Im in the process of doing a manual swap. I have a stock flywheel mated to an ACT 6 puck. I installed a new pilot bearing and seal. I tried to mount the transmission back up tonight, and i cant get the input shaft to slide all the way in.

Im layin on the ground with the thing on my chest, and my roomate is hoisting the front of the motor up to level it out for me. I'm thinking i need to loosen up the engine mounts to give the engine more room to move so i have a better angle.

It feels like the input shaft is hitting the pilot bearing (which i had to press the bearing in using a hammer), and it wont slide in.

Does anyone have any tips for me to try?

 

I'll speak from my install. I find i strange that you had to use a hammer to put in your pilot bearing I thought mine just slipped on in there, but maybe not.

Another thing is when you don't put a board or whatever you can think of in the front of the motor it can be near impossible (from my experience) to get the top of the engine and the top of the transmission to hook up again. I had two guys with a 5 foot pipe leanin hard on the engine lift hook and was barely able to get the bolt in there to bolt the tranny to the engine.

Also I tried using my chest too, I ended up having to get an engine jack and it was still rather difficult for me.

 

Use a piece of wood and a jack to raise up the front of the engine from underneath. Try and find a piece that is at least 6 inches long and position it lengthwise in order to spread the jack point and minimize damage to the oil pan.

 

i forgot to use grease on the first time i repaired my pilot bearing. I would smear some grease inside and outside of the pilot bearing. This would allow you to see how far you are going in. if you cant get past the bearing, then its your problem. does it feel like its not getting past the bearing? or is your problem deeper inside than that?

 

Put the driveshaft in and twist it, that'll help line the splines up. Also make sure you used the alignment tool correctly and the disc is centered in the pressure plate.

 

The alignment tool for the clutch slipped in the pilot bearing with ease and spun freely. I greased up the input shaft pretty good with the grease that came with the clutch. I just saw that the pressure plate wasn't perfectly flush with the flywheel tonight, but i don't see that holding me up like i am. I'm going to loosen the engine mounts tomorrow to give the engine more room to flex with a pry bar. I also had my friend use a 5 ft bar to move the motor.

I'm going to double check that the alignment tool is the exact same as the input shaft and then remount the pressure plate tomorrow to make sure its perfect. This is only the 2nd time I've worked on my car since i bought it a month ago so I'm still learning. Its also my first in-car clutch install on jack stands.

 

We just did this last Friday night on a friends FD... we had to lift the rear of the transmission pretty high for the shaft to get leveled perfectly and slide in. We did use a jack which made it easier then bench pressing lol...

 

use a deep well socket slightly smaller than the pilot bearing and tap it gently all the way in then get the transmission within an inch of seating fully and support it with a jack or jackstand then get all the bell housing bolts started and try to wiggle it in. IF u have to u can tighten the bell housing bolts to seat it but this must be done EVENLY and in small increments.

 

I strongly recommend finding a local hardware store or tool rental shop and renting a transmission jack.

What's supporting your motor right now? Has it tilted forward? (It needs to be held level or close to it)

Getting things lined up right cannot be forced. Once it's properly lined up the trans will pop right into place. The bench press method sucks for that.

Definitely dismount the clutch plate and remount it. It should be flush to the flywheel at each bolt.

Dave

 

Figure out what's wrong with the clutch first.

+1....but be careful. I think an old phone book would work well to spread the load. A 6" long section of 2X4 wedged between the front of the motor and the top side of the crossmember is just about right.

Be careful not to use TOO much grease or the hydraulic effect will prevent the input shaft from seating all the way. I usually try to index a gear on alignment tool to exactly 12 o'clock, and then do the same for the input shaft. But Catch-22's suggestion to turn the output shaft has also helped.

 

I always stick a large diameter socket in between the subframe and the oil pan to hold the engine in place, works like a charm and of the countless times I've done it I've never had any issues.

~S~

 

Just went through this the other night. GET AN AN ENGINE SUPPORT BAR! I don't recommend tilting the engine by jacking it up by the oil pan. I got one from harbor freight and it helped out a ton. The fit into the trans in kinda tough, mine slid in part of the way then i had to use the bell housing bolts to get it the rest of the way.

 

The purpose of the block of wood is not to lift the motor, but to prevent it from rocking forward. This is especially a problem if you have stock motor mounts. The motor will tilt forward without the weight of the trans and support of the ppf. Every time you try to push the trans in, the motor rocks forward making it very difficult to install. Wedging a block of wood between the oil pan and trans prevents this.

 

Yep, same reason I use the socket for, it's easy and keeps the motor in place.

~S~

 

Well the transmission wont be going on soon enough. Turns out my flywheel was machined wrong so i had to take it all apart and now i'm looking for a flywheel.

I have a light weight flywheel lined up but its for an rx-8, and im not sure it will work. I have the automatic counter weight for a light weight flywheel.

 

Im going with an ACT Prolite. Ive never gone that lite but i have a friend who heavily tracks his rx-7 highly recommend it.