Suggestions for separating trans from the block

[twistednoble]

Morning gents,

I'm pulling the trans on my 15 due to some bad whine when it's cold, TOB I suspect. It's getting a new clutch since I'm at 90k mi and I don't feel like doing this again any time soon.

I've got everything loosened up but I'm struggling to get the transmission off the back of the block. I'm a one man show and doing this on the floor so I could use some technique suggestions to get it moving. I've got a floor jack under the front of the engine and the trans is strapped on a transmission jack but no amount of wiggling and prying is letting me see daylight between the block and bellhousing.

Any tips?

[BrakeCheck]

I have had this issue before, you could try to stick flat heads between the bellhousing and engine and slowly work your way around until you get enough space to stick a bigger pry bar between them. once you get it split enough to stick a pry bar, you should be able to stick the pry bar in the bottom and pry against the from sway bar or subframe. There is also the grooves on the bottom of the tranny you may be able to stick a pry bar on as well.

Also this is going to sound like some really stupid questions and I apologize for it but, did you undo all of the connected hardward? all the bolts, the starter bolts, the connectors on the top, and the drive shaft? I only ask this because I myself sometimes miss something simple, and I would consider myself pretty mechanically inclined (considering a rebuilt my engine in my garage lol) and even I still miss something simple and someone will remind me and I will be like oh wait yea I did forget that lol

[zberz]

There are two nuts for engine mounts under the engine. Remove them and then jack the headers up to tilt the engine backward. Getting the right angle is the hardest part of getting the transmission on of off.

Sent from my SM-G990U using Tapatalk

[twistednoble]

Originally Posted by BrakeCheck

I have had this issue before, you could try to stick flat heads between the bellhousing and engine and slowly work your way around until you get enough space to stick a bigger pry bar between them. once you get it split enough to stick a pry bar, you should be able to stick the pry bar in the bottom and pry against the from sway bar or subframe. There is also the grooves on the bottom of the tranny you may be able to stick a pry bar on as well.

Also this is going to sound like some really stupid questions and I apologize for it but, did you undo all of the connected hardward? all the bolts, the starter bolts, the connectors on the top, and the drive shaft? I only ask this because I myself sometimes miss something simple, and I would consider myself pretty mechanically inclined (considering a rebuilt my engine in my garage lol) and even I still miss something simple and someone will remind me and I will be like oh wait yea I did forget that lol

Yep, everything is out. 3 bolts on each side plus the bottom nut. Driveshaft is on the floor. Shifter linkage tripod is disconnected. Trans brace is floating free.

I'll see about the screwdriver thing. Did you hammer the flathead in the seam or is there a good area to start? I've got zero gap to even shove a driver in at the moment.

[WNDSRFR]

You removed the starter, right?

[twistednoble]

Originally Posted by WNDSRFR

You removed the starter, right?

Yup

[Ultramaroon]

Something seems odd. I've missed hidden screws in the past but not with a longitudinal driveline. Are you certain you have them all? I've never had to pry this one.

[BrakeCheck]

Originally Posted by twistednoble

Yep, everything is out. 3 bolts on each side plus the bottom nut. Driveshaft is on the floor. Shifter linkage tripod is disconnected. Trans brace is floating free.

I'll see about the screwdriver thing. Did you hammer the flathead in the seam or is there a good area to start? I've got zero gap to even shove a driver in at the moment.

When I did it I did have an engine bay mounted engine holder bar thing so there was absolutely no chance of my engine rotating in the bay. I just mention this because you have to be careful when wiggling everything around while it's supported by a jack underneath. I have done the jack method before, and we used a piece of wood to support the engine by the headers I believe.

As for getting a seam, I wish I could remember exactly how I started a seam, I think I actually looked all around for any possible gap, if you get a very very tiny flat head, like one for small electrical components you should just be able to hammer it in the middle of the two parts and it should create a seam. Once you get it there you can just keep hammering in bigger flat heads.

https://imgur.com/a/pFc0HDn also in these pictures I circled in yellow where the pry points are, unfortunately I don't have a picture underneath it, but I believe the bottom of the tranny is flat, but it has like small rectangles in it and lines going from front to back and left to right, which the lined going left to right, you can put a pry bar between the subframe, steering rack, or sway bar and you should be able to pry it a little that way.

Also you should have most success if you can pop it closest to the bottom because of those studs that stick through the bottom of the tranny. but with that being said, if you can find a seam on the top, you can work it around with multiple flat heads until you get to the bottom of the tranny.
I think the reason they get so stuck is because the dowel pins become rusted and fill in the little gap that there is in the metal which makes it a super tight fit.

I hope this helps, and good luck! sorry for writing an absolute book of a response lol

[twistednoble]

Originally Posted by BrakeCheck

When I did it I did have an engine bay mounted engine holder bar thing so there was absolutely no chance of my engine rotating in the bay. I just mention this because you have to be careful when wiggling everything around while it's supported by a jack underneath. I have done the jack method before, and we used a piece of wood to support the engine by the headers I believe.

As for getting a seam, I wish I could remember exactly how I started a seam, I think I actually looked all around for any possible gap, if you get a very very tiny flat head, like one for small electrical components you should just be able to hammer it in the middle of the two parts and it should create a seam. Once you get it there you can just keep hammering in bigger flat heads.

https://imgur.com/a/pFc0HDn also in these pictures I circled in yellow where the pry points are, unfortunately I don't have a picture underneath it, but I believe the bottom of the tranny is flat, but it has like small rectangles in it and lines going from front to back and left to right, which the lined going left to right, you can put a pry bar between the subframe, steering rack, or sway bar and you should be able to pry it a little that way.

Also you should have most success if you can pop it closest to the bottom because of those studs that stick through the bottom of the tranny. but with that being said, if you can find a seam on the top, you can work it around with multiple flat heads until you get to the bottom of the tranny.
I think the reason they get so stuck is because the dowel pins become rusted and fill in the little gap that there is in the metal which makes it a super tight fit.

I hope this helps, and good luck! sorry for writing an absolute book of a response lol

I've taken just about everything off this damn thing trying to get it to move. I've been prying at the bottom and trying to wedge it at the top but Im not getting any real movement. I've fucked around with the jacks to try a bunch of angles but still not budging. I've got it set so the trans mount is almost touching the mount holes on the tunnel currently. What angle works best? I've tried to find where the bottom studs are centered in the holes but I can't seem to find anywhere that I can get motion.

I really don't want to have to go to all of this work just to have to give up put all the shit back together and pay a mech 1000 bucks to throw it on a lift.

[Spuds]

I had the same problem last year. I think the problem was that the input shaft was not parallel to the floor, so moving it straight back horizontally on a trans jack was actually trying to slide it slightly upwards relative to the input shaft. The engine cannot adjust to the angle because the front is held in place, not allowing the engine to rotate forwards.

Options to resolve:
-Angle the transmission jack and just slide the transmission along it.
-drop (or raise) the front of the engine a little bit at a time while raising (or lowering) the transmission jack so you don't break the input shaft.

I did the first option and was successful, but I had someone else there to help keep the transmission from falling. I also used ratchet straps to hold the front of the engine up.

Edit, now that I'm thinking about it, I think we did a bit of both options. Lowered the front a wee bit, then just pulled. Using the front cross member as a foot brace helped a bit, but once we got it lined up properly it just came off within moderate effort. I remember the engine did twist forward a bit when the transmission finally came off.

Oh hey, I actually wrote it down with a picture. Apparently we had to raise the front a bit... Not as much detail but if you want to check what you have done against what I did here's a link.
https://www.ft86club.com/forums/show...=151713&page=3

[twistednoble]

Originally Posted by Spuds

I had the same problem last year. I think the problem was that the input shaft was not parallel to the floor, so moving it straight back horizontally on a trans jack was actually trying to slide it slightly upwards relative to the input shaft. The engine cannot adjust to the angle because the front is held in place, not allowing the engine to rotate forwards.

Options to resolve:
-Angle the transmission jack and just slide the transmission along it.
-drop (or raise) the front of the engine a little bit at a time while raising (or lowering) the transmission jack so you don't break the input shaft.

I did the first option and was successful, but I had someone else there to help keep the transmission from falling. I also used ratchet straps to hold the front of the engine up.

Edit, now that I'm thinking about it, I think we did a bit of both options. Lowered the front a wee bit, then just pulled. Using the front cross member as a foot brace helped a bit, but once we got it lined up properly it just came off within moderate effort. I remember the engine did twist forward a bit when the transmission finally came off.

Oh hey, I actually wrote it down with a picture. Apparently we had to raise the front a bit... Not as much detail but if you want to check what you have done against what I did here's a link.
https://www.ft86club.com/forums/show...=151713&page=3

I reviewed the thread, how much issue did you have getting it moving initially? My current clusterfuck is that the transmission is firmly mated to the back of the engine still.

[twistednoble]

Originally Posted by BrakeCheck

When I did it I did have an engine bay mounted engine holder bar thing so there was absolutely no chance of my engine rotating in the bay. I just mention this because you have to be careful when wiggling everything around while it's supported by a jack underneath. I have done the jack method before, and we used a piece of wood to support the engine by the headers I believe.

As for getting a seam, I wish I could remember exactly how I started a seam, I think I actually looked all around for any possible gap, if you get a very very tiny flat head, like one for small electrical components you should just be able to hammer it in the middle of the two parts and it should create a seam. Once you get it there you can just keep hammering in bigger flat heads.

https://imgur.com/a/pFc0HDn also in these pictures I circled in yellow where the pry points are, unfortunately I don't have a picture underneath it, but I believe the bottom of the tranny is flat, but it has like small rectangles in it and lines going from front to back and left to right, which the lined going left to right, you can put a pry bar between the subframe, steering rack, or sway bar and you should be able to pry it a little that way.

Also you should have most success if you can pop it closest to the bottom because of those studs that stick through the bottom of the tranny. but with that being said, if you can find a seam on the top, you can work it around with multiple flat heads until you get to the bottom of the tranny.
I think the reason they get so stuck is because the dowel pins become rusted and fill in the little gap that there is in the metal which makes it a super tight fit.

I hope this helps, and good luck! sorry for writing an absolute book of a response lol

You must have some fancy prybars, I'm struggling to snake a bar between the rack and the front subframe to get to the spot you highlighted.

Better a flood of information than leaving out some small details.

[blsfrs]

A couple of years ago, I had the same issue separating an ej from a 4eat in my son's forester. We sprayed PB blaster on the dowels and bottom studs and tapped the areas with a hammer and it finally worked loose.

[twistednoble]

Hallelujah boys, we got a damn crack finally. More prying and wiggling is needed but there is some progress.