That's about all I've learned. The jury is still out on if the rear main seal was the leak culprit for me. I didn't end up replacing the trans seals, since they looked to be in VERY good condition...and hard to get out.

 

GJ Hyperite! Excellent thread for the archives. FD clutch replacement is no easy task and I bow down to your perseverance. Your flip-off pic should be captioned "The FD clutch owned me!"
:lol