not a huge amount of torque on the flywheel bolts. the key with ANY torx bit is proper fitment AND make sure its straight on the head. the impact hits it hard and fast and breaks the torque quickly. if its offset in any way it either strips the teeth or the head of the bolt quickly

 

I'm in the process of doing this myself.... on jack stands.... in an unheated garage.... and its below 0°C outside. I thought I'd provide some more clarification to those attempting this beyond the great information that has already been conveyed by the OP.

1) If you don't have a lift - pay someone who has one to do it.
2) If you don't listen to that advise; you'll soon be wishing you did.

3) Crash Bracket: When the OP suggests removing all the engine bracing make sure to remove the cross member from under the engine (I'm not sure if this was implied or not) or you'll never clear the tunnel up top when you go to slide the transmission off. It is located on the parting line between the tranny and engine and is easily removed by taking out 4 bolts and sliding it down between its mating parts. If you don't do this you will only be able to split the tranny and move it a few inches but not enough to get off the engine studs before he "crash bracket" will hit the mating feature on the body. Keep lowering the motor and tranny angling it downwards toward the front of the car until you can look on top of the tranny and see the crash bracket clear, then the transmission should slide right off.

4) Clutch Fork / Pin: Reaching from the drivers side it is fairly un complicated to remove the pin by threading in a 8mm bolt as described through the access hole. When the transmission is out grease the needle bearings that support the fork pivot shaft, if for no other reason as to keep them in place. You will be quite upset if one of them falls out of place stopping the pivot shaft from going in the bearing all the way. I this happen and had to pull the transmission again; that and because I dropped the pin retaining clip into the bell housing. Upon reassembly I would advise that you have a borescope around as it really makes life easier when you are trying to re-align the holes in the fork with the holes in the transmission. Additionally I found you can remove the driver's side rear wheel and look through the suspension to see the hole with the naked eye. Have a friend grab the fork where the slave cylinder contacts it with their finger and they should be able to move it into location while you guide them by looking in the hole from the driver's side.

5) Check your transmission mount:
I noticed mine is starting to show the first signs of failure and it will be replaced. Its not as bad as the ones I've seen online but it has one crack in the rubber so its only a matter of time.

So far I've spent both days of the past weekend working on this and I've still got a ways to go. This is my daily driver so I've had to borrow another set of wheels to get by - should have paid the $1400 to have a local shop do it.

Its a well engineered car, that has robust components and proven techniques. I'm sure they are a walk in the park for someone who has done them before....and has access to a lift. But if you are like me and are unfamiliar with the process it is a PITA.

P.S. Its been awhile but I've done a few clutches on different cars in the past and are quite mechanically inclined - I think I've been spoiled for a few years and romanticized what it was like to really get your hands dirty; its a big job.

 

Fullthrottleguy - I can't agree more. I got the transmission bolted back up last night, but I was 90% of the way there when I dropped the black plastic cap! Second mating of tranny to engine did not go as smooth as first (the fork had fallen a bit without realizing it and the starter wiring got in the way). Once back together, we still struggled with putting the stupid black plastic cap back on along with the metal retaining piece. What a pain in the neck and what an idiotic design. I have done clutch jobs on at least three or four other vehicles, and this one is definitely the most complicated.

While I am working with a lift, it is still a pain as you have to support the engine during the process. Unless you have a four-poster with some kind of lift jack, you need to lower the car enough to support the engine, so I was still working on my back for most of the process.

I'm just about done, but need to bolt everything back together.

 

Another tip that I wish I had - test fit the pivot shaft (bearings and all; including the black cap) in the transmission prior to reassembly just to get a feel for how it all goes together.

 

like i posted earlier tim941nyc has a great idea. drill a small 8mm hole in the plastic cap. insatll the metal tab on the cap and thread the 8mm bolt into the plastic cap. now you can install it without dropping it and you have the locking tab in place for the bolt

 

I definitely should have followed that advice! I didn't quite get it when you first told me, but it makes sense now. Still doesn't help get the small retaining bolt in there, but that is definitely easier without the locking tab gumming things up.

 

use a 1/4" drive 10mm socket and lay a piece of duct tape over the opening. shove the bolt into the tape. it will keep the bolt from falling out of the socket

 

Brilliant! I don't know how I missed your previous post; but damn that would be the ticket. I'll do this tonight when I install the pin (again) tonight after pulling the tranny again to grease my needle bearings in place.

 

use high pressure grease and pack the needle bearings full. it should help keep them in place

 

Got the clutch in and the car back together today. I went for a drive and it felt good other than the release point being closer to the floor. Then the peddle feel degraded and I lost the clutch peddle all together. Got it home and noticed the fluid was low, filled it up and put it back up on jack stands to bleed the slave. This is when I noticed fluid running down the tranny from the slave. ****!!!! My local Indy is booked for a week and a half, the dealer is booked until a week from now and wants $1571 parts and labour to replace the stock slave and accumulator. Now I find myself in this gt2 slave conundrum...

 

80% into dropping the tranny currently.

Any pointers on the coolant lines that run under the front end of the tranny?

I've got them unclipped and hanging down. Can I pull the tranny without opening this circuit? Didn't see any mention on them in the tutorial.

 

It takes some finagling / maneuvering, but no need to open the coolant circuit.

 

Thanks!

 

When I remove the trans on these we do not take all the bracing off under the engine so that means that the tranny will not clear the stud next to the starter, the way its been done in this write up there is prob enough angle to avoid removing the stud, we basically drop the motor so it rests on the X member, I dont like the idea of just hanging on the rear mounts and trans jack while the box is out.
Ive also modded my pivot shaft so its 2 mins to get it in and out when I need to remove the trans again, allthough its so simple to drop the motor im wondering if its worth even just pulling the tranny on its own.

 

you can remove the stud by the starter in 5 mins without dropping any engine braces. its the next step i do when i drop the starter. makes life so easy. i also brace the motor with a jack and use a trans lift on the trans.

as for engine in or out i would say its a personal preference. since i have done both and engine out means coolant everywhere i just do the trans when needed