Clean them very thoroughly before greasing them.

It wasn't enough to just use a toothbrush and solvent because clutch dust embedded itself into the edges of the splines. After a good cleaning, I'd take the tip of a small Xacto blade and clean the splines. A toothbrush sized stainless steel brush might do equally well (Harbor Freight).

Using the correct grease is important. Many motorcyclists use Honda Moly 60 paste on their splines. Staburags and some other products were used in the past, but they have found the Honda product to be the best. Coat both surfaces thoroughly, then slide the clutch disc back and forth on the full length of the splines and wipe the wave of excess grease off.

 

Yeah, I agree that the clutch disk can be hanging a bit on the input shaft and keeping some torque delivered to the transmission, and thus pressuring the gear sets when they are shifting.

This sounds like a tranny out/clean/lube/tranny back in sort of job - no need to replace any components unless they are totally worn or scored. So no need to replace the clutch for instance as long as its all within specs.

I guess a question is "How much lube" - the shop manual is vague about this of course. Too much, and of course you now have a magnet for all the dust/crap coming off the clutch, but not enough and you will get binding. Totally agree about the cleaning and like the idea of sharpening the edges of the splines by getting all the crap out with a Xacto knife.

The shop manual does not seem to recommend that the guide tube be lubricated at all - but that is also a place the throwout bearing can ride. Do any of you lube that at all?

Cheers,

Mike

 

Mike, Alex and all thank you for your help here.
Andreas's tranny drop thread was helpful. Looks like ill put the car up and get the transmission out and take a look. I will also filter the fluid and see what's left behind.

 

You can also run an oil analysis on the transmission fluid to check it out - I used Blackstone like many others. Its not like you can do much about say high metal content in the oil anyways, but over a few changes you can see reduction or increase in wear, which gives you an indicator...

Cheers,

Mike

 

Kevin, sorry for your troubles, but on the plus side it appears that mid-rise lift has almost paid for itself already.

 

Start preparing a "while I'm in there" list.....

 

thanks Al i just hope it doesnt rebel and try and kill me while under it, seems to be heading that direction this year....

with only the tranny out i dont think it'll be too big a list unless the clutch is shot. but it doesn't behave like it is...

Mike thank you for chiming in.

the hardest part seems to be getting proper alignment putting it back in, any tips on that? i'll be using an ATV jack from HF and my scissor lift

what type grease do i need to get for the splined shaft? and im assuming a thin covering of grease is all i will need to put on. and do what alex said, as far as running the clutch up and down it, then wiping off the build up.

 

Personally, id buy an E36 M3 or just do an LS1 swap.

 

Jon you should be out shopping for 993's i dont wanna hear it lol!!!

 

Ok so reading the shop manual can someone verify the grease i need to obtain is:
"Olista Longtime 3 EP"?
they say its for corrosion protection only. i guess i'll hit up Sunset for a tube?

the shop manual has the tranny out in 3 easy steps, must be a real cinch!

using andreas's thread as a guide. i have steel brushes and blades to clean the splines. im on the fence about dumping out the Shell 75/90 i put in there just 8 months ago... it also looks like draining the engine oil and disconnecting the engine oil line may not be required...

the bolt that i need to extract the fork shaft is 6mmx40mm? i will need to get one.

if anyone has done this on an Atlas scissor lift please chime in. i found one other user who moved the swing arms past their detents to their physical aft travel limit. a little unnerving but he was able to drop the tranny. i plan on using the truck stands which will gain me another 7 inches or so. id like to have the car as centered as possible not that far back.

 

I assume you are doing this without dropping the engine? If so, then no disconnecting the engine oil lines or the Pentosin lines for the power steering, or dropping the suspension.

Yeah, I use a tube of Olista I bought from Sunset for the splines. I also pack more in to the roller bearings and the end cap. I also put a bit of lube on the end of the clutch fork where it contacts the throwout bearing.

One question I been thinking about - does anyone lube the guide tube? The shop manual does not specify and thus implies its running dry. Its seems it would be good to be lubed from a sliding point of view, but a lot of dust and crap are pushed onto this tube...

As far as alignment goes, try to get the angle of the transmission the same as the engine, i.e. the opening between the bell housing and the engine remains parallel in all directions. The long studs will help. Then push the transmission onto the engine, it can be a bit of a fight, the splines need to align perfectly, so a bit of a rotate of the transmission can help while putting it on (AWD - use the end shaft if in gear, otherwise rotate both rear drive shaft bosses). the fit can be snug, and take a really good push to get it most of the way in, and the last bit (like 1/2") use the nuts to help pull it tight.

Use duct tape to hold the clutch fork in place until you get the clutch fork shaft in place.

The bolt to pull out the clutch fork shaft can be longer, it just threads into the end of the shaft so you can pull it out. The rubber plug can be a bear to get out at times, be careful not to drop stuff into the bell housing.

Cheers,

Mike

 

Hey EMBPilot,

Before you drop you tranny - check this - there are two rubber bushings on the shift fork - if these wear out, then shifting will get progressively harder until they completely fail, at which point you'll be able to get the car out of gear and into neutral, but will not be able to put it in gear. This will strand you suddenly....

...on the side of I-610 Loop in Houston...
...at rush hour...
...in 100 degree heat...ask me how I know ;-)

In any case, replacing these bushings is relatively easy if you have your car in the air, and they are only $30/each.

One telltale sign of these bushings wearing out is that if you put your car in first, slowly get up to 5-10 mph with no clutch in and let off the gas to get engine braking at low speed - it will feel as if the engine is "disconnected" from the tranny - alsmost like you have a broken motor mount. What this actually is is the tranny/engine (which are rigidly bound to one another) slipping inside the bushings.

cheers,

sean

 

Ok, not quite getting it., hopefully you can add some detail. Not sure how the tranny/engine slips inside the bushings...

You talking about the bushings on the shifting mechanism from the shifter in the car to the input shaft on the transmission? Or the seal/guide bearings on the shift input shaft on the transmission? Or the rear transmission mounts? or .. well you get the idea...

Cheers,

Mike

 

Mike thank you for all ur help.
I got a pm from a fellow transmission dropper w lots of helpful info.

I'm going to order the following from sunset on Monday
- Olista Longtime 3 EP grease
- full set of axle bolts (my understanding is they are 1 time use)

I'm not ordering engine oil cause based on info here I won't need it.

Anything else I'm missing or that's one time use?

 

Hmm, I reuse axle bolts, if paranoid you can use some blue loctite on them.

There is an air vent on top of the tranny, so don't store it long term on its side or upside down...

Cheers,

Mike