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Just to give props here. cmnsnse originally posted these instructions, just without any pictures. I felt pictures would be helpful and decided to snap pics as I went along doing my thing.
Ugh, my driveline bolts are being little bastards. I'm getting a socket so we can hit them with an impact tomorrow. Hopefully we can get that done without tearing any up.
Second. The upper starter bolt is EASY to get to from below. You can get your hand all over it. This means that if someone threads your extensions down with the flex socket on it, you can put it on the bolt from below. It wasn't easy and you can completely remove the bolt, just put it back in before dropping the car.
As you can see, the driveshaft bolts came out. I used an impact gun on them with a 6mm hex socket. A couple got stripped and I've got 3 front and 3 back on the way. The rear ones are fine (I ordered before knowing if any would be damaged) and I will have 3 spare driveshaft to differential bolts. Let me know if you need them.
BTW, make sure to seat the socket into the bolts before attaching the impact gun. I used an extension to get at them since my gun is rather large.
I haven't removed the top bolts yet, since it was getting dark and I haven't received my clutch/flywheel/pp yet. Hopefully those will arrive today and I'll be able to finish the job over the weekend.
Ok, first off, sorry for the delay in responding as of late. I'm having parts issues (as in arriving) and therefor it's putting the project way behind.
Secondly, the bolt I /thought/ was the upper starter bolt is, in-fact, the lower starter bolt. And while it needs to come out to seperate the transmission from the engine, it is necessary to also get at the upper starter bolt. Now, there is no way to get a good shot of the bolt in question. It resides just on the other side of the starter as the lower bolt and I will get a shot of the angles I use to get to the bolt once I get on it.
Secondly, I did end up removing the entire exhaust manifold to allow access to the passenger side upper transmission bolt. I could get a wrench on it without, but there was no way to get enough torque to break the bolt loose.
I made the same mistake with the upper/lower starter bolts. I tried like hell to take the transmission off with that sucker still attached. You actually don't need to take the lower off in order to get the tranny out, just the upper. Here is the only pic I have of how I got to it. I attached a socket to a u-joint on the end of a couple of extensions and taped everything together with electrical tape so it wouldn't come apart. Then I fed the extension in and rested the socket on the starter. Then I crawled under the car, grabbed the socket and seated it to the bolt by feel -- you can't really see it. Finally, I crawled out from under the car, attached a wrench to the extension and unscrewed the bolt.
My hand is still sore from jamming it between the side of the engine bay and the starter just to get to the bolt. I hope to have it and the entire tranny off this afternoon, but I'm still waiting on the flywheel, pp, clutch, throw-out bearing, and pilot bearing.
Adding my experiences:
1. I have a 24" "wobble" extension. In conjunction with a regular 14mm socket, it was just right for the "upper starter bolt." It allowed enough deflection to get the job done without allowing so much deflection as to be difficult to get on the bolt.
2. I goofed: I spent way too much time on the wiring harness on the transmission. I should have freed the wires for the 2 O2 sensors, removed the cat and header, then I would have had more room to reach the transmission wiring harness.
3. For the driveshaft bolts, I took a drift/punch that fit down inside the hex holes in the bolt heads. I whacked the punch with a hammer a couple of times. It seemed to make removal of the driveshaft bolts much easier.
I worked alone until I enlisted help to lower the jack with the transmission on it. Had I had help earlier, I might have done some things differently.
05-03-2006, 07:03 AM
