theres a hole already in the center judging by the pic. fwiw this is a small amount of the pia this job is when it comes to reinstalling the clutch fork, fork rod and reinstalling the plug and bracket. it really only takes about 5 more hrs to drop the motor and trans and that gives you all the room in the world to work with.

 

OUT! Used a drill with numerous extensions and a universal joint. I got the hole large enough to fit the 6mm bolt through. My rubber plug was hardened from heat cycles.

I would recommend spending a few extra hours up front and dropping the motor with the trans.; there is just no room for removal in a timely and easy manner.

 

live and learn!! the plug is hard from the start. i have a new replacement plug and its hard as well. after fighting with mine for a few days i found a clutch issue with my erp clutch so im going to drop the motor this weekend and do all i need on the table.

 

I'll post my new plug design, not going through that hassle again. I'm thinking slightly thicker so there is an edge to grab and possibly with a partial center hole, not through.

Now to separate and remove the tranny, the joy!

 

no need to redesign it. drill it and grab it with a pick from now on. lining up the clutch fork and ears on the bellhousing will keep you in chuckles and stitches for days on reinstall! imagine putting a blunt oblect filled with 27 needle bearings slicked up in grease thru 4 holes the same size while being blindfolded! drop anything and you get to pull the trans fish it out and start over! theres still time to drop the motor before the insanity starts

 

at the risk of repeating myself ( again ) yeah, that dang clutch fork had us muttering expletives for at LEAST an hour of the 6 it took to r&r. chuckles and stitches is about right

 

Any need to replace anything besides the cover/plug 950-116-725-00?

 

rear main seal if yours shows any sign of leaking. be very careful on reinstall with the crank sensor. theres a notch in the bellhousing were the sensor slides into and its easy to whack it when sliding the trans in. very hard to see while moving things around

 

Better not be!

Good advice. thanks.

 

theres a rubber seal that goes around the crank sensor. it has to be installed after the trans is back in. hard to get to and dont push it to far in or it will drop into the bellhousing. then you get to start over!

 

re the rms. good advice. i cant see any reason NOT to swap it when it'll be staring you in the face. its a 30$ seal, and a royal pita to r&r if it goes bad shortly ( or anytime really ) AFTER you replace a clutch!

 

Slave unhooked, starter out, front cross brace unhooked, fork pivot removed, engine lowered an inch, can't get more than about an inch of separation (full ring gear teeth exposed). Tips? Is it all alignment? Been shaking, pulling, rejacking, etc.

 

mostly alignment. you have to lower the trans enough to clear the front mount bolts. so the engine has to tilt down that far as well. sway bar will likely be in the way. need to remove it. if the trans jack has adjustment use that as well and a small pry bar to encourage the trans to slide out from the clutch and clutch fork

support the engine and loosen the motor mount bolts until theres just a few threads showing on the bolt. lower the engine down to the nuts. keep it supported

 

Honestly, the fork shaft was super easy for me. I zip tied the fork(leaving the zip tie tail) to the PP to hold it and once the shaft was mated I cut the zip tie with long wire cutters while holding the tail so it didn't fall into the bell housing. Took all of 15 minutes once transmission was lined up.

 

This is as far as I can get it; spent numerous hours on it. Time for plan B; drop the engine