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Ok, tranny is coming out, what else should I do?

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jdubois

jdubois

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I'll be removing the Spit's tranny this week since it barfed it's guts out the drain hole. While it's out, what else should I do? Is it worth it to put a new clutch in even though the current one seems fine? How about putting new u-joints in the prop shaft? Anything else I'm not thinking of that makes sense while things are apart?
 
Clutch replacement is a judgement call, based on current mileage, and how much of a pain it'll be to do it later.
As far as the U joints go, if they're fairly new, I wouldn't bother. If not, I'd do it under preventative maintenance.
I'd take a look at the pilot bushing for wear and replace if necessary, and take a good look at the clutch release pivot pin and bushings. Make sure there are no burrs or corrosion on the sleeve guiding the release bearing, as well as the bearing itself.
Pay attention to the rear trans mounts, as they can become oil contaminated and spongy.
That's about all I can think of off hand.
Jeff
 
Thanks, Jeff. Is that pilot bushing easy to remove, or do you have to do that fill with grease and hit it with a punch trick I've seen described?
 
Re: Ok, tranny is coming out, what else should I d

Make sure that you have an old shirt on when you first attempt the "old grease/punch/pilot bearing trick". /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/blush.gif

And safety glasses.....
 
I've had them that were tight enough to use the hydraulic method of removal. However, I prefer to use water soaked paper towels rather than grease. It's just as effective, and a heck of a lot cleaner. Just soak pieces of towel in water, pack them into the bushing, and use a wooden dowel slightly smaller than the bushing ID as a driver. As you hammer them in there, keep adding wet towel, and it'll pop right out. Then all you have to clean up is a bit of water.
Jeff
 
I'd replace or reline the friction plate at the very least.

I've not had much luck with the 'hydraulic' method for removing pilot bushings; generally the grease sprays out and the bushing just sits there. Screwing a tap into the bushing works much better for me. The bushing is soft so the tap cuts easily, and when it bottoms in the hole it will force the bushing out. No muss, no fuss.
 
I have a TR, but Dittos on the friction plate at a minimum...and my suggestion would be to replace u joints and have the drive shaft balanced...inexpensive and noticeable improvement on my car.

Cheers

MG
 
I'd change the flywheel to a lighter flywheel. That thing on a spit must be half the cars weight!
 
TR3driver said:
I've not had much luck with the 'hydraulic' method for removing pilot bushings; generally the grease sprays out and the bushing just sits there.
Click to expand...

That's the beauty of using the wet paper towel method. No lost motion due to the grease extruding around the dowel being used. And no mess.
Jeff
 
The rear main seal is often over looked, but should definitely be checked or even replaced when you are this far down. I second a flywheel replacement (sorry that I didn't do it), but at the very least, have yours resurfaced (that I did do).

Then you can easily replace the rear main seal.
 
Thanks all. So, to sum up, here are the things to at least consider while the tranny is out:

Clutch (at least friction disk)
U-Joints
Pilot Bushing
Clutch release pin & bushings
Rear Trans Mounts
Driveshaft Balancing
Flywheel surfacing and/or lightening
Rear Main Seal
 
Re: Ok, tranny is coming out, what else should I d

DougF said:
Overdrive?
Click to expand...

Are you asking if it has an overdrive, or suggesting that I should put an overdrive in? No, it's not an overdrive. I'd love to put one in, but I promised this car I'd keep it as close to as built as I could.
 
jdubois said:
Thanks all. So, to sum up, here are the things to at least consider while the tranny is out:
Click to expand...
I would second the note about the clutch fork pivot pin. The pin and the bronze bushings in the bell housing do wear and there is often a fair amount of 'wobble' in the release bearing carrier as a result. These bushings and pin are cheap to replace and easy to do, so check the play in the clutch release yolk for sure.

You're going to want to check the clutch pressure plate as well for wear on the release fingers and, depending on the type of plate you have, whether there are any broken springs or release fingers. Also check the clutch release bearing for growly noises.

You should also replace the front gearbox seal (actually installed in the bell housing). Again, cheap and easy to replace. And a pain-in-the-butt if you put it all back together and that seal decides to leak all over your nice new clutch.

If your driveshaft isn't giving you problems, I wouldn't bother with rebalancing right away. Just mark it with respect to gearbox and diff flanges when you remove it in order to get it back in the same position. If you do need to balance it later, its easy enough to get at. Judgement call I guess.

If your clutch hydraulics are old this would be a good time to replace the seals in the master and slave. Possibly switching to DOT-5.

Also, don't forget to get some new sealing material for the transmission tunnel cover.
 
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