[FAQ] DIY How to: How to take off transmission and Inspect Input Shaft Bearing

[BauleyCivic]

Well, my story began last week when my transmission started making weird noises. These noises included a whine at high RPM, and a chatter/clicking from the transmission at idle. This chatter went away when I depressed the clutch. So, being the HT junkie that I am...I searched HT for some answers. The main consensus was that it was an Input Shaft Bearing (Helms calls it the "Clutch Housing Bearing"). This bearing sits between the clutch housing and the mainshaft. So today, I finally got around to taking my transmission off and disassembling it. How to take off the transmission (copied mostly from Helms manual): 1. Disconnect battery from negative terminal. 2. Remove air intake. 3. Disconnect starter cables and transmission ground wire. 4. Remove the engine wire harness clamp. 5. Disconnect the back-up light switch and speed sensor connectors. 6. Remove clutch pipe bracket and slave cylinder Note: Do not operate clutch pedal once the slave cylinder has been removed 7. Loosen the lugnuts on the two front wheels. 8. Jack front end of car up. Make sure it is properly supported (Jackstands work well) 9. Remove front wheels. 10. Remove the transmission housing bolts (There are 9, 4 at the top, 5 on the bottom) 11. Drain manual transmission fluid. 12. Remove the axles. You must unbolt the fork at the wheel hub, there are 3 bolts for each fork, and then pull the hub (with axle still attached) outwards so that the axles come out of the transmission. 13. Unbolt catalytic converter from header. 14. Remove the shift linkage (both bars) 15. Remove the front stopper bracket (3 bolts) 16. Disconnect vehicle speed sensor 17. Unbolt starter from transmission. 18. Unscrew gas gap and unbolt fuel line from firewall. 19. Place a jack with a piece of wood on the top under the oil pan. 20. Remove the transmission side mount. 21. Remove the clutch cover (2 bolts) 22. Remove the transmission rear mount bolts and the remaining transmission housing bolts. 23. Slowly drop engine down, pull the transmission away from the engine until it clears the mainshaft. Note: Those are just the written directions. I may have missed some things, but that is the helms directions and then a few things that I did today that werent in the helms. I dont suggest anyone pull off their transmission unless they have a helms manual in front of them. The illustrations are a major Helms manual OWNZ j00! How to remove the transmission housing: 1. Remove the back-up light switch 2. Remove the transmission hanger B. 3. Remove the transmission attaching bolts. 4. Remove the 32mm sealing bolt (can be done with a 3/8" ratchet) 5. Expand the snap ring on the countershaft ball beaing and remove it from the groove using a pair of snap ring pliers. 6. Separate the transmission housing from the clutch housing and wipe it clean of the sealant. Note: The snap ring is a bitch to get off. If you have a set of needle nose pliers, just keep expanding the ring and prying at the transmission housing with screwdrivers...it took me and my friend 20 mins but it came off How to remove mainshaft, countershaft, shift fork, and reverse idler gear to get to input shaft bearing: 1. Remove the reverse shift holder. 2. Remove the reverse idler gear shaft and gear. 3. Remove the interlock guide bolt from under the clutch housing (8mm allenhead bolt) 4. Remove the shift arm B attaching bolt. 5. Pull mainshaft and countershaft assemblies with the shift fork straight up, and out of the transmission. How to remove input shaft bearing (also called clutch housing bearing): Use long extension and a 5/8" socket and go in through the clutch housing side and tap the extension with a hammer lightly until the bearing comes out. Very simple to do. And WHALA! You're done. My bearing looked fine, but when i spun it, it made a clicking noise...so I assume this was the source of my problem The bottom half of the transmission: Center: Mainshaft, countershaft, and shift fork assemblies Bottom: Differential Yep...I keep all my bolts organized Also, one more thing. Upon inspection of the housing, i noticed that there was a small section missing in the area where the snap ring sits. From the outside (kinda blurry): From the inside: Is that normal? Or do I have a chunk of my tranmission missing...if someone has done this before please offer some insight...I have concluded that this is normal and was not a chunk missing from my transmission UPDATE 8/27/03: I just finished putting the transmission back on the car, and everything works perfectly. The input shaft bearing was the problem. Also, for some reason my countershaft bearing had backed out of the casing, so I tapped it back in with a hammer and all was good again I also had a problem aligning the interlock guide bolt with the groove in the shift arm, so make sure when assembling the transmission to align the interlock guide bolt with the hole in the shift arm. Also, make sure that you apply RTV silicone to the interlock guide bolt threads and the 32mm sealing bolt. Your countershaft bearing should NOT sit out like this (note also the new input shaft bearing to the upper left): This is how your countershaft bearing should sit: IMPORTANT! Make sure you align the interlock guide bolt with the groove under the shift arm, I unfortunately did not the first time and bent the shift arm as you can see here (if you do this you will be locked out of 1st, 2nd, 5th, and reverse gears): Transmission installation is the reverse of taking it apart. To put the transmission back on the car, I suggest that you have a jack under both the tranny and the engine so you can align the two for easier installation. Also, make sure you coat the mainshaft spline and the clutch fork (thing that slave cylinder goes into) with anti-seize lubricant. If anyone has any questions, please reply, and if necessary I can post reassembly instructions. Good Luck Modified by BauleyCivic at 1:00 PM 8/28/2003

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[Bodman]

jesus dude... first the mini-me writeup(which reeeeeeeeally helped), and now this!
nice work man!!!!1

[all stock]

good write up. you get a

[hybrid93SIvic]

very very nice write up....right click save as

[sander]

good ness, is that all you have done for the past couple hours??

sike, nice write up as always

-sander

[nuc79]

Originally Posted by BauleyCivic

Also, one more thing. Upon inspection of the housing, i noticed that there was a small section missing in the area where the snap ring sits.

yes, that's normal. that's how you get the snap ring out if you need to replace it

[keithv]

Originally Posted by nuc79

yes, that's normal. that's how you get the snap ring out if you need to replace it

i agree...it looks like a piece broke off, but it really didn't.

i see you remove the input shaft bearing. i'm not sure mine would have been that easy to remove. i did replace my countershaft bearing, too, which definitely requires a bearing puller of some sort...

good luck with the rebuild.

[95hbMatt]

Good write up!

[senpai]

Are you it just wasn't the throwout bearing. My 90 SI does this hissing sound at idle and it clanks at low rpm/throttle ........

[Smith Wise]

Originally Posted by BauleyCivic

18. Unscrew gas gap and unbolt fuel line from firewall.

good write-up............. but this step is not necessary.

[BauleyCivic]

Originally Posted by Jswpstdoff

good write-up............. but this step is not necessary.

not necessary but i did it. If you drop the motor and have not unbolted the fuel line, then there will be tension on the fuel line, and I didnt want that. And, as everyone knows, before you unbolt the fuel line you want to relieve fuel pressure, hence opening the gas cap

[skribblah]

damn son didnt you just do a massive mini-me write up a fiew days ago!? now this!? man you dont stop...

[Ef Whore]

Been there before...it takes mucho patience. Worth it though, **** paying AAMCO!

[smnowell]

Good write-up. I was there for a lot of the tranny installing and disassembling, but mostly as a spectator. Dustin did A LOT of this on his own with no help at all. Once this kid learns something, it sticks and he can handle it quite well. By the way, the input shaft bearing was definately the source of his problems. Once put back together we took the car for a spin and also tested the car at idle by putting the clutch in and out and the noise was gone

[DxHatchback]

looks like fun

good write up and a nice fix it yourself thing

[RStoR]

to write up and pics.

[EG6owner-T]

best write up! good job thanks.

[tominos]

you deserve a

i can't even fix the mushy brakes and a wheel stud on my aunt's corolla, so i gave up .

so how much experience do you have working on cars? don't tell me this is your first time doing it, and you just looked at the helms............

i applaud you, and have a on me

[DCStreetHtch]

nump so you are in my recents... btw: you are my hero, now i know how to repair my tranny after i swap it so i can sell it for more!!!

-Bryan-

[T4sol]

Out of curiosity, how long did it take to complete the entire job?

[Dan GSR]

lol I just did the same thing on my B16 tranny



on the left is the new bearing, on the right is the old bearing, and on the extreme right is the rest of the old bearing...

thank god for the tranny magnet
when i took it apart it needed a really good cleaning, it had a lot of tiny metal particles everywhere and I mean A LOT

[95hatch]

Originally Posted by Dan GSR

thank god for the tranny magnet
when i took it apart it needed a really good cleaning, it had a lot of tiny metal particles everywhere and I mean A LOT

Do you still happen to have the metal shaving goo off the magnet, i like to use it has glitter lip gloss when i go work the corner.

[Dan GSR]

lip gloss??

hell I could have made my whole body all sparkly

[BauleyCivic]

Originally Posted by tominos

so how much experience do you have working on cars? don't tell me this is your first time doing it, and you just looked at the helms............

i applaud you, and have a on me

not that much actually. I don't have that many modifications done to my car. With both my suspension and my mini-me setup, I had my friends (jazzyfoo and b16a ferio) do it and I kind of helped when they needed me and watched over them, learning stuff. With this, they kind of watched over me when I removed the transmission (they had both done clutch installations, so they new all about removing transmissions). However, once I got the transmission off of the car...I was on my own with the helms. Like i said, I ran into a few problems with the shift arm and countershaft bearing which i turned to Mista Bone for help. Mista Bone is the ****ing man. Everything I ran into he had the answer to the question or the solution to the problem. So MADD PROPS to Mista Bone y0!

Originally Posted by T4sol

Out of curiosity, how long did it take to complete the entire job?

Well...to take off the transmission it took about 5 hours. To open it up and replace the bearing and reassemble it (assuming you actually have the part already with you and you dont bend the shift arm like I did) takes about 30 minutes. Then, to put the transmission on it took me another 5 hours, mainly because putting a transmission back on a car without a lift or air tools is a pain in the ass.

[TRAN]

thanks for the info